There has been one ever-present joy in lockdown misery: the birds
As record numbers enjoy the Big Garden Birdwatch this year, Joe Shute charts the rise of Twitchfluencers
It has been a year of deprivation in so many ways. But even separated from friends and family, with our horizons shrunk around us, there has been one ever-present joy: the birds.
The earliest days of the first lockdown were marked by a rousing dawn chorus so striking many people spoke of hearing the birds sing for the first time in years. And they have stayed with us over subsequent months of rolling restrictions.
Some of us have noticed new species: green parakeets colonising a city centre park or a flock of redwings settling over winter. For others, the pleasure has been in watching a garden bird through the seasons as it finds a mate, builds a nest and helps its young fledge.
Whether you live in an expansive country manor or a cramped urban flat, birds have provided constant company and cheer. For some, the birds flocking to their feeders will be the only soul they see in a day.
And now is their moment in the sun. This weekend marks the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which started in 1979 and has grown to be one of the largest citizen science projects in the world. Typically, around 500,000 people each year take part – spending an hour counting the different species of birds in their garden, or from a balcony, and submitting the results. But such has been the popularity of lockdown birding this year that far more are hoped to get involved.
As more people have become interested in the activity formally known as “twitching”, there have been some breakout stars from within the birdwatching world. Mya Rose-Craig, 18, known as Birdgirl, has launched a new podcast called Get Birding to encourage more people to take an interest in our feathered friends.
Meanwhile, the Self Isolating Bird Club, co-founded by Chris Packham with his stepdaughter Megan McCubbin, 25, has grown to nearly 30,000 Twitter followers and 50,000 Facebook members.
Packham hopes that the rise in birdwatching will last long after lockdowns end. “People will not forget discovering something so precious and rewarding on their doorsteps,” he says.