ECO-BIRDING

NICK Moran’s article ‘Rise of the velo-birder’ ( Birdwatch 353: 42-44) was a welcome and timely encouragement for birders to consider the implications of their hobby on the environment. Any initiative which helps reduce carbon emissions while still enjoying the birds around us has got to be a good thing.

One of the positive impacts of the lockdowns associated with COVID-19 was a noticeable shift towards more local patchbirding.

As a means of encouraging our members to continue this trend the North East Norfolk Bird Club recently introduced an Eco Badge awards scheme which gives recognition to members who consciously make the effort to see birds in our recording area without the aid of motorised transport – generally on foot or bike.

As a coastal club, we make a distinction between those members who generally do their birding at inland locations and those lucky enough to live close to the sea, so the recognition given hopefully reflects their effort, irrespective of location and the obvious advantage of being coastal.

In late October 2021 we had a rarity turn up in our recording area – Greater Short-toed Lark – and it was encouraging to see a number of our members turned to pedal power in order to twitch it. Getting a species on your ‘green list’ is now becoming quite a thing!

In the wake of COP26 and the increasingly overt link between climate change and biodiversity anything bird clubs can do to promote more ecofriendly birding is to be welcomed. This shift in behaviour may negatively impact on some aspects of our hobby but a re-balancing, towards more environmentally responsible birding, may be necessary for us all to continue to enjoy birds. Trevor Williams, Chair of NENBC, via email