David Lindo
Broadcaster and naturalist, also known as the Urban Birder, David encourages us to slow down and savour nature wherever we walk this autumn.
’M AN AMBLER, not a rambler” says David Lindo, summing up beautifully how the key to seeing more on a walk is to slow down and stop occasionally.
For David it’s an ethos that applies wherever he’s walking, be it a remote part of the planet, or more often than not, a bustling city. A writer, broadcaster, educator and birdwatching tour leader, he’s known as the Urban Birder. And it was growing up in London that fostered his passion for avian life and the wider natural world.
“I was born with an innate interest,” says David, whose curiosity and enthusiasm wasn’t shared by family and friends. “It was kind of weird being a black kid in northwest London with this real interest in natural history. It wasn’t the done thing.”
As someone who’s spent years engaging city dwellers around the world with the environment, he’s heartened by the increasing awareness of nature and a desire to protect it arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. But more needs to be done closer to home, says David, who’s frustrated by compartmentalised thinking.
“Nature in Britain is still being sold as this thing in the middle of nowhere; the reserve of a certain group of people that excludes those living in cities. Over 80% of us live in urban areas, and I’ve always felt there needs to be a bridge between David Attenborough documentaries in the Serengeti and what’s happening outside our front doors. It’s all connected.”
“Nature in Britain is still being sold as this thing in the middle of nowhere; cities.” that excludes those living in 44 COUNTRY WALKING OCTOBER 2021
David wants to see greener, biophilic cities – healthier for both wildlife and people. Just as they can play host to extraordinary birds, cities can be unexpectedly serene, he says.
“It’s lovely to be out in the country, seeing green, but I’ve also done walks at two in the morning through London’s financial district and the streets are deserted, and lit sometimes quite eerily. It’s like a ghost town.”
For David and other urban birders, early starts can be especially fruitful in autumn. It’s an exciting time of year; a season of flux. Waders start to return from their Arctic breeding grounds in mid-July, but the migration reaches its crescendo from September into October. As house martins and swallows congregate for the journey south, redwing and fieldfare arrive here for the winter.
“Anything can turn up anywhere at any time. That’s the motto you should have all year round, but particularly during the autumn,” enthuses David. “A lot of small birds migrate by night and in the early hours they pitch down where there’s cover.
You could be noticing warblers you’ve not seen before. It might be flycatchers in your local park, voraciously hunting flies, and they might stick around for a couple of days. In the autumn, there’s no mad rush to get back.”
The summer visitors heading for warmer climes include David’s favourite bird, the ring ouzel. It’s a member of the thrush family, slightly smaller than a blackbird, with a distinctive white breast band. Breeding in the uplands of north and western Britain, it makes spring and autumn cameos down south.
“They winter in North Africa and Southern Europe,” explains David. “And they’re quite nervous and scarce, with only six to seven thousand pairs here. So I love them. On my local patch in west London – Wormwood Scrubs – I’ve seen them every year for the past 15 years or so. They may stop for 30 seconds, they may stop for a day.”
But it’s not just rare and vagrant birds that bring surprise and delight to David’s dawn outings.
“I’m happy to see anything. There’s always something new to see.”