Happy sharing nature’s tweets
Watching garden birds go about their business has been just what the doctor ordered for nature lovers during lockdown.
Seeing blue, great and coal tits dangling from feeders and listening to robins pour out their winter song has certainly done wonders for my wellbeing.
Even during the hours of darkness, the joy of birdwatching is there to behold, with wildlife enthusiasts posting captivating photos and videos on social media.
Scrolling through my Twitter feed recently, I was enchanted by footage captured by TV doc Dr Amir Khan (@Dramirkhangp).
The good doctor first came on my radar on Channel 5’s GPS Behind Closed Doors, where his caring manner shines out with warm smiles and comforting words of wisdom to patients.
As one of Dr Khan’s 117,000 Twitter followers, I have been enthralled by the expert way he captures garden birds on film. There are scenes of beautiful bullfinches and gorgeous goldcrests as well as blackcaps and great spotted woodpeckers, all taking advantage of the bird food he serves up at his garden in Leeds.
A visiting flock of long-tailed tits made the biggest impression, with Dr Khan saying: “Definitely the cutest visitors to my garden – balls of feathers with gorgeous tails, each one has its own personality.
“They are a joy to watch, and the little squeaks they make are adorable.”
I caught up with Dr Khan to ask why birds are such an important part of his life.
He said: “The birds in my garden offer me a moment of pause in an otherwise extremely busy day. The simple joy they bring when they choose to feed at one of my feeding stations seems like a small thing but can have a huge impact on me after a tough day at the surgery.
“Watching them bicker over the best position to eat, listening to their song and then, in the springtime, seeing them bring their young to the garden to show them the ropes are the simple pleasures I cherish most.”
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The simple joy they bring can have a huge impact after a tough day
Practising mindfulness could reduce the pain felt by migraine sufferers.
A study by Wake Forest School of Medicine in the US showed that practising yoga and meditation helped reduce discomfort felt during a migraine, as well as the number of migraines participants had in a month. It also improved quality of life and meant they were less likely to be depressed.
The study took place over eight weeks with 89 sufferers. Half followed a course of meditation and yoga, while the others were educated on avoiding triggers. Those practising mindfulness had less pain and a better quality of life compared to the education group.
Once home to religious hermits in the 7th century, today the Farne Islands are a summer sanctuary for 23 species of seabirds, including more than 43,000 breeding pairs of puffins, along with fulmars, Arctic terns, guillemots, razorbills, shags and kittiwakes. Between May and July there are a quarter of a million feathered residents nesting on the islands.
Boat-loads of visitors – numbers regulated by the National Trust – journey across the narrow stretch of water, known as the
Inner Sound, for close encounters with the seabirds on Inner Farne and Staple. David Attenborough described the Farne Islands as his favourite wildlife site in the UK. ■■nationaltrust.org.uk/farne-islands
The ivy-clad Bat Tower is in Toys Hill – a 200-acre woodland that inspired Octavia Hill to co-found the National Trust in 1895.
Following the Great Storm of 1987, it was converted from a water tower to a bat hibernaculum – a roost site used from October and March for winter hibernation. Since then, records show that along with common pipistrelles there have been brown long-eared bats and rare Natterer’s bats in the area.
Cold-water swimming isn’t about the distance you cover or length of time you spend in the water, it’s about the overwhelming feelgood sensation that stays with you for the rest of the day. Nature therapy at its best.
Try it at the tree-lined New Pool Hollow Reservoir in Carding Mill Valley. It was built in 1902 to provide water for the nearby town of Church Stretton, which obscures the view of the distant hills, creating a ghostly atmosphere. From the reservoir, it’s a 30-minute walk to a waterfall at the head of Lightspout Hollow – one of many deep-cut valleys in the Long Mynd.