BIRDS BRING SOLACE DURING CORONAVIRUS ERA
WATCHING birds and listening to birdsong have helped people during the pandemic, polling suggests in the run-up to the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.
The wildlife charity is expecting high levels of participation in its annual survey of garden birds this weekend, which has been running for 42 years, and it is encouraging people to take part to help “lift spirits” in the latest lockdown.
A survey for the RSPB by
YouGov ahead of the Big Garden Birdwatch reveals that nearly two thirds of those polled (63%) felt watching birds and hearing their song added to their enjoyment of life, especially in the last 12 months.
More than half (51%) of the 2,071 adults quizzed said the coronavirus pandemic had made them more aware of the nature around them, and two-fifths (41%) said they had spotted wildlife in their local area they had not noticed before. Furthermore, more than a third of people (36%) in the poll said they had learned something new about the wildlife in their local area since the pandemic began, and more than half (53%) have been feeding garden birds in the last 12 months.
Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “Lockdowns have brought few benefits, but the last year has either started or reignited a love of nature.”