Do you ever find your weekends are too short to fit everything in that you need to get done? I often find myself trying to balance volunteering for the RSPB with birdwatching with the visit to the supermarket with seeing friends and so on.
So, it's not often you'll find me preparing to spend an hour with a cup of tea just sitting looking out into the garden. And I won't be sitting there thinking "is there anything I should be doing?" because I will actually be taking part in the biggest citizen science project in the world.
I will be counting the birds I see in my garden in that hour as part of the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch (BGB) - and sending my results in to be one of the (hopefully) 400,000 records that will be submitted over the weekend.
We are celebrating the 30th year of the BGB and I'm really hoping lots of you come along to the garden party. Because, what we find out from this survey is really important as it allows us to look at long term trends in the population of our garden birds, that are really under pressure from climate change and human activity.
So, put the kettle on, get your pen and paper out and take part for an hour on 24/25 January. To find out what you need to do, click here.
I had two fabulous day's birding on the Isle of Portland in the Weymouth area last weekend when we had great views of peregrine falcons, grebes and divers in Portland Harbour and a magical encounter with a bittern on the RSPB's reserve at Radipole. We also saw the hooded merganser at Radipole, swimming around among the mallards right by the visitor centre. And what a dapper little chap he was.
However, it was really cold, and the birds were having to contend with large expanses of frozen water, in fact our guide told us that even the sea had been frozen for a couple of days. Some of the mallards had become quite adept at the old Torville and Dean routines, but although they looked funny, birds really struggle when everything ices over. And if we don't get to grips with climate change soon, extremes of temperature in both summer and winter will become more common and our birds and other animals will really struggle.
That is why I was so disappointed and angry at the decision to go ahead with the third runway at Heathrow Airport as it will destroy any chance we have of meeting our climate change targets and starting to tackle the problem.
I will be getting involved in the campaign to stop this happening and will also be opposing the Mayor of London's plan to build an airport in the Thames estuary. This is a major flyway for birds, and we saw in New York this week the potential for disaster when planes hit flocks of birds.
So, I think it's going to be a busy year!
17 January 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
New Year, New List
January is one of my favourite times of year for birding as it’s time to start a new list for the new year.
I enjoy looking at all birds all the time, but I will admit, January is a bit special because it means I can look at common birds and “tick them” on my new list.
So I find myself actively looking out for robins, wrens, blue tits, blackbirds etc instead of just enjoying them when they cross my path while I’m out and about. And they are worth seeking out.
Anyone who says that common birds are boring is wrong. You never know when you are going to see them doing something unusual. I will never forget sitting in a hide on the South Devon coast in the spring watching a blue tit flying backwards and forwards to its nest with its beak full of wool.
It took a little while to figure out where this wool was coming from and then I spotted the bird sitting on a barbed wire fence surrounding a field full of sheep. It was ‘harvesting’ the wool from the wire and using it to line its nest.
I was telling someone about this and they told me that they often put wool and other nesting material out for the blue tits in the breeding season – something which would never had occurred to me, but I am certainly planning to do the same in 2009.
And that brings me to the other thing about the new year – resolutions! This year my main resolution is to do more to help wildlife in the UK and beyond. I will continue to volunteer for the RSPB and want to step up my support for the albatross campaign, the birds of prey campaign and the RSPB’s efforts to save the Sumatran Rainforest. These are all vitally important and you can find out more here.
My final resolution is to reduce my carbon footprint even more and help save the planet. Find out how you can do your bit by visiting the Stop Climate Chaos coalition website
Finally I’d like to wish you all a happy new year, enjoy your birding and look out for our winter visitors of brent geese, whooper and bewick swans, snow buntings, fieldfare and redwings. And wrap up warm!
How to Birdwatch
January 4 2009
I enjoy looking at all birds all the time, but I will admit, January is a bit special because it means I can look at common birds and “tick them” on my new list.
So I find myself actively looking out for robins, wrens, blue tits, blackbirds etc instead of just enjoying them when they cross my path while I’m out and about. And they are worth seeking out.
Anyone who says that common birds are boring is wrong. You never know when you are going to see them doing something unusual. I will never forget sitting in a hide on the South Devon coast in the spring watching a blue tit flying backwards and forwards to its nest with its beak full of wool.
It took a little while to figure out where this wool was coming from and then I spotted the bird sitting on a barbed wire fence surrounding a field full of sheep. It was ‘harvesting’ the wool from the wire and using it to line its nest.
I was telling someone about this and they told me that they often put wool and other nesting material out for the blue tits in the breeding season – something which would never had occurred to me, but I am certainly planning to do the same in 2009.
And that brings me to the other thing about the new year – resolutions! This year my main resolution is to do more to help wildlife in the UK and beyond. I will continue to volunteer for the RSPB and want to step up my support for the albatross campaign, the birds of prey campaign and the RSPB’s efforts to save the Sumatran Rainforest. These are all vitally important and you can find out more here.
My final resolution is to reduce my carbon footprint even more and help save the planet. Find out how you can do your bit by visiting the Stop Climate Chaos coalition website
Finally I’d like to wish you all a happy new year, enjoy your birding and look out for our winter visitors of brent geese, whooper and bewick swans, snow buntings, fieldfare and redwings. And wrap up warm!
How to Birdwatch
January 4 2009
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