Birdwatching
Reports
I am often asked when do I go birdwatching. The answer is simple. I am always watching birds. Rarely an hour goes past where I have not noticed the birdlife around me. Even when watching TV, such as some Victorian period drama when the call of the Collared Dove disturbs the plot because I know that these birds did not arrive in the UK until the second half of the twentieth century. I am also often asked where do I go birdwatching. Again, the answer is simple. I watch birds wherever I am. Even in the middle of Glasgow, I look up and for example notice in spring the presence of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, nesting in the city centre with readily available food amongst the detritus of humans. Many of these birds have wintered in southern Europe or North Africa. I have even been known to watch birds in the Arran Co-op, where there can sometimes be a Robin hopping about. Occasionally I am asked why I do it. From these opening remarks it is obviously a bit more than a hobby or a past time, I recognise that it is a passion, bordering on an obsession, but the simple answer is that I enjoy doing it and it makes me feel better. I know that it is good for me. My family knows it’s good for me.
Birds form part of our daily life. Their movement and colour catch our eyes. Their calls and songs stimulate our ears. Birds are everywhere all the time. Their constant interaction tells stories which can be enough to lift us out of the everyday. Being out in the natural world, combined with even low-intensity forms of physical activity is good for me.
Birdwatching addresses the need for “the pause”, the point at which a person wants to step off the treadmill. Birdwatching is akin to fascination, allowing us to reset and recover. In a previous part of my life, I was head teacher in a multiracial inner-city school serving an area of multiple deprivation. It was challenging. I took every opportunity to be outdoors; at the start of the day when pupils arrived, at intervals, at lunchtime and at the end of the pupil day when pupils left. Concerned for the welfare of the pupils? Of course. There was a footbridge over the motorway and railway line that made parents and children particularly anxious….and I confess it was also a time and place to watch birds.
Where is the evidence that birdwatching is good for you? Just “Google” for example “birdwatching and well-being” and there are countless examples of scholarly reports and newspaper articles on birdwatching improving mental health and reducing stress.
Birdwatching provides a sense of wonder. What I call magic moments that free me from an often unhealthy self-absorption. Birdwatching can be enjoyed a various levels from watching a blackbird feeding on the lawn to researching the migration of individual species. Birdwatching can be mundane or profound or both. It is not one size fits all. It can be a simple pleasure to a lifelong study. It can be done alone and enjoyed with others who share your passion.
Mind you having written all this, twitchers, birdwatchers who pursue the rare (lost) birds throughout the UK, must be among the unhealthiest people. Being fueled by adrenaline, energy drinks and fast food with long periods of inertia followed by intense exertion with extreme emotional “highs”, is not a recipe for the well-adjusted.
At the end of an “old year” and the start of a “new year” people sometimes reflect on their life, make New Year Resolutions, wonder how they can improve their life. Do not discount trying birdwatching….it may not help pay the rent, but it might help you feel better. It works for me.
All the very best for 2025.