BENEDICT VANHEEMS of the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust LOOK across stark farmland on a frigid winter’s day and it’s hard to imagine there’s life out there. All is quiet and still, as if frozen in time. Hedgerows lie bare. The cold furrows stand silent witness to short, dim days. But appearances can be deceptive. In fact, even winter fields are home to all manner of wild creatures: birds, mammals and a universe of invertebrates like worms, spiders and beetles. Together they weave a remarkable tapestry of life that keeps the land healthy and our food supply safe.
Bird watching has soared in popularity during the pandemic
Spring 2020, and change is coming. As winter gives way and the sun re-emerges, there’s a heightened sense of wonder in the air. Trees blossom brighter than ever, and birds are noisier.
The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on our relationship with nature. Of course, those blossoms were their usual colour; birds have always chirped. But as millions were forced to stay home they started noticing their surroundings. A walk in the park replaced the rush to the station; a meal in the garden supplanted a visit to the pub.
A member of a Bradford birdwatching group who began a ‘lockdown bird list’ last year has recorded 79 species in the three-mile radius around her home. Now Chris Gill, who belongs to Airedale & Bradford branch of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is encouraging people to find pleasure during lockdown by recording different birds they spot. Chris Gill decided in March to note down every bird she saw and to date has recorded 79 species including the sand martin, little grebe, peregrine falcon and reed bunting. “From the very first day of lockdown I was determined to hang on to as much of my own personal normality as possible. So in pursuit of this goal I decided to walk every day for at least two hours and to list every bird I saw.
Figures show that between 1994 and 2019 kestrel numbers have plunged by 82%
BY GEORGE MAIR THEY were once a familiar sight, easy to spot hovering over roadside verges and fields as they searched for their prey. But the latest official statistics show that the beloved kestrel has declined by more than 80 per cent in the last 25 years. Now a call is going out for more attention to be paid to the iconic bird s fall in numbers to ensure that the kestrel bounces back. The figures show that between 1994 and 2019 kestrel numbers have plunged by 82%. And the long term decline is the biggest of any monitored farmland bird species in the country, worse than the greenfinch (68% since 1994) and the lapwing (58%).