I have nothing to teach the birds, but they have everything to teach me. They’ve taught me how to calm down, and how to stop, and watch, and see; they’ve taught me how to put humans, and human concerns, in their proper place; and they’ve taught me how to get through a crisis that has trapped me in my house, and in my head. Thank God for the birds.
Let me take you through the roll-call. The blue tits, obviously, impatiently watching me replenish the feeders. And the chaffinches; sometimes there’s more than 100 of them outside the window. And the woodpecker, running up the tree, and the nuthatch, running down it. And the guest stars: a jay, magpies, doves, corvids, and the wagtails that nested in a hole in my wall. And finally, the A-lister: a robin who poses on the bench like it’s a throne.
In the last couple of weeks, there have been some newcomers too. A linnet with a breast almost as bright as the robin’s and the dowdier female with her go-fast stripes on her chest. And there have been a few house sparrows too, which is a new thing for me in the middle of the country. House sparrows tend to stick to towns, but I can see a few of them checking out the hebe by the window as a potential holiday home. They’re very welcome to it. I hope they stay.
I hope, too, that their presence is a good sign. Sixty years ago, the house sparrow was the most numerous bird in Britain, but the population has declined by 99 per cent. Fortunately, the situation appears to have stabilised more recently and part of that may be down to more of us putting out birdfeeders in our gardens: sales of feeders and food have increased big-time during the lockdowns.
Obviously, all of this is good for the birds, but it’s good for us too. A study was published in Germany a few days ago showing a connection between birds and human happiness – the more birds you can see and hear around you, said the report, the more satisfied you’re likely to be with your life. It also concluded that the effect of more birds is as great as the effect of more money. But then I could have told them that.
I’d also like to tell you about some of the things I’ve learned about helping the birds: a few of the tips that experts in the RSPB and other organisations have passed on to me over the years. The first of them is that you should keep your feeders filled all year round, not just in the winter. In the summer, a lot of the birds’ diet will be made up of insects, but even then every little extra bit helps.
The second tip could be more difficult: don’t be so neat and tidy. A lot of birds feed on the scraps that humans leave behind, and use the hedges in our gardens as shelter, and for food, and for nesting – the ordinary garden is a bird’s fortress and kitchen and nursery. So don’t leave your hedges too trim and neat – leave spaces for the birds to get in and out. And put scraps and leftovers out on the birdtable. It will all be appreciated.
Maybe we could check our attitudes too. We know the British people love birds, but we also know we have a confused attitude to them. We put up bird tables but put spikes on buildings to discourage pigeons. We celebrate the robin but decry the gull. The hen harrier is killed to protect the right to kill the grouse. Perhaps we could stop trying to impose our rules on the birds. Perhaps we could step back and realise they are all the same. Perhaps we could look at the birds and learn.
Our columns are a platform for writers to express their opinions. They do not necessarily represent the views of The Herald.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel