It’s the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of January (23rd-25th), and it’s a great time for you to take part in one of the largest (if not the largest) citizen science* projects in the world. Last year, over half a million people took part in the birdwatch, counting 9.1 million birds in Britain’s backyards. That might sound like a lot, but sadly there has been a massive decline in Britain’s birds since the first bird watch – more than 38 million birds have disappeared from UK skies. That’s why the birdwatch is so essential – the first part of fighting a problem, is knowing the numbers. Only then can practical solutions be considered.
*Citizen Science is an activity by the general public where data is collected or analysed, and is most often done in conjunction with professional research scientists. Many projects rely on citizen scientists volunteering a little bit of their time in order to collect or record data because, simply put, scientists can’t be everywhere at once and need our help!
So what is the Big Garden Birdwatch?
Well, you’ll need an hour at some point on the dates 23rd-25th January to sit and watch your garden/outside space, and then count how many birds of different types you see at any one time, before reporting back to the RSPB using this website. So, for example, if at one point you see two blackbirds in your garden, you’d write down two, but if those blackbirds leave and three more appear, you’d only write down three – not five – as you record the maximum seen at any one time. I guess the point of this is that we can’t be sure that we’re not double counting if we just count the number of instances, rather than how many at any one time. Phew! Hope that made sense!
One of the questions that often gets asked is why do the RSPB do the birdwatch in January? I have to say, I’ve wondered this myself, but apparently the answer is because this is the month when our garden birds need us the most – it’s cold, and there’s been no fresh food around for a while. The RSPB encourages you to stock up on garden goodies (bird food/seed etc.) to tempt birds into your garden for the count.
Last year’s top 10 in England, respectively, was: House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Starling, Blackbird, Robin, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Magpie, and Long-Tailed Tit, with seven out of those ten seeing a rise in the average count since 2024… which I guess can only be a good thing? In the UK as a whole, the line up was the same, but only six of the ten had seen an increase (the UK as a whole saw a fall in the number of Great Tits, but they increased in England when viewed on it’s own).
I’ll be on the lookout for Long-Tailed Tits, my favourite garden bird!
Anyway, you can find out everything you need to know at the Big Garden Birdwatch website where you can sign up for a guide and all sorts of other things. Be sure to take part, as the RSPB can only work towards helping our garden birds if they know the numbers and the big picture of how things are looking all around the UK. So, get a wee bit of bird food, your binoculars (if you need them – our garden is small enough that we don’t!), and an hour of time to just sit and watch the birds. Enjoy the peace!
In need of a little bit of peace and quiet, or nature therapy? RSPB Leighton Moss, near Silverdale, is the perfect place to find it. There’s areas of the reserve that are accessible without an RSPB membership, such as visiting the Eric Morecambe Hide (found just off the Warton road (not accessible during very high tides)), and the Causeway and Lower Hides, found just along from the main reserve. The walk to the lower hide is about 3km each way, and a decent pair of welly boots is definitely recommended! Then again, it’s also the best place to see otters on the reserve (and apparently there are two cubs at the moment!), so I think it’s absolutely worth it!
The reserve itself is a varied habitat, but is most famous for its reedbeds – the largest in north-west England. This precious habitat is home to all sorts of species, including Bearded Tits, Bitterns, Marsh Harriers, Otters, Greenshank, Redshank, and many many others! It also provides an essential breeding ground for migratory birds that arrive here in the late winter or spring, finding cooler or warmer climes (depending on which direction they’ve come from!) in order to lay their eggs and raise their chicks.
There are seven hides across the reserve, with four being accessible to wheelchair users (you can download the trail map here). There’s also the skytower, which will take you up into the trees for a literal birds-eye view of the reserve, and view that stretches for miles in various directions. The tower is a great place to watch the incredible Starling murmurations that happen at dusk on lots of evenings – sometimes these formations have been estimated to contain over twenty-thousand birds as they undulate through the sky!
Bearded Tit (courtesy of the RSPB)
If you go during the week, or early in the morning, the reserve is generally quieter than at the weekends, which might afford a better opportunity to see some of the shyer birds and wildlife. One species that definitely isn’t shy, however, are the local robins, who are so used to humans and the birdseed they offer, they’re quite willing to fly onto your outstretched fingertips to take the seed, as long as you stand still for a bit. It’s amazing when they do it, and it was so cool seeing a robin up that close. Now, to just tame my resident garden robin to do the same…
Aside from the wildlife, there’s a cosy café in which to warm up after a walk at this time of year, and a wildlife shop where the proceeds, of course, go towards the RSPB’s mission of saving nature. If you know anything about me, you’ll know how passionate I am about the natural world. Nature is under threat and it needs our help and intervention so, if by my going for a nice walk and buying a cup of coffee, I can help do a tiny bit – count me in!
Marsh Harrier (courtesy of the RSPB)
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing and signing up for weekly Northern updates, below!
As the coldness creeps in and the nights get darker (remember clocks fall back for an hour this Sunday (26th October!)), it can be tempting to think that nature has gone to bed, that the flowers have died back, and she will only reawaken when the spring comes around in a few (and a bit) month’s time. But of course that’s not the case; there is a lot still to see, and unique things that nature shows us throughout the winter months, many of which can’t be seen at any other time of the year.
Throughout the winter, many birds call the British Isles home, with many coming south or west to escape the harsher climes of Scandinavia, Russia, and others coming in from Greenland and Canada. Some of these migrants come in for months on end; arriving in late summer – September-time – and potentially not leaving until April/May, whilst others fly in between October and November, before leaving us in February and March.
There are several species you can look out for in this part of the world as they fly in for the winter; Pink-Footed Geese arrive from Iceland and Norway, Barnacle Geese from the Arctic, you might see Teal ducks at RSPB Leighton Moss (they like wetlands and marshes), and perhaps Wigeons as well. Another prized sighting for a birder is some of our smallest migrant birds; Redwings, heard across the UK from October and Waxwings, which you might only see if there is a poor berry harvest in Scandinavia, and they choose to spend winter in the UK instead as a result.
Aside from our feathered friends, other treasured things to see come Autumn are the brilliant red leaves of Virginia Creeper or Ivy, climbing and crawling its way up the front of a building it scarlet glory; or beautiful beech trees glowing cooper in the bright early November sunlight. Mushrooms are abundant on the forest floor and growing through tree roots and bark. I would urge you to make sure you know exactly what you’re doing if you plan to forage fungi, and seek out an expert guide or handbook for precise information.
Of course there’s plenty of other life to find out and about in the woods and in the fields; throughout October and November you’ll be able to hear the bellows of stags in rut echoing out across the countryside, looking to secure breeding rights for the coming season. If you’re lucky, you might even see two stags go horn-to-horn and battle it out. Please be aware that stags can be more aggressive during this season, even those who are well used to humans (such as park dwelling deer). Keep your distance, and keep dogs on a lead/under control when around deer.
Photo by Charlie Newman
Other furry friends to look out for are wood mice, grey squirrels (busy burying acorns!), and hedgehogs preparing for the winter hibernation (okay, so hedgehogs aren’t fluffy per se, but they are still cute to look at!). This year’s fox kits will be being kicked out of the den by their mothers, so they’ll be lots of slightly-teenage looking foxes around for those who are patient enough to spot them, and badgers will be preparing their burrows for winter. Whilst these black and white denizens of the countryside do not hibernate, they will potential slow down as the months get colder, and spend more time underground, huddled together with the rest of the family!
So there you have it! A short and sweet version of things to look out for this Autumn, with so much beautiful nature still be amazed by. I don’t know about you, but I always get a little sense of wonderment whenever I see a little wood mouse, or a hedgehog, scurrying across the garden wall; a bird (be it a visitor or a resident) chirruping away on a branch that’s losing its leaves… I love this time of year, and love being out and about in the cool crispness, enjoying the freshness of a glorious Autumn.
I’ve seen red squirrels before; in wildlife centres, and lots of times in Germany, but I’ve yet to see one in the wild in the UK, and they’re at the top of my list. In North Lancashire, we tend to get only grey squirrels and whilst I do think they’re very cute (especially when they’re picking the sunflower seeds out of my dad’s leftover bread in the garden), they’re not the squirrels of Beatrix Potter’s tales that I grew up with. The greys would be a problem if we also had red squirrels around here, as they carry a disease that is deadly to the reds but doesn’t affect the greys at all. There are enclaves of red squirrels in Northern England, and they can be seen (if you’re lucky and patient) in places in the Lake District, Northumberland, County Durham, and perhaps some places in North Yorkshire.
Badger
I’ve never seen a badger, except on television, and I’d love to see one. I’ve been told the best way is to find an old, large tree, with tell-tale deep dug holes underneath and between the roots and wait for dusk!
Otter
To see otters gambolling about in a lake or a river would be wonderful. Watching videos of them has already made me fall in love with these creatures. I might be in with luck sometime soon, as otters have recently been seen in Lancaster Canal and in the lake on Lancaster University campus. I’ll have to go walking down there in the evening and hopefully I’ll be able to spot them.
Otter resting amongst the seaweed
Fox
I saw fox cubs in a garden in Hackney of all places, and I thought it was magical. I was staying at an Air BnB for my friend’s wedding, and in the late afternoon four fox cubs burst into the garden and starting playing and leaping around. It was beautiful to see. I know urban foxes are generally considered to be pests, but to see this nature in such an urban place was really special. I wasn’t so delighted at 5am the following morning when the adult foxes began screaming at each other (and it genuinely sounds like screaming).
Puffin
I actually got a chance to see these wonderful birds on my boat trip to the Farne Islands (read about that trip here). I’ve left them on this list though as they were there for so long and still deserve a mention! I’ll definitely be going back on another trip out to the islands to see them again. One of the things I didn’t realise is how small they are?!
I love being out in nature and wandering in the wild, so hopefully I’ll get to see some of these soon!
The day after going to Alnwick, I finally got around to doing something I’ve wanted to do in the previous visits to Northumberland – heading out on a boat to the Farne Islands; a national nature reserve and bird sanctuary with incredible importance. We went with Billy Shiel’s – a well established tour provider who knows how to get close to the islands without disturbing the wildlife.
It was an amazing experience. When boarding the boat, as it was low tide, we had to walk along Seahouses harbour to get to the landing platform. The guide was very helpful about the fact that both my parents walk with sticks, and would need a bit longer to get down the stairs to the boat, so allowed us to go to the front of the queue in order to board. Once on board (the Farne’s Maiden was the name of the boat), we went to the top deck to get seats. I sat next to the rail so I could look out over the side easily. Much to my delight there were also several dogs on board, including two labradors (my obsession with dogs will definitely become a recurring theme on this website).
The water was very calm with just a gentle up/down roll of the boat as we moved over the surface. I love the feel of a boat on a calm/relatively calm sea when you can feel that up/down motion – to me it’s like being on a swing when you’re a child. What I don’t like is the really sloooowwww roll you get on massive boats, because my body doesn’t quite know what to do with that motion, has no idea where it’s coming from really and struggles to adapt. For me, that’s when seasickness kicks in. Anyway, that’s a different story!
When we first headed to the inner islands I could see black cormorant-looking birds, called Shags (go on, giggle, get it out of your system). They don’t have the necessary water-repellent oil in their feathers, so after going fishing they spend their time on the rocks with their wings outstretched to dry off. They often get confused for cormorants because they look very similar, but cormorants are bigger, and also more of an inky black colour.
Shags are listed amber in conservation status, with 27,000 breeding pairs in the UK.
(Photo from the RSPB)
A bit further around we saw some Cormorants. There are 9,000+ breeding pairs in the UK, but 41,000 birds overwinter here. Oddly, despite less birds breeding and overwintering here, they are listed green in conservation status.
(Photo from the RSPB)
Heading around to the area called the “Spindles” I saw lots of other species such as Guillemots, Kittiwakes, Puffins, Gannets, and Razorbills.
Guillemots are some of our most prevalent seabird species in the UK, with nearly a million breeding pairs. I think at least 900,000 of those pairs were attempting to stand on part of the Farne Islands when we headed out!
(Photo from the RSPB)
Razorbills initially look quite similar to the guillemot, but the big tell apart is that razorbills bills are… ironically… blunter than that of the guillemot, and their top coat is closer to black whereas the guillemot is more of a deep brown colour. Razorbills conservation status has not been assessed.
(Photo from the RSPB)
The Spindles covered in guillemots and razorbills. You can also see the very obvious tidemark on the rock!
Kittiwakes are a type of gull, listed as “red” conservation status by the RSPB because their numbers are declining, perhaps due to a drop in the number of sandeels, their predominant food source. They come to the UK shores to breed in early summer, before returning to the mid-Atlantic for the rest of the year.
(Photo from the RSPB)
I was delighted to see lots of tiny puffins flying about, although these are also listed as “red” conservation status by the RSPB, again due to dramatically declining numbers over recent decades.
(Photo from the RSPB)
Gannets are an amber listed bird, and some of the largest around the Farne Islands. They fly high above the sea before plunging down into the water to fish.
(Photo from the RSPB)
Moving further around to the outer islands, the skipper told the story of Grace Darling, a young girl from nearby Bamburgh who, with her father, was involved in a heroic rescue mission. Grace’s father was a lighthouse keeper at Longstone Lighthouse, and Grace lived there as well for much of the year. On the night of the 7th September 1838, a luxury paddle steamer named the Forfarshire ran aground on a nearby island after coming into difficulty in a storm. There were more than sixty passengers on board. Grace and her father put to sea in a rowing boat, as they determined it was too stormy for a rescue boat to come out from Seahouses harbour. They found nine survivors in a cranny of rock, and were able to get them all back to Longshore Lighthouse in two trips through the perilous storm. A further nine passengers from the steamer were rescued further down the coast near Sunderland. The rest perished at sea.
Following this rescue, Grace became a national hero. Her youth and “simple life”, coupled with the bravery of the act, appealed to Victorian sensibilities. Queen Victoria sent her some money, and both she and her father were awarded medals for their bravery from the charity that would later become the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (the RNLI). Alongside this, Grace was inundated with letters from around the country, some of which even included proposals of marriage. Sadly, Grace died young, passing away at the age of 26 from tuberculosis. She is buried at St Aidan’s Church in Bamburgh, across the road from what has become the Grace Darling Museum.
Longshore Lighthouse
Longshore Lighthouse still operates today, but is unmanned. It is solar powered, with energy stored in a battery for when the sun isn’t shining!
Continuing on the trip, further around back towards the inner islands again we saw some Atlantic Grey Seals, sunning themselves on the shoreline. There were about ten lying out of the water, with another four or five gambolling in the surf. Come September though it’ll be a different story; September to December is pupping season, and nearly 5,000 Grey Seals use the Farne Islands as a nursery and place to raise their pups. Watching the seals, it’s amazing how graceful the seals are in the water, compared to just how ungainly they are once they get out onto the beach!
In this area, Grey Seals are able to sun and digest in peace, as the Farne Islands are inaccessible to humans except by boat, and you can only land on the main island with permission. Seals do “haul out” in other places up and down the coast, however. If you see them, give them plenty of space, keep dogs on leads to avoid scaring mother or pup (and potentially separating them) or injury to either part. Seals can and will bite if dogs (or people!) get too close. Like all wildlife, they should be enjoyed at a respectful distance.
(Photo from the Wildlife Trust)
Following all of this, we travelled at a calm pace back towards Seahouses Harbour. It was a lovely trip, and well well worth the £25 it cost to do it. I definitely want to do it again! Billy Shiels also offers other trips, including a slightly shorter 90 minute trip, another where you can land on the main island (National Trust and conditions permitting), and also a Holy Island round trip which takes five and a half hours. If you’re ever up on the Northumberland Coast it is 100% something I recommend doing.
