Image via Wikipedia

As I look out the window towards the birdtable, I see before me what many would consider a trivial sight. Yet in my mind it is a reminder of why I fell in love with our feathered friends of these shores in the first place and continue to realise how lucky we are in Britain to find this an everyday occurence. 

Blue tits queueing up to take their turn to feed in my back garden is obviously not everyone’s idea of rock n’ roll. But to witness these charming creatures go about their everyday business is something that would be sorely missed were it to disappear tomorrow. Blue tits themselves look to be a permanent fixture for a long time to come, but the same cannot be said for other species that were once commonplace in our gardens and are now in serious danger of vanishing altogether. In light of this catastrophe, many people have suddenly found an appreciation of such events that happen under their noses on a daily basis.

No matter where you go or what kind of environment you find yourself in, birds are everywhere in blighty. Yet it is the sheer diversity that is so striking. Now, this is not to serve as an injustice to other ‘hotbeds of talent’ around the world, but where else could you wonder at the breakneck speed of a peregrine falcon, gaze at the sea of green that is a flock of ring-necked parakeets, followed by a pleasant haunting from a barn owl by the moonlight – all in the space of 24 hours? If further proof were needed that there is no need to delve overseas for some world-class birdwatching, then what about the many rare and beautiful gamebirds that are found in the open country, or the miriad of seabird colonies that tinge our coastlines?

Of course, not everyone can possibly get a thrill out of twitching. On a personal level I can recall sighting a treecreeper on a schooltrip many years ago and feeling like I had met a Hollywood legend, or being hypnotised by the sound of a nightjar at dusk several summers ago. These are seldom seen and more secretive birds that have a certain mystique about them but, if even the garden residents that we sometimes take for granted are at risk, they face a much greater struggle to survive.

However, enthusiast or not, no-one would argue that if Britain were to say farewell to such characters then the place would be a lot less brighter. The sad truth is that many may not realise until it is too late.