Among the many and varied birds who make our island their home, Rebecca Gardner finds a welcome sanctuary, and time for reflection
On a crisp morning, the surface of the canal is like a mirror. I slow down on the bridge and in perfect reflection I see my first flock of wild geese for the day, flying overhead as if to greet me. They have already flown, along with thousands of others, from Arctic Russia, as they do every year, to a wetland sanctuary beside the River Severn in Gloucestershire. My own annual journey to see them takes me over the canal, then down the road, bisecting the frost-covered fields to arrive at Slimbridge Wetland Centre. This is my sanctuary too for a few hours – finding calm and stillness, simply watching the birds.
Watching birds does makes people feel “relaxed and connected to nature,” according to research from the University of Exeter and the British Ornithological Trust published in 2017. While many studies have linked time spent in nature to wellbeing, some research is looking further. “This study starts to unpick the role that some key components of nature play for our mental wellbeing,” explains lead researcher Dr Daniel Cox. “For most people it is interacting with birds, not just specific birds, that provides wellbeing.” So, you don’t have to be able to distinguish a chaffinch from a woodpecker for it to add a moment of joy to your day.
I’m not sure which goose is feeding directly from my open palm as I start my Slimbridge day. I do know that a group of swans flying in to land on the lake in front of me is a thing of beauty that boosts the spirit. Observing the larger groups of birds always makes me reflect on the incredible life stories in the natural world, right on our doorstep – or right on our very own coastline.
Species such as the Bewick’s swan or pink-footed goose form close airborne communities, some with pairs that mate for life, to cross the world on astonishing migration routes looking for a winter refuge. Their migration patterns traverse our small, wet and warm island with its incredible coastlines; thousands of birds are attracted to this land warmed by the Gulf Stream. David Paynter, reserve manager at Slimbridge explains to me that this is why Britain is such an important wildlife sanctuary “on an international scale.”
From October, many of these wi
