Are you ready for the Big Garden Birdwatch 2026?
I have been keeping our birds in good supply over these past wintery weeks and have been rewarded by a constant stream of feathered visitors. I’ve taken to throwing monkey nuts on the lawn each morning which is much appreciated by the Magpies and Crows who swoop down and gather as many nuts as they can carry before retreating to a nearby tree branch to retrieve the nut from inside the shell.
With all this activity, I am hopeful of recording healthy numbers to submit as part of the RSPB’s annual citizen science project. I was secretly hoping for a snowy weekend as the weather tends to drive the birds to the feeders as they try to keep up their energy to cope with the cold weather. But I’m sure they are happier with the milder conditions of the week or so.
If you plan on participating then have a look at my recent post on preparing to participate in the Big Garden Birdwatch.
I’ve prepared my nature journal page, the first one since 2019! I’m looking forward to developing this page and sharing it with you.
I wanted to share something very exciting with you, we have installed three bird boxes in our garden ahead of the spring and guess what…
Within 24 hours we have prospective tenants viewing our properties. How exciting! I don’t think we were expecting such interest at such an early stage.
We are not talking about a little peek here and there. They have been doing the full tour. Popping in, disappearing from sight, and popping out again. I wonder how tenancy is decided in the avian world?
As I look ahead to the weekend, I find myself feeling quietly content.
There is something deeply grounding about pausing to notice who shares our space. To sit, watch, count, and really see the life unfolding just beyond the window. The flutter of wings, the sudden stillness, the familiar regulars and the unexpected newcomers. It slows me down in the best possible way.
The Big Garden Birdwatch is, of course, about numbers and trends and data that really matter. But for me, it is also about attention. About learning to look more closely. About gratitude for the small, persistent lives that carry on regardless of the pace of the world around them.
I like the idea that, for one hour this weekend, thousands of us will be doing the same thing. Standing in gardens, peering out of kitchen windows, wrapped up against the cold, notebooks or printouts in hand. Ordinary people contributing to something bigger, simply by noticing.
And perhaps that is the quiet lesson woven through it all. That caring begins with paying attention. That stewardship doesn’t have to be grand or complicated. Sometimes it looks like a handful of nuts scattered on the lawn. A thoughtfully placed bird box. An hour set aside to watch and wonder.
Whatever the results of my count, whatever numbers I submit, I already feel richer for having taken part. More connected. More hopeful. And very much looking forward to seeing who else might drop by this weekend.
Here’s to shared skies, small joys, and the simple pleasure of watching life unfold—one bird at a time. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend.
