The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on our everyday lives in ways that we would never have imagined. For all of us being confined to our homes and only allowed out for exercise or to buy essential items is going to be tough.
If you’re missing getting out and about to watch birds and wildlife then we have compiled a list of activities to help keep you busy while you’re self-isolating or social-distancing.
For those of you who have stumbled across this page due to curiosity then we highly recommend bird watching, whether that’s in your garden or virtually, as a way to keep your spirits up.
Research has shown that being amongst nature can have a positive impact on people’s wellbeing and their mental health. So if you’ve always thought that bird watching was the preserve of a certain type of middle-aged man in an anorak, throw your prejudices to one side and why not try something new today?
If you have any suggestions of things to do please add them in the comments below.
Bird Identification Guides – our very own ID guides to over 150 British birds
RSPB Bird Identifier – answer a series of questions to identify a bird you’ve seen
Xeno Canto – 1,000s of bird sounds from around the world
Merlin Bird ID – instant bird ID help for over 4,500 species
BTO Bird ID Workshops – learn the difference between the UK’s confusing bird species
BTO Garden Birdwatch – help with research into garden wildlife
eBird – counting for science from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Project Plumage – help explore bird colour from photographs of museum specimens
Nature’s Calendar – track the effects of weather and climate change on wildlife
The Self-Isolating Bird Club – tweet your sightings from home
Google Streetview Birding – bird watching from the comfort of your armchair
Chris Packham – live from the New Forest every day
Bird Spot Instagram – sharing beautiful images of British birds
Christmas Bird Quiz – yes we know it’s not Christmas …
Online Jigsaw Puzzles – from the relatively simple to the fiendishly difficult
Birding Quiz – 100s of quiz options to identify birds from around the world
Wildlife Trusts Webcams – watch UK wildlife in action
Barn Owl Webcams – barn owl webcams from around the world
CJ Wildlife Webcams – watch birds as they build their nests and raise their young
View Birds – bird feeder cams from around the world
Draw A Bird – learn to draw dozens of birds
Bird Knitting Patterns – knitting patterns for toys, accessories, and more
Bird Box Plans – 27 DIY bird box plans you can make at home
Tweet Of The Day – all episodes of the popular Radio 4 series available online
Nature’s Voice – the RSPB’s award-winning podcast
The Casual Birder – a podcast about wild birds and bird watching.
The Audubon Mural Project – take a virtual tour through the streets of Harlem
Biodiversity Heritage Library – free access to biodiversity knowledge through literature
NHS – general advice for everyone about COVID-19
Citizens Advice Bureau – find out what coronavirus means for you
National Domestic Abuse Helpline – call for free, and in confidence, 24 hours a day
Nextdoor – join your local neighbourhood for support and help
Money Advice Service – coronavirus and your money
Samaritans – help if you’re struggling to cope
3 Responses
What a wonderful website! While we are confined to our homes my husband and I have been watching the visiting birds and have used BirdSpot to identify them. So far we have spotted blue tit, coal tit, bullfinch as well as the usual robin, sparrow, blackbird and pigeon. The other day we had a pair of visiting mallards – which prompts a question. Why do you only publish pictures of male birds? Female birds are relegated to a mere description which is not that helpful. The mallards I saw look like two completely different birds to the uninitiated. I checked on the RSPB and it was the same there.
I understand that male birds often have more showy plumage and may be easier to identify. But in these enlightened times, the female birds should be pictured, afterall they make up 50% of what we see. Also think of the message it’s sending to to women and girls who are interested in birdwatching.
Hi
Thank you for your comment and kind words about our website.
Since the end of last year we have been updating our website with better information, and including pictures of both male and female birds is something we have been working on. So for our mallard ID guide you can find images of both sexes: https://www.birdspot.co.uk/bird-identification/mallard
Please bear with us as we go through all our content. If you have any more feedback please do get in touch though – we love to hear from you.
Thanks from the Bird Spot team
Great YouTube channel. Here’s his video about all of our warblers and their songs.
https://youtu.be/nVQSMRqeOJs