GUEST BLOG - Can birds help our mental health?

In the second of our Guest Blogs, we speak to Sandi Monger about the impact of having access to nature during lockdown on her mental health.


Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

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Hey, I’m Sandi and am a nature loving, outdoorsy, adventure aspiring photographer and conservationist. Currently, I do not work in this industry but I go out for a lot of nature walks, am a member of wildlife groups, litter pick in my own time and I am an amateur photographer too.

For someone who used to be extroverted and really outgoing, life has thrown some things in the way which has made me the complete opposite. Nature has been my salvation!! I can talk to almost anyone and can even deliver workshops.


How important is the outdoors to you?

I have always been an outdoorsy person from when I was a child. I’m not one who plays video games or watches tv that much, even as a child... I was always outside playing games with my friends. As a teen I thought I was really cool so I pretended I didn’t like wildlife any more than the next person. However, I always loved watching the birds in the garden and I would actively search for insects. As I got older, I realised I needed to put myself first and that’s when my love for the outdoors and wildlife really came out. I have got to the point where I need to spend time outside every day, even if it’s in the garden, just to soothe my mind.

You mentioned you watch birds of prey when out for walks:
What species do you see most often?

Before lockdown one (March 2020) I rarely saw a raptor/bird of prey and that’s probably because I was working and only ever going on short walks. I was always so jealous of every person who saw one! When lockdown hit, I really struggled with my mental health because my whole family (in different households) were shielding except from me. This meant that I had to do everything which I didn’t mind because it got me outside! But this time outside was not enough, I needed more, I needed green space and wildlife to help me out. When we could, I ventured outside to my local green areas and that’s when I started to see them. We often saw the same individuals (usually kestrels and buzzards) because we couldn’t go far and only have 3 walks we go on.

We have 3 main walks that we go on, the first being called Catton Park. We see all sorts of birds but our main sightings include this kestrel, buzzards and sparrowhawks. This kestrel is extremely habituated to humans and dogs, we see her every time we go.

The ‘river walk’ we go on is filled with so much wildlife, small birds (tits, wrens etc), migratory birds (redwings, fieldfares), water birds (kingfishers, cormorants) and all the insects. One time we decided to take a break and watch the river because it’s incredibly soothing. That’s when I noticed a buzzard land just over the river in perfect view, I couldn’t believe it! Since then, we see have seen that buzzard almost every time we go there.

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Most recently and early in the year, we have come across a tawny owl and 3 owlets!! My first ever owl sighting and one not to forget! Whilst I have loved seeing them, I also have a sense of worry because news spread over private forums, people starting flocking to see them, travelling outside their local areas, going to the trees off of the paths and disrupting the owls! For my own mental wellbeing and for the owls general welfare, I actually got in contact with a charity which is stepping up to help monitor the situation. Even though we see them so often, we always get mega excited and it’s as though a massive release of hormones hits me! I’m uplifted, instantly in a good mood.

‘The field with no name’ is a long walk down a big cycle route surrounded by lots of fields and marshes. This walks takes us out to a massive field, but it’s actually two smaller fields attached to each other. As soon as we walk in through the gate there is almost always a female kestrel. She is very active, flying from tree to tree! At the start of the year we also saw a male (my first ever male) and watched them following each other about and doing areal displaying, we were hoping for babies!!

What’s the most memorable encounter you’ve ever had?

During the national lockdowns, when allowed we (my support bubble) would venture out and go for walks. On our walks to the ‘field with no name’, we saw this buzzard almost every time we went to the field but she was extremely shy, she really didn’t like being seen, until a few weeks ago!

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After not going to the field in a while we decided to go for our daily walk there. We hadn’t even entered the field when we heard ‘meeeew’, ‘meeeew’ over and over again, repeatedly as if a conversation was being had. This is when something amazing happened! I know it sounds dramatic but trust me, it’s worth it. Before going into the field we decided to walk around the river, by the roadside because we thought we would get a better view of where they usually rest. We were wrong, as we stood by the river, the two buzzards were flying incredibly low over the field until we saw the female swoop down and land on a tiny nest at the top of a tree.

We rushed round to see her properly and as we walked into the field, the male was circling above and we knew we shouldn’t go any further, so we didn’t. The female then flew away and we were gutted but it doesn’t end there. Because we usually see so much wildlife there we continued our walk around the fields and it wasn’t long until the buzzards came back, swooping incredibly low and flying back into that nest. This time we were already quite close so we just stayed still, not wanting to scare her away. She didn’t stay long again, so we carried on with our walk. Within about five steps she was back and properly investigating this tiny nest. The male then came down very low and landed on top of a small bush not too far away and within seconds the female joined him.

Both of the buzzards continued to fly very low and to investigate nest sites. We were standing on the side of this field where they had previously landed when the female came flying very low, about 5-10m from our heads. She was flying for ages, just above our heads until she decided that she may go back into that bush. Just when she was about to land, she clocked us and flew away.

So as you can see, birds have become a really important role in my life, in particular my mental health. If I'm ever stressed, sad or feeling down then I would always take myself out for a walk because my local birds always relieved that negative feeling. It's as though I became quite attached the the birds I saw regularly but also a sense of excitement when you saw a new bird.

What one tip would you give everyone to help wildlife?

One tip? That’s a hard one but I would probably have to say respect it! Respect it in terms of picking up your litter, not destroying habitats/nests or eggs, stop chasing birds, don’t pollute rivers with fishing gear but also just adjusting your attitude. I have seen many comments on social media or had many conversations with people who are really ignorant, you know? Some local fishermen will kill otters because they’re apparently taking their fish! The fishermen’s fish?! Get that, right!! But you will see many birds building nests filled with litter, or the birds are entangled with litter themselves. But it’s not just that, the little guys need help too #SayNoToTheMow. If everyone respected wildlife and nature then that would be a real stop forward, people will see the need for change and they would hopefully help.