10 ways to have a wild isolation without a garden!
As the Coronavirus situation continues to escalate in the UK, more and more of us are being urged to self-isolate and for those of us considered ‘vulnerable’ this period could last as much as twelve weeks. During this time it is important to consider the impact isolation might have on our mental health and one way to do this is to try and maintain a connection with nature. For those of us with no garden this may seem like a difficult task, but there are a still all sorts of activities we can do to both stay safe and stay wild!
1. The art of window watching
Looking out of the window is the obvious place to start, so here are some tips for how you can get the most out of it…
Take some time
If you don’t have a view that is very nature-heavy, it is easy to glance out the window and think there isn’t really anything to look at. But if you take some time and look around you may find there is more going on than you first thought. I often see a little bird hopping around in hedge that I hadn’t noticed when I first looked.
Attract more wildlife into your view
If you have even a small amount of outdoor space view-able from your window there are things you can do to increase the amount of wildlife that might visit it. Just putting out a container of water, a pot with some lavender in, or a bird feeder can make a difference. See 12 Ways to Create a Wildlife Haven in a Small Garden for further tips and advice.
My view is over the car park belonging to my block of flats. I wasn’t sure if it would be okay for me to hang feeders so I snuck one up under cover of darkness and waited to see what happened. No one complained so I now have two out there. Just be sure not to hang them over where anyone might be parking!
Many supermarkets sell a limited choice of bird food and feeders. Or for more choice Vine House Farm delivers a wide range of options that come directly from their conservation award winning farm. They also donate 5% of sales to your local Wildlife Trust whether or not you’re a member.
Listen then look
If you easily get bored looking out of the window, a good trick to maximise the likelihood of seeing something is to wait until you can hear it first. We get so used to having a general soundtrack of birdsong on and off throughout the day that it’s easy to stop noticing it. If you pay attention to when you can hear it and choose those moments to look out the window there is a good chance there will be something to see.
Familiar friends
As the old saying goes, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’. This applies very much to nature in that as soon as something becomes common we either start to not notice it, or start to see it as a pest. The Wood Pigeon and Magpie are two species that tend to fall into this category, but if you can forget these prejudices they are often some of the more interesting birds to watch: Magpies have such a lot of personality, and if you see the same one regularly you can really get to know it; whereas Wood Pigeons are really clumsy and it can be very entertaining watching them trying to reach food on the end of branches that clearly can’t support their weight.
2. Wild live streaming
There is no need to restrict yourself just to the view out of your own window. There are so many wildlife webcams set up around the world live-streaming over the internet that at the click of a link you can transport yourself almost anywhere.
The Wildlife Trusts have various webcams set-up across the UK varying from garden birds to Osprey nests to Grey Seals.
A visit to YouTube can show you garden birds, red squirrels and owls from various European countries including NatureTec in Germany, NetKast Online in the Netherlands, and Bird Watching HQ in Czech Republic.
If you fancy going somewhere further afield the American Eagle Foundation are streaming a Bald Eagle nest with Eaglets, and Explore.org show all sorts of things from all over the world. Just remember to take into account the difference of time zones.
3. Learn to identify bird song
This is a great project to keep you occupied through a long period of isolation. Even if you already know some birds there are still going to be groups of birds you haven’t learned yet.
If you are a complete beginner, a good place to start is a book by Simon Barnes called Bird Watching with your Eyes Closed. This comes with a podcast so you can read about the bird and then listen to it. This was recommended to me when I was first learning and I still refer to it now a few of years on.
There are a number of apps available that have games and quizzes designed to help with learning bird song. I never really got on with these though so can’t provide much advice.
Other resources that are useful if you want to look up the call of a particular bird are the RSPB Bird A to Z, or xeno-canto, and a final source that can’t go without a mention is Radio Four’s Tweet of the Day.
4. Follow the seasons
Spring is an interesting season to be isolating because there is so much change in nature from bare trees to leaves to blossom to fruits. The birds are all busy fighting for their territories and potential mates and are busy building nests. As long as you can see something in the way of trees and shrubs from your window, try tracking the changes in the season by taking a photo of the same view each day and at the end of isolation you can make the photos into a movie to show how much change has taken place.
5. Wild activities
The Wildlife Trust have put together a great selection of wild activity sheets that are perfect for if you are isolating with kids, or if you’re a bit kid yourself!
Some other websites suggesting activities for children are:
6. Wild TV
No wild time would be complete without a contribution from Sir David Attenborough! Luckily there are currently 9 box sets of Sir David’s documentaries available on iPlayer which is a good 80 episodes of watching. Many of these are also available on Netflix along with plenty of Netflix original nature documentaries to keep you busy.
7. Wild podcasts
There are so many wild podcasts out there the best way to find something you like is to search and see what you find, but here are a few I enjoy listening to to get you going:
- RSPB Nature’s Voice – ” Bringing you features, interviews and news of birds and wildlife, from back gardens to the Sumatran rainforest”
- 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter – “Amazing things humans have learnt from the animal kingdom”
- The Wild – “The Wild with Chris Morgan explores how nature survives and thrives alongside (and often despite) humans”
- Nature Table – ” Sue Perkins hosts a comedy series celebrating the natural world and all its funny eccentricities. ”
8. Wild books
As with podcasts there are hundreds of nature books out there you can read. Some that I have read and enjoyed are:
- Wonderland: A Year of Britain’s Wildlife, Day by Day – Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss: This takes you through the year with a new excerpt for each day. I really enjoyed it because I would read about a species or behaviour and then go out and see it. I doubt I would have noticed many of these things if I haven’t just read about them.
- Bird Therapy – Joe Harkness: ” A touching, endlessly surprising little book about the benefits of avian encounters on mental wellbeing,” (Waterstones)
- Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to British Birds – Bill Bailey: This is a nice, fun easy read whilst still being informative.
- What on Earth Evolved? … in Brief: 100 Species That Have Changed the World – Christopher Lloyd: A really fascinating book looking at some of the most influential species since life began, and the impact they have had on life today.
9. Sensing the wild
Even when it’s a struggle to get outside, it is important to remember that the outside is still there. One way to do this is to open a window, close your eyes and just feel the breeze on your face and/or the warmth of the sun and/or the cold of the raindrops.
10. Support a wild charity
The National Trust, RSPB, Wildlife Trusts and Woodland Trust have had to close their visitor centres, shops and cafés and cancel events, but are leaving their sites open to visitors to allow people isolating to still get out, exercise and get fresh air. This is undoubtedly going to hit the finances of these charities so a great way to say thank you would be to make a donation or better still to become a member.
I hope you find these suggestions help you cope with the challenges of isolation. I would also love to hear about any other wild activities you have been up to so please share in the comments or tweet me @natinthewild, and whatever you decide to do, stay safe and stay wild!
