Challenge 1 - Make a birdsong journal
WHY?
To develop a greater awareness of the life that surrounds us in the bushes and the trees and in the sky.
To get us to look up, and look around
Knowledge for its own sake is a beautiful thing. When it connects us to the living world, it becomes magical
It IS magic. If you can identify birds when you are out with friends and family, everyone enjoys their time more.
HOW?
Download the Merlin Bird ID app (for android and iPhone) from your phone's app store.
Spend a few minutes every day, listening with your phone for birds near you
If you enjoy pen and paper, find an old notebook, and write your daily list. Maybe with illustrations?
The app itself records your lifetime list, and also has many details on each bird - their habitat, examples of their song and more.
Try to learn how to identify at least one bird by its song without the app.
Reflections
Do you get a different set of birds at different times of day? In the morning or just before sunset?
Focus on one bird, and learn its song. It might take some days to recognise your first one. After that, it gets easier.
How many of the birds do you think you could visually recognise?
Did you know any of them by ear at the start of your journal? How many had you learned by the end?
Has your appreciation of time outside changed during this challenge or did you spend more time outside than you might have done otherwise?