Lewisham Care Home Resident With Passion For Nature Prepares For RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
Residents and colleagues at HC-One’s Alexander care home, in Lewisham, South East London, got out their binoculars and bird books to support this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch initiative.
Every January, residents and colleagues in HC-One homes have run events to celebrate birds. After starting out as a simple participation, the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch has evolved into a nationwide celebration of birds.
Care homes throughout the UK have been invited to participate in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers like you take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.
The initiative aims to log all the birds those involved see in their garden, from their window or in their local park in a one-hour period any time from January 24 to 26, 2025. Residents at Alexander care home have been finding out more about British birds and have kept a watchful eye out for a variety of species of birds in the garden area.
Resident Elaine Pieter takes daily walks in the garden regardless of the weather, as she enjoys gardening and bird watching. Elaine goes outdoors whenever she has the time, and recently she has been keeping an eye on the birds in the garden, including two parakites.
As a resident at Alexander Care Home, Elaine’s passion for birdwatching continues to soar. Elaine’s eyes light up whenever the subject of birds comes up, and now in her twilight years, she brings that same energy to Alexander’s garden, which has become their sanctuary.
Elaine Pieter, HC-One’s Alexander Care Home resident, commented:
“I love watching the variety of birds at Alexander and this love of birds has blossomed into a hobby that keeps me occupied every day. I am excited to participate in the Big Birdwatch this month, and I would love many residents and relatives to participate too.”
Anthony Warner, HC-One’s Alexander Care Home Manager, stated:
“Our residents thoroughly enjoy watching the birds in the garden. The Big Garden Birdwatch is a perfect fit for our residents.”
“It’s crucial to care for our wildlife and contribute to the conservation of various species. We’ve had a great time participating, and it’s incredible how many birds we spotted in just one hour!”
This follows the expansion of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch initiative, which now includes efforts to make care home gardens more wildlife friendly. These efforts involve creating and decorating nest boxes, holding bird song reminiscence sessions, hosting talks from bird experts, and arranging visits from rescued birds of prey and owls.
Last year, over one million participants took part in the event, counting a total of 17 million birds. Sadly, in the past 50 years, more than 38 million birds have been lost from the UK skies.