My first bird of the year was heard and not seen at twenty-two minutes to two in the morning of New Year's Day. I was in my back garden marveling at the silence when a cheery robin gave of its best and trilled in 2009.
Until the robin broke the silence, the lack of noise had sent shivers down my spine, reminiscent of the haunting peace that fell on London for Princess Diana's funeral. No sirens, no rumble of trains nor planes. No helicopters, no traffic and no fireworks! The latter amazed me most. I'd been braced for a raucous cacophony of bangs, fizzes and pops. Hanukka and Christmas coincided and it was only just past Zartosht no-diso, the anniversary of the death of Zoroaster, so expectations were high, especially as previous New Years' have been a blaze of colour and noise for hours on end. It seems it was either too cold or no one was spending as much on pyrotechnics this year. Being a skinflint I tend not to buy fireworks, I’m not too keen on all that burning, and waste, but I have to admit that fireworks can be impressive, even if they aren't wildlife friendly.
So, a new year and new challenges. The RSPB year starts with the Big Garden and Big Schools' Birdwatches. This is where you can become a research scientist and help find out what's happening to the UK's birds. The information you send us builds a snapshot of changing bird populations. Comparing this with previous years give a long-term view of how our birds are coping.
Climate change will be a big feature for us in 2009. It's more important than ever that we all try to reduce CO2 emissions. Time is passing and the longer we leave it, the harder and costlier it will be to address. Energy creation and consumption are the biggest contributors to UK emissions so we'll be pushing for incentives to conserve energy and for investment in clean renewable energy sources. There's lots that individuals can do but one of the most important is adding your voice to ours to ensure that wildlife is not forgotten nor sacrificed in the struggle to meet the mammoth challenge posed by climate change.
Do the Big Garden Birdwatch and find out what wildlife you've lost from your garden, or which birds you could continue to enjoy, by fitting low-energy light-bulbs. Hey, you have to start somewhere and low energy light bulbs are a no-brainer: less energy-use, cheaper bills, fewer emissions and less impact on wildlife.