As the weather gets warmer, many of us are finding peace in our gardens. This article is the first in a short series exploring the species that can be found on our doorsteps and along our windowsill jungles. Taking a look into the dramas, habitats and secret lives of the animals we live alongside.

Illustration by Phillippa and Rachael Corcutt

This year the crow came to stay. Making its nest in the bare branches of the big tree growing along the back border of the garden. Circling above the houses, guarding its territory. Our new neighbour, bringing mystery and a fresh sense of magic to the quiet isolation of suburbia.

During this time, while we are adjusting our lives to the reflective stillness of staying at home, finding solitude and peace in garden wildlife has become an escapism. Window watching day by day, as the crow adds another branch to its nest in preparation for forthcoming young, a wild remedy of sorts. Taking about 1-2 weeks to complete the nest, the crow glides back and forth with a beak full of twigs, moss, tree bark and grass, forming its new home.

For many of the winged species that flutter, flap and flurry past our windows and above our heads in the garden, air and noise pollution has been a contributing factor in explaining the silence of birdsong all around us. Encouragingly, the stand still of life at this moment in history has seen nitrogen dioxide levels in the UK fall by more the 60% in some cities, compared with pollution levels this time last year. As a result, the clearer skies and ever more audible birdsong in the garden is a positive and uplifting sight.

Venturing to the garden patio, looking directly upwards, to the vast expanse of never-ending blue, I watch as the aerial acrobatics of birds big and small swoop and soar throughout the sky. For birdwatchers, scrutinising every fleeting movement is a regularity, but over the past few weeks, this activity has become the mission of many, as the drive to record bird sightings with a healthy dose of competition has ignited solidarity across the globe, with recognised ornithologists and birders leading the way.

Photographer and visual storyteller Hayley Eastabrook tells her story of re-connecting back to these beautiful natural aviators during this time: “When I was younger I would adore the woodpigeon calls and always try to spot it in the tree we had at the bottom of the garden – I even went as far to try and imitate it on occasions! But over time, as life got busy, I lost that child-like curiosity and wonder. I’d brush off any common bird I had seen “too many times.” After not leaving the house in so long, when I finally did venture outside for my solitary walk on Easter Sunday, this all came flooding back. I was watching a family of blue tits (a very abundant bird in the UK) going into wall crevices, fluttering around magnolias, and singing to their heart’s content. I physically smiled with joy as I observed them for a while. It was a magnificent evening to be alive.”

Celebrating these common species has become a way of forming an understanding of the wildlife that live alongside us, providing a connectedness to our wild neighbours. A connection that has been re-kindled in me, while watching the crow soar above my head, while the blackbirds, robins and goldfinches chatter and dart between the garden fences and bird feeders below.

As we venture back into our gardens to learn and enjoy the nature on our doorsteps, listening to the chorus of local birds chattering to each other, is an inspiring experience. One which has helped me to appreciate the species that fly past my window every day, sometimes going unnoticed and helping many to reconnect to the wildlife that makes up the natural world that surrounds us throughout our daily lives. This jungle on the other side of our backdoor, waiting to be explored further, as we continue to stay at home and discover what’s living under our noses.

Thank you to Phillippa and Rachael Corcutt for the beautiful illustration. To check out more of their work take a look at their website or instagram.

The birds bringing solace to our back gardens

As the weather gets warmer, many of us are finding peace in our gardens. This article is the first in a short series exploring the species that can be found on our doorsteps and along our windowsill jungles. Taking a look into the dramas, habitats and secret lives of the animals we live alongside.