UK poll shows birdsong has positive impact on mental health for 91% of people

A recent poll conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) showed that watching birds and hearing birdsong has a positive impact on the well-being of over 90% of people. A YouGov poll commissioned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said that 88 per cent of adults in the UK said that spending time outdoors enjoying the natural world was important to them while 53 per cent said that it was very important, the Guardian reported on Thursday (January 27). Ninety-one per cent of adults, on the other hand, agreed that seeing birds and hearing birdsong had a positive impact on mental health and well-being.

On its website, the RSPB has a section called "Bird Song Identifier" which has small audio clippings of several birds including the House Sparrow, the Wood Pigeon and the Robin.

The Guardian report on Thursday said that people were being urged to boost their mental health and help scientists by spending an hour this weekend- counting birds in their garden or local parks for Big Garden Watch- an initiative by the RSPB. "There's still time to sign-up and take part. Just spend one hour between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 January counting the birds, and help monitor how birds are faring. It's free, fun and a great way to keep an eye on your local wildlife. Wherever you are, whatever you see, it counts!" the RSPB's website reads.

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It also listed steps on how to participate. They are as follows- 1) Choose one hour between January 27-29; 2) Count the birds that you see in your garden, balcony or local park. 3) Now tell us what you saw. The RSPB also pointed out that participants should only count the birds that land.

According to the society, almost 700,000 people had taken part in the Big Garden Watch last year counting more than 11 million birds. This initiative started back in 1979.

This time, ornithologists from the RSPB pointed out feared that the recent cold snap might affect the bird sightings with harsh weather increasing the mortality of the smallest birds, the Guardian report said. It added that cold conditions might also encourage less frequent garden visitors to turn up at bird feeders.

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