Bird Barbarity and Pandemic Peace

A guest post by Deb Grant

This is a guest post by Deb Grant, a presenter, broadcaster, writer and bird lover. It was originally published in August 2021 in a mini mag I used to produce called The Procrastination Paper. Deb no longer lives near the River Lea, but I’m sure she continues to watch birds in her new home. Don’t forget to listen to Debs’ bird-themed playlist at the end - it’s one of my favourites from the 40 people created for the Paper!

Since I’m busy with work and away a lot over the next month, this is the first in a series of guest posts. If you’re new here… don’t get used to it! I’ll be back sometime later in January. Thanks for all your comments, shares and replies in 2024 everyone!

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I inherited my love of birdwatching from my mum. She feeds the birds in her garden with such forceful abundance, we joke that she’s probably disrupted the entire natural ecosystem of rural Ireland. The whole neighbourhood will stop by on any given morning; blackbirds showing their scruffy chicks how to distinguish porridge oats from pebbles, sparrows hanging upside down on the peanut feeder, goldfinches hoovering up nigella seeds scattered just for them, siskins fluttering in from the barley field next door. They all peck away together in sedate harmony, it’s comforting to watch them through her kitchen window.

Over lockdown, in the hopes of finding my own little patch of local nature, I moved house. My home office now overlooks a stretch of the river Lea which has so far hosted Canadian and Egyptian geese, coots, moorhens, herons, swans, cormorants, ducks, seagulls and wood pigeons. At first I watched them passively – how pleasant, how peaceful, I thought. But the longer I sat on the peripheries with my binoculars, the more fascinated I became by this complex bird society. The coots flap and screech at any creature who dares to cross the threshold of their perceived territory. The swans spend hours pursuing geese, ducks and humans in canoes downriver, puffing up their feathers like bouncers in white bomber jackets. In spring and summer the gulls divebomb all day for ducklings and moorhen chicks. Sometimes they gang up on the cormorants or grey herons and the shrieking and bellowing goes on for hours. They rarely land on the water, but when they do it’s because they’re devouring a drowned pigeon or some other grisly prize. Even the wholesome moments are often tainted by barbarity. Last month the swans hatched six beautiful fluffy grey cygnets. They disappeared one by one. All six, a neighbour informed me, eaten by rats.

Some people, like my mum, find peace through birdwatching. The birds on the river Lea give me something different. Their world is full of conflict, danger, hunger, fear, confrontation and tragedy. But they live minute by minute. They don’t dwell on past squabbles or future catastrophes – they follow their instincts and concentrate on survival.

One recent morning I was sitting at my desk worrying about deadlines, or money, or some shapeless pandemic-related uncertainty. I turned to my right and saw a gull swooping down, trying to catch a baby moorhen. I held my breath and found myself pulled right back to the present moment. The chick ducked underwater for a split second, bobbed back up and kept swimming.

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Listen to Deb Grant’s Birds Playlist for the Procrastination Paper on Spotify

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About Deb Grant

Growing up in Dublin, Deb was buying records from an early age and started DJing when she was just 15. Her career has been a consistent pursuit of exciting opportunities to share her favourite records with a crowd ready to get down. She’s spun at major festivals (Field Day, Green Man, Love Supreme) and sizzling hot club nights in NYC, and been called upon by MGMT and Beth Ditto to play after-parties for people who take their party music very seriously. Beyond her commitment to the club, she’s also a prolific broadcaster on BBC6Music, where she hosts the New Music Fix Daily show with Tom Ravenscroft, hunting down and sharing the freshest new releases every Monday to Thursday evening.

Such an active life in music means Deb is always pushing herself forwards, discovering fresh sounds that fit into her formidable repertoire. It also means her selecting is imperiously tuned up and tuned in, drawing on a life immersed in digging culture to deliver unforgettable experiences where heart and soul, funk and groove move in perfect harmony across the floor.

Alongside her club and radio work, Deb has been part of the judging committee for the Brit Awards, hosted and compered many industry panels and events and writes a regular music column in the Big Issue.

Follow Deb on Instagram or contact her through her website.