Three things to do this weekend

Put your bloody phone down and watch some birds (and some TV)

1. Put your phone down while you’re outside.

   Earlier this week I was walking along the river footpath when I caught myself looking at something on my phone. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” screamed my internal monologue, “Put your bloody phone away!”. Right at that moment, I looked up to see a kingfisher flying towards me before landing on a branch. “This is my chance!” said my internal monologue, “It’s sitting still, I can get a video!”.

   Reader, this is that video:

   Can’t see the kingfisher? No, me neither… but I promise you it’s sitting in the branches of that tree on the left. I should have just followed my first instinct – to put my phone away – and watched the kingfisher WITH MY EYES.

   Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you’re gonna want to take the photo. But most of the time it’s really not worth it. Allow yourself to experience the moment and feel it before reaching for your phone, yeah?

Checklist courtesy of RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

2. Take part in RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch (23rd-25th January 2026).

   All you have to do is sit somewhere for an hour, keeping a tally of the birds that land in your patch and then report your sightings to the RSPB. You can take part in your garden, on your balcony or even in your local park. You don’t even have to go outside! You can just look out of the window. How nice does sitting and looking out of the window for an hour sound?

   After your birdwatch, perhaps you could draw some of the birds you’ve seen, find out some facts about them or do some creative writing about them, as prompted by Janelle this week, over at Nature Writing Club. As Janelle pointed out in her prompt, by taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, not only are you contributing to an important citizen science project but you’re inadvertently practising mindfulness too!

   {Prompt} The Big Garden Bird Watch 23-25 Jan

   

   Photo: BBC

3. Watch Winterwatch

   Wildlife using hamster wheels (or not), goldcrests getting shirty, red squirrels being cheeky, mindful moments, unruly weather and Chris Packham fuming about being made to do a segment based on The Traitors. What’s not to love?!

   If you like watching empty bird feeders blowing around in the wind, you can watch the live cameras between 10am and 10pm too.

That’s all folks… Apologies to my overseas readers this week, the second two prompts are pretty UK-specific, but hopefully you’ve been inspired to do some birdwatching and nature documentary watching anyway!

I’d love to hear how you get on with your Big Garden Birdwatch if you are taking part this weekend so please share in the comments…