This took place back in January 2018 and was a lovely welcome break to my working day. The RSPB make biannual visits to the University of Leeds and carry out bird watches across campus to eventually build up a picture of species biodiversity and distribution. This data can then be used to track bird population trends and helps us to understand how we can make our campus a place for wildlife to thrive. Anyone can join in with these informal studies – whether you know your bird species inside out or often confuse your crows and blackbirds. And that’s pretty good news to me as I’m no expert! It’s something I really want to get better at.
The best part of the whole walk was when we saw a sparrowhawk soar above us - I had no idea birds of prey nested at the University. Red kites and peregrine falcons nest annually on top of the fabulous Parkinson building and are spotted regularly on campus. It’s pretty exciting! If you would like to find out more about the RSPB and how you can get involved, check out their page at https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/volunteering-fundraising/volunteer/.