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‘A bird that suddenly appears
can jolt me out of a hectic day’a train because I was watching a starling couple. They were
imitating all the sounds, even the train’s. It was so funny to
see them walking around between all the travelers.”PEERING THROUGH BINOCULARS
It was my meeting with Dutch writer, comedian and bird
enthusiast Hans Dorrestijn years ago that changed my view
of birds forever. I was interviewing him about a bird guide
he had written. Now and then he would jump up to peer out
of his kitchen window with binoculars. “Look at that
beauty!” he’d cry. I had no idea what to look at, but his
enthusiasm was so contagious that I’ve been marvelingover birds ever since. Dorrestijn’s bird book (in Dutch
only) begins with an ode to the long-tailed tits (Aegithalos
caudatus). He writes that the birds are constantly in
conversation with one other. He also explains that
sometimes one might talk to itself, expressing how satisfied
it is with its life: ‘Wonderful day, really wonderful day. Lots of
tasty mosquitoes here. Those little ones with lots of juice’.
Everybody has their favorite bird, and mine is the robin
(Erithacus rubecula). When one shows up, I drop
everything to watch it—it is the most beautiful bird to
me, because of its red breast, but also because of its
perkiness. The British must feel the same way, because
they made the robin their national bird. When I’m
gardening, robins often come and watch what I’m doing.
With casual aplomb, they observe me with just as much
curiosity as I do them. Recently while I was walking, two
robins flew out in front of me. They seemed to be playing
a game of tag, with one always chasing the other. My
thoughts about work and family just melt away in moments
like that, because I’m completely absorbed by what I see.
A bird that suddenly appears can jolt me out of a hectic
day and make me stop and watch what’s going on around
me. I appreciate the unpredictability of it enormously.CITY PRANKSTERS
According to Blokker, living in the city is a challenge for
many animals, but birds can handle the dynamics of it nicely.
“The interesting thing is that they seem to be adapting to it,”
she says. “The great tits [Parus major] sing a little higher
to rise above the city noise, and the beaks of blackbirds
[Turdus merula] are becoming more pointed because they
are pecking for food between the pavement stones. Crows
[Corvus] and woodpeckers [Picidae] also make clever use
of what the city offers. For example, crows drop nuts at the
traffic lights, so that the cars crack them open when they set
off at a green light. Woodpeckers drum on traffic signs and
lampposts to mark their territory; the more noise, the better.
Once you become aware of these kinds of things, you start
experiencing the city in a whole different way.”
Incidentally, the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos
major) is doing very well in my city. They love the old
Amsterdam city trees. They peck holes in them and find >OUT IN THE PARK
Dutch environmental psychologist Joren
van Dijk is researching the kind of
environments in which people best
thrive. According to him, we generally
relax more easily in a natural, green
environment. “There are a lot of people,
sounds, buildings and vehicles in a
city,” he says. “Humans are generally
good at ignoring those distractions, but
it does take energy. We come up with all
kinds of ways to shield ourselves from
those stimuli, such as withdrawing,
looking at other people less, or putting
on headphones. Observing nature or
greenery also helps. The mechanism in
the brain that you use to ignore stimuli
and to make yourself focus can become
exhausted. In nature this ‘attention
mechanism’ gets to recharge. Someone who
sees a lot of greenery is therefore more
capably armed against exhaustion. That’s
why nature in the city is being valued
more and more.”