At the beginning of December a Slavonian Grebe turned up at Farmoor reservoir. Due to other commitments and Christmas the first chance I got to visit was yesterday.
As often at Farmoor, the wind was wiping across the causeway, so we made the guess that the grebe would be in the top corner of F2 in the shelter from the wind. We were right!
Yesterday was grey and overcast so I wasn’t really happy with the photographs I got, so as Farmoor is only 5 minutes from my house, we popped back down today.
Fun Fact -Slavonian grebes regularly eat their own feathers to act as a plug in their stomach. This acts as a filter to hold the fish bones until they can be digested. (Source: National Geographic)
Bird watching, whether making a special visit or watching birds in your own garden can be a great way to relieve stress and help your mental health.
Joe Harkness, wrote an amazing book called Bird Therapy about the ‘therapeutic benefits of birdwatching for people experiencing difficulties with their mental health’.
More recently Joe has produced a teaching resource for Key stage 3 and 4, as well as adults.
The resource is full of activities to do, both indoor and outdoor, that put into practice some of the issues dealt with in his book.
For more details, click on the link below.
Bird Therapy – Teaching Resources
Appleton Wildlife Diary by Alex White 
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