Hello Nature Word of the Year

My Word is simple, something I will hear every day that calms me and makes me realise everything will be okay.

There have been so many ‘Word of the Year’ posts here on Substack where people have selected beautiful, inspiring, motivational and cherishing words to hold onto through 2024. Words like nurture, kindness, creativity, strength. And the notes alongside each word are lovely and connect with so many people. But all my anxious brain sees when looking at those words is ‘lol you’ll never make 12 months with that word!’

My brain can barely get through a couple of days keeping the same levels of energy let alone going through 12 months grasping at a word that I hope would bring me some feeling of strength and inspiration. No Word of the Year for me, thank you.

But last week, an email appeared in my inbox with the subject line ‘Nature Word of the Year’. At first, I thought oh no, delete this one too. But it was the word nature that made me open the email. The email encouraged you to choose a nature-related word of the year as nature is in crisis and we must do more to save it. It said to choose a word as something you can look after, support, do more of, or anything. Maybe something like beekeeping, birdwatching, volunteering for conservation. After reading, a Word of the Year didn’t sound too scary after all.

My Nature Word of the Year is simple, something I will hear every day that calms me and makes me realise everything will be okay. A word that lets me know the world is still moving. My word(s) is bird song.

Everyone will hear bird song at some point in their lives. Whether that’s birds singing beautiful songs looking for a mate, chirping away in our gardens, or getting a bit too feisty when food is on the cards.

Robins sing throughout winter to let other Robins know that this is their patch, don’t come near it! Great Tits sound like a see-saw going up and down. Starlings mimic everything around them sounding like little drones. Goldfinches share sweet sounds that almost sound like bubbles popping. And Common Buzzards caw deep into thick green forests. Bird song is all around us.

When I feel anxious and am at home, I like to go to the window and look out into the garden to see what birds are visiting the feeders. Opening the window to get some breaths of fresh air and hearing the birds sing together lets me know that I’m okay. If the birds are continuing to live, then everything is okay.

I enjoy taking an hour out of my day to sit at the window and have a birdwatch of my own. I use the app Birda to log the birds that I see, connecting with other nature-loving people and seeing what birds visit their patch. I also use Merlin ID to record and identify the birds that I hear. As soon as the app detects a bird call, it identifies who it is and they come up as a list. It’s an amazing way to hear birds that I’m not sure of or have never seen before. So far this year the app has picked up a Fieldfare, a bird I have still not seen but it has been nearby! And I know with the app that the Greenfinches are still here, they just are not coming to the feeders right now.

Bird song. It feels right to me, you know? I could never be anxious or worried if bird song is near.

This short video below was taken in my dad’s garden last year. The bird is a Dunnock. A sweet call to put a smile on your face.

Have you chosen a word of the year? If you haven’t, how about choosing a nature word?

Take care,
Rebecca