'Bird watching is therapy for those with dementia'
BBCA birdwatching group is helping people with dementia and their loved ones to find therapy in the great outdoors.
The group, set up through a unique collaboration between the RSPB and Age UK, runs weekly at the RSPB Sandwell Valley reserve in Great Barr, Birmingham.
Steve Tidman, from Age UK Sandwell & Birmingham, set up the group after growing up immersed in nature, thanks to his father Jeff's own love of wildlife.
Jeff, 83, was diagnosed with frontal lobe vascular Alzheimer's around five years ago, so his son knew the benefits the group could bring to people with dementia.
"My dad has always been interested in birds and he would teach me and everyone I know about them," Steve Tidman, who lives with his father in Pelsall, said.
"So that love of birds has rubbed off on me."
Despite the Alzheimer's, Steve says his father always remembers a lot of birds.
"He can see a bird in the sky and instantly recognise it," he said.
Steve set up the group, which runs at the RSPB's reserve every Tuesday from 12:00 until 14:00 BST.
It has now been running successfully for several months, with the number of people regularly attending going up and up.
"It's just gone from strength to strength," Steve said.
"It's therapeutic, it's socially interactive, it helps with memory stimulation. It's something to look forward to each week.
"It's getting people out in nature and loving nature again. They can go back to their own gardens and potentially feed their own birds and find that interest in nature."
'Love being in the open'
He added that those with dementia who attend a number of sessions "are recognising bird song and recognising bird species they potentially wouldn't have seen before".
Jeff also attends the sessions with his son and loves spotting the different types of birds across the RSPB reserve.
"I love being out in the open," Jeff said. "Especially when I had my dog, I'd be up and down the canal, in the fields - anywhere I could, as long as I was away from people."
David Footitt, who has been a volunteer at RSPB Sandwell Valley since 2023, helps to run the sessions.
His wife and mother both had dementia before they died, so David is also passionate about the group and the benefits it can bring.
"This group in particular we've seen grow from a group of quite reticent shy individuals, coming in unsure of what's going on, and are now quite eager to attend the meetings and they are really enthusiastic with what they see," he said.
Carers benefit too
Both David and Steve have seen how people attending the group week after week are learning the different types of birds and remembering them when they spot them again.
"They will say, 'Oh, there's a coot, that's a great crested grebe', and just weeks ago they were completely unaware," David said.
What is also brilliant to see is the impact on the carers and loved ones attending the group, David said.
"I think for the carers in particular and the relatives who come along it's been such a support for them," he said.
"There's a social interaction that's gone way past our expectations."
Several members of the group spoke to the BBC about what they enjoyed about it.
Veronica Harris, aged 76 from Great Barr, said: "It's very interesting seeing the birds because [for] a long time I haven't been able o go out.
"I really enjoyed it and everyone has been so courteous and nice."
'We didn't know many birds'
Pauline Francis, aged 73 from Perry Barr, attends with her husband who has dementia.
"I'm waiting until I can actually have him in this surrounding," she said.
"I do enjoy coming and I want to continue coming to keep the group going and to encourage other people, to spread the word."
Lynda Grout also attends after husband Edward developed dementia.
"We used to go walking a lot. We can't walk as far anymore, so it was just a chance to get back to nature really," she said.
"We've learned the names of birds, we didn't know many before."
Age UK functions as many independent branches, and Steve hopes Age UK Sandwell & Birmingham's collaboration with the RSPB can be replicated in other areas of the country.
The Sandwell Valley birdwatching group currently has funding until December 2026, with Age UK looking to raise funds to continue the project further.
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