Yesterday afternoon I visited the Nene Washes at Eldernell on a very nice afternoon. There were a few other birders there but social distancing was easy and there was some discussion about whether this was the last chance to visit for a month and what counted as local. But I guess that was my pre-lockdown birding treat.
I saw about 50 Common Cranes (up to 80 have been seen recently) which all flew further northeast down the Washes together, about 40 Marsh Harriers, a Short-eared Owl, some Whooper Swans, Great White Egrets and that was about it. It was great.
Meanwhile, in the USA, people were voting in large numbers.
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I don’t know how far away from the Nene Washes you live but the lockdown guidelines do not seem to define ‘local’ and also state explicitly that “…you can travel to do so [spend time or exercise outdoors] if necessary (for example, to access an open space)”.
That would seem to allow you to make visits there during the next few weeks without breaching the guidelines, provided you respect other guidance regarding social distancing. Limiting person to person contacts seems to me to be a necessary move to avoid the NHS being overwhelmed with covid-19 cases but this needs to be balanced with other requirements, including people’s need for exercise and access to the outdoors and nature in order to protect other aspects of their physical and mental health.
Sounds fabulous. Isn’t nature a joy? If only more people could appreciate that, and what nature needs to thrive…