Green homes for the record

Blur's Britpop classic Parklife extols the way feeding pigeons and sparrows gives a sense of enormous wellbeing.

- With STUART WINTER

Simply watching birds in any city, town or village green space also does wonders for mind and soul and can have conservation benefits too.

Scientists at the British Trust for Ornithology this week launch an exciting public-engagement project to survey birds in parks, playing fields, churchyards and those myriad oases that make our built-up landscapes green and pleasant.