One of the best things about bird watching is that it can be done almost anywhere. Even if you don’t have access to a garden you don’t need to venture far from your front door to begin watching birds. You’ll find them at your local park, at the beach, on canals, rivers, and ponds, or just look up to see what’s flying overhead.
Spending time outdoors has been linked to a whole host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress levels, a more positive mood, and even better empathy and co-operation. Walking or even running to chase a bird, can help increase your cardiovascular fitness, reduce the risk of heart disease, ease joint pain, give you stronger bones and better balance, and burn off calories.
If you find it difficult to get outside or there are days when you can’t face fighting the weather, then you can always enjoy a bird watching adventure from the comfort of your living room.
Even before you go outside it can be helpful to spend some time studying a bird identification field guide. A good field guide will include colour illustrations, identifying marks and features, and where you need to go to look for particular species.
Usually, the birds will be arranged in taxonomic groups which means that birds of the same family are listed together. The index should also include common and scientific names although be aware the some guides list birds by the last name of their common name ie ‘Owl, Tawny’ rather than ‘Tawny Owl’.
Begin by looking at birds that are familiar to you and then study closely related species. You’ll then start to get a good idea of features common to the taxonomic group so if you see something you’ve not seen before you’ll have a rough idea of what the bird might be.
If digital’s more your thing, then there are dozens of great identification guides online – you’ll find plenty on Bird Spot, including ID guides to over 300 British bird species, guides to garden birds and birds of prey, an interactive bird identifier, and how to tell the difference between some tricky species.
You can also download apps on to your phone to help with identifying birds out in the field. Many of these include song clips to help you identify a bird by sound. An app is also a good way to keep a note of all the birds you’ve seen and add photos and notes.
You don’t need much equipment to go bird watching but a good pair of binoculars will help you get a much better view of birds and help you observe them easily from a distance. You don’t need to spend vast sums of money on binoculars but buying poor-quality, cheap binoculars is a false economy; they unlike to last very long, probably won’t be waterproof, and you’ll struggle to focus and get a sharp view.
For beginners, you can get some great optics for less than £100. Do your research, read reviews, and ask for recommendations from other birders. Don’t make the mistake of choosing binoculars with a very high magnification as you’ll struggle to keep them steady. A pair with a magnification of 8x or 10x is ideal for bird watching and avoid binoculars that zoom as they often develop faults.
To get a really close look at birds, then you might want to think about buying a spotting scope. They’re more expensive than binoculars but for bird watching at a distance you’ll notice a real difference. Using a digital camera with a spotting scope is also a smart and inexpensive way to take long-distance photos without a heavy telephoto lens and the heavy camera body that goes with it.
