Wildmonths

Watching wildlife is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things you can do. You can do it just walking to the shops or out at a reserve in the middle of the country side, you don't know what you will see. I saw a flock of waxwings [a not too common winter visitor from Northan Europe] flying from tree to tree by the road in the middle of an out of town shopping area! And one evening I saw a small tree in the middle of Folkestone's shopping centre full of pied wagtails roosting for the night.

The main thing is to be alert be on the look out and observant. Be in the now and suspend all those thoughts and worries and look around you. Walk slowly and quietly because if you stride along swinging your arms you will frighten animals off. Stop some times and be still is there is any rustling sounds, give nature a chance and you could be rewarded.

When I go out I generally keep on the move, eyes open and camera at the ready. If I am at a reserve I do make use of the hides but not for longer than about half an hour before moving on, unless there is some thing riveting.

It's best to keep scanning round. What's on the ground? What's in the bushes? What's in the trees? And what's in the sky? Keep your ears open as well, I was recently over at West Hythe and was walking under the rookery which was a little noisy but I then noticed it had got more so. On looking up I caught sight of a bird of prey that was too big for a sparrow hawk and kestrel which you can see fairly often there. It was clear then that it was as big as a buzzard but didn't look quite right, its wings were not broad enough and the tail longer. Before I could tell what it was it had got too far away and too high, during this time it had attracted a couple of hearing gulls that were circling with it which helped me to judge its size. I had taken some photos of it and when I came to look at these on the computer I could see that it was a male marsh harrier.

Animals are difficult to get near to, if possible be down wind [ the wind blowing towards you from them]. If you are in the open and trying to get closer to say deer then don't walk straight towards them, approach at an angle, don't stare at them, look around and ahead, look at them with the corner of your eyes, so the deer think you are not interested in them.

Equipment. For bird watching or for getting a closer look at anything else like animals, dragonflies you will need a pair of binoculars. Don't get to strong a pair other wise it could take you ages to find what you are looking for! Go into a good camera shop were they sell binoculars and get their advice and look in birdwatching magazines. I have a pair that are 10x30 and have a image stabilizer made by Canon which are great. Later you could get a scope [telescope] for viewing birds at a distance like at estuaries.

Also don't forget a note book to record what you have seen, especially at the start when you need to make a description of some thing so that you can look it up when you have time.

And don't forget a good field guide and a small digital camera is useful for recording things.

Clothing. Don't wear bright clothes or clothes that rustle, you need to blend with the environment. Make sure what you wear is warm enough, some places you will go to can be quite exposed and be ready for changes in the weather.

Identification. Judging the size of a bird or animal is one of the important things in identification, try to compare it to some other bird or animal that you know of. Also it's body shape, wing and tail shape, colour and markings and importantly its behaviour, does it bob its tail up and down like a wagtail or work its way up a tree trunk like a treecreeper what sound did it make in fact anything to help identify it.

What you also need are some good reference books, get one for each subject i.e. Birds, Animals, Insects, Butterflies, Trees and Shrubs, Wild Flowers, Fungi and perhaps pond life and seashore life/rock pools. Of course the internet is a good help with all things wildlife but you can't beet a good reference book. It's a good idea to carry a small field guide with you particularly for birds or wild flowers and a note book for descriptions of what you have seen.

In the spring if you come across a nest leave it alone don't go poking about trying to get a better look, predators like a crow can spot a disturbance near a nest. And if you come across a young bird, again leave it alone, it's probably just left the nest and the parent bird will find it to feed it.

Photography. A good digital camera that can do close ups and has a zoom facility will do for most of your wildlife photography but if you want to get serious with bird photography then you will need a single lens reflex with a telephoto or zoom lens. I have a 80 to 400 zoom lens with vibration reduction and some times I will use a 1.4x converter on it as well to give more magnification also I will frequently use a tripod to ensure I get a good result.

Useful organizations to join. These are very good organizations worth joining to help you in your enjoyment and understanding of wildlife in the UK.

RSPB  www.rspb.org.uk

British Trust for Ornithology  www.bto.org

Wildlife Trust  www.wildlifetrust.org

Plantlife  www.plantlife.org.uk

Hawk and Owl Trust  www.hawkandowl.org

English Nature  www.english-nature.org.uk  This one is for volunteers to help on reserves.

Wildlife Directory  www.wildlifedirectory.co.uk