It has been discovered that viewing the natural world is very therapeutic. Watching wildlife must be one of the easiest, most pleasurable pastimes possible – and you can do it anywhere. No matter where you live in the world, wild plants and animals can be found not too far away.
The answer is time and place, and being prepared. Most people look at the view and miss the detail. Knowing the right time and the right place to go can give you a head start. Wearing the right clothes and carrying a good pair of binoculars can then open up an entire world which you might easily have overlooked. A good pair of binoculars are avilable from any good garden centre or wildlife store.
Many people that label themselves birdwatchers spend most of their time viewing birds in the backyard. Not only do backyard birdwatchers attract a wide variety of birds to the yard, but they also take pride in knowing the various species that come to visit. Binoculars with a magnification of 8x are great for use in the backyard.Backyard birders typically fall into two categories: those wanting a compact binocular and those wanting full-size binoculars.
Full-Size Binoculars (like 8×40 or 8×42 binoculars) will provide better image quality than compact binoculars. Full-size binoculars (like 8×40 or 8×42 binoculars) will gather enough light to show good color and definition from dawn to dusk. However, compact binoculars may get used more often because of their size.
You can’t get much closer to home than your garden and, with the tempting prospect of being able to bird watch from the comfort of an armchair, there is every reason to take more interest in the antics of the birds that visit your garden.
Gardens are incredibly important places for birds - not least because private gardens occupy more land than that taken up by nature reserves. This means that what happens in gardens, really matters.
Some of the birds that use your garden, such as Robin, House Sparrow and Wren, are likely to already be familiar, but many others use gardens on a seasonal basis and may be new to you. The key to successful garden bird watching is to make your garden attractive to as wide a range of species as possible. For most people, this is best achieved by providing a range of foods, some on the bird table or on the ground and others in hanging feeders. Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and the various tit species will find peanuts irresistible, and by putting out seed mixes you will attract Greenfinches and Chaffinches into your garden. There are even insect based mixes and live food available for insect-eating birds such as Robins.
Putting food on a bird table or in a hanging bird feeder isn’t the only way of providing nourishment. By planting shrubs and bushes that fruit in the autumn, such as Pyracantha and Cotoneaster, you will be giving the birds an important natural food source. During the winter months Blackbirds and other thrushes are drawn to these bushes and will often keep returning until they have stripped them bare. Bushes and shrubs also provide essential cover for birds to nest in. Most good local garden centre’s will be able to provide you with a wide variety of shrubs that will fit the bill. When you arrive at the garden centre, simply ask one of the assistants for some help and they will help you chosing the correct shrubs.
Even the smallest of gardens has room for birds and, once you have started to attract new ones into your garden, you can add to the enjoyment of watching them by keeping a diary of all the different types that you see. This will enable you to build up a picture of when the different birds visit and what they feed on when they are there. The beauty of the golden yellow wing flash of a Goldfinch or the iridescence of a Starling have to be seen through binoculars to be believed; using binoculars opens up a whole new world and adds another dimension to your garden.
You will find that the more you learn about garden birds, the more you will want to learn. So go and put the kettle on and get ready to be amazed.
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