Bill Oddie’s How to Watch Wildlife

Sunshine: Likewise, the presence or absence of sunshine will affect some creatures; it’s easier to get good views of butterflies on a cloudy day, as they are less fluttery and more inclined to stay still. Muggy, overcast nights are similarly the best for moth trapping. Sunshine also affects visibility: looking into rock pools is easier when they are well lit; while backlit birds may be harder to identify than when conditions are overcast.

Wind speed and direction: This is of great interest to birdwatchers, especially in spring and autumn, when migrants are blown off-course by easterly winds and turn up on our coasts. Local knowledge is vital here; and other factors such as cloudy skies or rain are also important. For other wildlife watchers, wind is generally unwelcome: it can make looking at flowers or insects, or tracking down mammals, very difficult.

Rain and snow: Rain is generally a disadvantage; but if you go out just after it stops, you often get wonderful views of birds as they emerge to feed. Snow covers up food supplies, but it may also bring birds or mammals out into the open as they search for something to eat.

Tracks and signs

When it comes to some groups of wildlife, tracks and signs are vital. Indeed, for many mammals they may well be the only clue to their presence. Small black droppings or shredded newspaper in your garden shed probably mean that a wood mouse is living there. On a walk in a wood, look out for all sorts of things, including owl pellets, the droppings of mammals such as fox or badger and, of course, the animal’s tracks in soft mud. Beaches are also good places to find signs, including empty shells, and footprints in wet sand; or stuff washed up along the tideline.

If you are interested in knowing more about tracks and signs, there are books on the subject; or you can go on walks led by experts, who will astonish you by pointing out what you have missed.

Habitat

Probably the most fundamental aspect of fieldcraft is to ask yourself the simple question: am I in the right place? You are very unlikely to see otters halfway up a mountain, or a golden eagle flying across a city skyline. So check out the right habitat for the creatures you are looking for; and also find out what to expect in a particular habitat. All experienced naturalists know what to expect when they go to a particular place helping them narrow down the possibilities when they do see something.

Habitats can be split into very broad categories, such as woodland, farmland, freshwater or coast; but within these there are many distinctions: for example, the birds you’ll find in ancient deciduous woodland tend to be different from those in a new conifer plantation.

Even within the same habitat there will be subtle differences: flowers of the woodland edge tend to differ from those in the heart of the wood; while small differences in things like the type of soil, the vegetation and the amount of sun on a patch of land will make a big difference to what you will find there.

It sounds complicated, and indeed it can be: but, like identifying what you see, you’ll soon learn to find the best places to watch wildlife, and know what to expect when you go there. Like so much else in wildlife watching, it all comes down to experience – but however many years you’ve been doing it, there’s always something new to learn!

B (#ulink_e1b9dfbe-0037-5975-8b5a-1a343c515d3c)

Getting help

When you start watching wildlife, it can be really helpful to go out with someone who knows a lot more about the subject than you. Finding a friend or professional guide is one of the best ways to learn more about the subject – enabling you to test out your knowledge and learn from their experience. It’s also very rewarding for your guide: after all, it’s always enjoyable to pass on knowledge to someone else, so you will hopefully both get something out of the experience.

You may already know someone who is interested in wildlife – perhaps a friend, neighbour or work colleague. Don’t be embarrassed to ask them to take you out; they will almost certainly be flattered.

If you don’t have any wildlife experts in your social circle, then there are professional guides, especially in wildlife hotspots such as north Norfolk, the Isles of Scilly and Speyside. They may advertise in the local paper or the wildlife trust or Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) magazines; otherwise, ask at any nature reserve. You can also join guided walks at many reserves, which are an excellent way to meet fellow beginners as well as see plenty of wildlife.

Joining a group or club

The next step is to join a local group or club, such as a natural history society or bird club, or local RSPB members’ group, which can be found throughout the country.

Most clubs and societies hold regular indoor meetings (usually from September to March or April), with a monthly talk by a member or guest speaker. Many also run outdoor meetings, such as a walk around a local nature reserve, park or other wildlife site; as well as excursions to more distant places by coach or car. This is a great way to meet like-minded people, and expand your horizons and experiences.

To find out about your local club or society, ask at your nearest library, check out the internet, or, for your local RSPB members’ groups, contact the society direct (www.rspb.org.uk).

Using the internet to get info

In the days before the internet came into being, finding out about opportunities for wildlife watching was a time-consuming and often frustrating process. Nowadays, the internet provides all kinds of ways to find out information and make contact with others:

Websites of official organisations: All major organisations, including the RSPB (www.rspb.org.uk) and wildlife trusts (www.wildlifetrusts.org), now have excellent websites. Each of these also has links to other sites you may not have heard of. And don’t forget that the BBC’s own website (www.bbc.co.uk/nature) is packed with information about opportunities for wildlife watching. It includes sections on British wildlife, a messageboard where you can have online conversations with other people on a range of topics, and, of course, wildlife television programmes.

Specialist organisations: Almost every kind of wildlife has its own organisation nowadays, from the Mammal Society (www.abdn.ac.uk/ mammal) and Bat Conservation Trust (www.bats.org.uk) to plantlife (www.plantlife.org.uk) and the British Dragonfly Society (www.dragonflysoc.org.uk).

Search engines: Use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo to find contacts, get online reports about a particular site or area, or just to browse and see what you can find.

User groups: There are web user groups for every possible kind of enthusiast, including everything and anything to do with natural history. Again, browse around until you find a group of like-minded people to ‘chat’ with.

Commercial sites: You can order virtually anything on the web – including, of course, books, CDs, trip reports, wildlife food and feeders and optical equipment – and all delivered straight to your door. Check out www.subbuteo.co.uk and www.nhbs.com – both excellent specialist sites for wildlife books, etc.

Enthusiast sites: Some of the very best sites on the web are those set up by enthusiasts. You can also often find trip reports posted by other wildlife watchers – just key in, for example, ‘bird trip report Suffolk’ and see what you can find.

Bill's top tips

_ When searching the internet, remember to click the ‘UK only’ button or the number of sites the search comes up with can be overwhelming.

_ Also be careful when entering words or phrases that may have a double meaning: for example, avoid putting in ‘sex’, ‘tit’ or even ‘wild life’, as you may be directed to sites of a more ‘adult’ nature …

B (#ulink_e1b9dfbe-0037-5975-8b5a-1a343c515d3c)

Family wildlife watching

If you have children or grandchildren, watching wildlife with them can be incredibly enjoyable and rewarding.

One of the best places to start is your own back garden. Children are closer to the ground and often more observant of detail than adults are, so they may even get you interested in things you’ve ignored for years. Worms, slugs and snails hold endless fascination for little ones, so gather a few snails into a bucket, take your time looking, and enjoy watching your children’s reactions. Show them how to turn over rocks, stones and small logs carefully, and put them back so that the creatures hiding beneath don’t come to any harm. And even if creepy-crawlies make you squeamish, please try not to make your children feel that way – they are generally far more fearless than adults and perfectly happy to let woodlice, spiders and earwigs run across their hands.

If you have a garden pond, then you have a ready-made entertainment package that is free and doesn’t involve buying expensive computer software: namely, pond dipping.

When staying in the garden, it’s a good idea to give older children a chance to get used to using binoculars. They can be a bit difficult to handle at first, sometimes leading to frustration and disappointment. But with a bit of practice, most children become quite good at focusing on the birds on a feeder or your friendly neighbourhood squirrel.

It is perfectly OK to cheat a little when you want to watch wildlife with the family. Long journeys can be a great opportunity for wildlife watching and you can turn it into the equivalent of I-spy, or whatever game your family play to try to pass the time. If you’re travelling by coach or car, motorways can be a surprisingly good place to keep a lookout.

Depending on where you are in the UK, a typical two-hour journey might reveal deer, rabbits, hare (in early spring), the occasional fox, kestrels, sparrowhawks and buzzards – or even red kites. See who spots the most, and the journey might pass a little quicker than usual. On a sadder note, the chances are you may also see a few road kills, which at least prove the wildlife is out there.

Bill's top tips

_ Younger children might enjoy trying to draw what they see from a hide; it helps them to observe and see what goes on.

_ Older children might enjoy a simple field guide – let them tell you what they think they’ve spotted.

_ Schools often promote local nature walks and events, particularly during the holidays, so look out for them.

Travelling further afield

Then comes that first proper outing to a nature reserve, and this is where a little wisdom comes in. You need to ensure everyone has fun, but also help them to understand how to behave with birds, animals and insects, so they don’t frighten them off.

With younger children you can turn the whole thing into a game: seeing how long you can all keep still or quiet. Remember that other wildlife watchers can get annoyed if a child is being persistently noisy – on the other hand, you don’t want to suppress all that enthusiasm. If you are at all worried about taking young children into a hide, then save the experience until they are a little older – it’s usually more fun out in the open air anyway.

Not so long ago, when children reached the age of ten or 11 they would go off and explore their local wild places by themselves or with their friends. Indeed, many of today’s expert naturalists first discovered their interest in wildlife by encountering it in this informal setting.

Sadly, nowadays, parental fears of danger mean that few children are able to discover the world around them by themselves. So to compensate, try taking them off to a wood or meadow where they can simply roam around and discover what is there. And if they want to collect a few flowers, insects or some frogspawn, don’t discourage them; it’s a great way to learn about wildlife and won’t do any harm.

Finally, many reserves and wildlife centres now have family walks or open days. If you’re just starting out, it gives you the chance to pick up knowledge and have some fun together. Younger children like to ‘do’ rather than sit, and these events are just perfect for them.

Bill's top tips