I am Shaan, a young, 17-year-old birdwatcher, lover and enthusiast from Hertfordshire. I have been an animal lover from a very young age but have only been specifically birdwatching for just over 2 years. My passion for bird-watching ignited on a holiday to Belize, where I stayed in the Jungle surrounded by many different species of animals. Evidently, the most abundant type of animals were birds and my guide, Eduardo, a massive bird-watcher and enthusiast, showed me many different species of all shapes, colours and sizes, in a range of stunning habitats. I was fascinated by the massive variety of birds and the sounds that each of them made or the behaviours that they displayed. I immediately took this fascination back home with me and consequently I have now seen 135 species in England, many of which I never knew existed.
Birdwatching as a New Hobby
For me, it was easy to get into birding due to my love of animals that I had right from the beginning. But this is unlikely to be the case for many, which ponders the question: Why do people get into birdwatching?
One reason is that it helps improve people’s mental health. Getting outside, in the fresh air, appreciating the beauty of nature through birds, is something that really soothes and relaxes the mind of many birdwatchers.
For me, birdwatching is the first thing I wish to do when taking a break from my A-Level studies, that is as long as the British weather holds on. It is a time where I don’t have to worry about anything and it’s almost like I am living a different life in those moments, where it is just me and the birds.
Additionally, birdwatching is a great way to learn a lot more about mother nature, and this is beyond the specifics of birds and their lifestyles. Whilst nature is mostly associated with beauty, this does not mean it cannot be cruel and birds portray this idea quite well. Many birds, often those in the stork and heron family, will purposefully kill and sometimes eat their weakest offspring, just to ensure the survival of others. As cruel as this may seem to us, these kinds of things are a daily occurrence in the natural world. Apart from biological similarities, we share surprising behaviours with many of the creatures of the natural world. Like us, thousands of species of birds will purposefully migrate for a better life, but they take it to an extreme level. Migratory birds will migrate every year, often to the same place and will cover immense distances. Arctic terns travel between the two poles every year, covering 90,000 km on this spectacular journey. To put this into perspective, the longest distance between any two places on Earth is 20,010 km. Migration is only one of the many spectacles of nature that can be witnessed whilst birdwatching.
Finally, birdwatching gives you an insight to the circle of life and its reality. The Lion King depicted the circle of life quite well, showing how when things are in balance, life thrives and without that balance, life deteriorates. This has been evident through our impact on the environment though intense urbanisation, pollution, deforestation and population growth. Less birds are returning on migration each year, breeding populations and success rates continue to plummet, more birds are being redistributed and some birds will never be seen again. 10 years ago, I was lucky to have a pair of turtle doves in my garden that returned each summer. Now I haven’t seen a single one since 2016/17. Whilst we are accountable for these changes, we are now acting in the right ways, trying to protect and conserve as many species as we can, through the efforts of thousands of individuals and the knowledge they have.
My Advice for Starting
You have seen reasons why people get into birdwatching and even if you are still unsure, it is certainly worth a try. How you can get started is a question that is often asked by those who wish to venture into the world of birds.
Personally, I would start close to home, whether that be birdwatching from your window, your garden or in your local neighbourhood or park and you can use your naked eyes, a small/inexpensive pair of binoculars or a camera (including your phone camera) to begin with. You may wonder why stick so close to home or even stay indoors at home? It is a great way to learn how to identify your local or common bird species before getting into more challenging species and you may learn about birds you didn’t know about before. When I first started birdwatching here, I spent the first month birdwatching from my window, seeing 27 species, 4 of which I never knew existed.
When starting, I couldn’t recommend enough 2 apps that Eduardo introduced to me when I started. These are eBird and Merlin Bird Id. EBird is an app that allows you to track what you see, see what other people are seeing in the area and then they take some of this data, contributing to science. Merlin Bird Id is an amazing identification app, that identifies birds by sound, photo and description. The sound id is very useful for beginners as it is quite accurate at identifying common birds successfully, giving you an idea of what is in the vicinity.
That concludes my advice for birdwatching for the first time. If you find you become quite fond of it, you can venture to local nature reserves or join birding groups, where you will see different birds from those you see around home. Additionally, you could get better equipment such as a better or new pair of binoculars or a better camera, that will aid you further whilst birdwatching. My final recommendation is to birdwatch with others if you can, because the more people, the more eyes and the more knowledge there is, meaning more birds will be seen and learnt about.
HAPPY BIRD WATCHING
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