The autumn and winter months are a fantastic time to get into bird watching – at any age.
Around our beautiful Solent coastline, we’ll have an influx of overwintering birds, around 125,000, that will make our region their home from October through to March.
Their amazing and often perilous journeys are from places as far afield as Northeast Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia and Northern Russia. Once here, they become, for any lover of nature, a spectacle to behold.
Those autumn and winter months become a fantastic opportunity to get outdoors, experience nature in abundance and, perhaps start a new hobby, like birdwatching.
Here’s Ranger Tony’s advice for getting youngsters connected with the natural world:
I was introduced to birdwatching at an early age by an uncle and have loved watching birds ever since. I discovered very quickly that it was a great way to form a connection, not just with birds, but with all of the natural world. I’ve come to appreciate the cycles of nature and how we, as humans, need to work with those cycles for everything to work harmoniously. All this from an interested uncle who pointed the way to the wonderful world of the outdoors and birdwatching.
So, if you’d like to introduce children (and adults too!) to the joys of being outdoors and birdwatching, here are a few simple tips:
1. Seek out local nature reserves
Find out where your local coastal nature reserve is and spend some time exploring it. The fantastic nature reserves we have around the Solent coastline are usually brilliant bird hotspots.
Some of the wonderful nature reserves around the Solent coastline:
Calshot Marshes Local Nature Reserve
Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes Nature Reserve
Hook with Warsash Local Nature Reserve
Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham
Farlington Marshes Nature Reserve, Portsmouth
Newtown National Nature Reserve, Isle of Wight
2. Don’t worry if you don’t know very much
If you are unfamiliar with birds and feel you need to know all about them before you take a trip out to watch them – DON’T WORRY!
All birdwatchers started, at some point, with little or no knowledge, so you are not alone.
Simply enjoy everything about the birds as you watch them; their calls, the way they move and interact with each other, the different ways they feed, the different colours, the number of species you see, and really appreciate the stunning habitats they (and you) are in.
3. Use your local library
Visit your local library and take out a book on how to get started as a birdwatcher before you visit – or borrow a digital book to carry online.
Chris Packham and Hamza Yassin are two well-known and very keen birdwatchers that have written books which you’ll find at your local libraries. Take a look at Hampshire Libraries books about birds for children.
Take a pocket guidebook with you and enjoy researching information about the birds together. Most people have a smart phone which will give you easy access to lots of information online including our Meet the Birds pages. There are apps to identify birds’ songs and calls too, that can be downloaded to your phone.
4. Try out some binoculars
If you can, borrow a pair of binoculars from somebody you know to try out.
This will make spotting and watching birds easier than with the naked eye.
If you do decide to buy a pair of binoculars at some point, look for 8 x 42 magnification, as this is good for beginners. There are plenty of websites that you can buy second-hand binoculars online from for a reasonable price.
5. Set challenges
If you want to set challenges for the children – and yourself- ask them to identify 5 different species of bird in one visit. Set a longer-term challenge of keeping a log of all the different birds they see over the course of the winter.
Watch how the children react, what takes their interest and follow their lead. Allow an interest to develop gently and at their pace.
6. Talk about what we can do to help nature
As their interest develops, educate them about how human activities have an impact on the environment and empower them to make positive changes.
Show your children how some of our actions threaten or harm birds, and they’ll want to know what they can do to help.
7. Keep it fun
Above all, keep it fun and enjoyable. Being outdoors watching birds is an incredibly relaxing and fulfilling activity and very good for your wellbeing and mental health. Don’t stress about what you don’t know, just see it as an opportunity to have fun learning something new together. Allow the knowledge to grow naturally and it will embed itself for a lifetime.
Who knows, one day you might be the person others come to for advice on how to get their kids started in birdwatching?
