Watching Wildlife

Watching Wildlife Is Easier Than We Might Think!

When it comes to watching wildlife I wonder how many only see nature in action through their television or computer screens?

The more adventurous may be motivated to travel the world visiting Safari parks or even jungle habitats to observe the more dangerous species of wildlife, lions, anacondas and the like.

Other than visiting the zoo my experience of seeing these creatures has been when I'm safely sat on the settee in our
living room.

There are many opportunities to enjoy watching
wildlife on our doorstep, no matter where we live.

An experience I had many years ago convinces me that no
matter where we live we will be able to observe wildlife.

My work at the time required that I visit clients at their
offices and this time it was in the centre of London.

Visitors had to use an overflow car park and having travelled over 200 miles I parked the car opened my door and looked down and there was a grasshopper on a small clump of grass sitting as still as you please just long enough for me to enjoy
the moment.

This could hardly be described as an exciting adventure,
even so, it brought a smile to my face and still does now
when I think about it.

The point is I was sitting in the car in the centre of one of the most busiest cities in the world watching wildlife and I could have easily missed the experience.

Wildlife Education

An awareness of local wildlife will increase our
chances of seeing the wildlife at our feet.

The quality of wildlife programs continues to improve and in
my opinion are a valuable asset in providing an entertaining
and informative wildlife education for both young and old.

Especially where bird watching is concerned presenters like Bill Oddie have contributed to their viewers wildlife education and helped people like myself be more aware of what wildlife there may be in our local areas.

Visiting RSPB Sites or the local Nature Reserve will be an eye opener as well. Each time we visit the one near to us there is an extensive list of birds that have been spotted by visitors, from Herons to Reed Buntings and much more.

Bird Watching

Local waste ground is a good area for bird watching.

Before they built a new housing estate opposite our first home we were fortunate to have an extensive area of waste ground where back to back houses had been demolished.

From our door step we used to be able to observe flocks of Goldfinches, Linnets and sparrows. An evening spectacle was seeing waves of Starlings heading for the Town Centre to roost.

On another occasion I was walking over an area that was being used to provide a green space not that far from the city centre.

I used go here to observe Kestrels and this time I saw two hovering further along the hillside so I stopped to watch them for a while.

Next thing there appeared two more and then three more!

Seven Kestrels in a row along the hillside all hovering
looking for food. And I didn't have a camera.

All these experiences other than the Grasshopper have
happened very close to where we were living at the time.

By creating a wildlife friendly garden watching wildlife is something we can do from our own back window or doorstep and as we notice more in our gardens our knowledge and awareness of the wildlife in our local areas will grow.

Wildlife Photography

The experience with the kestrels and not having a camera was not the first time nor I'm sure will be the last where I missed the chance to photograph wildlife.

Technology has made wildlife photography much more attainable to anyone whose considering having a go at photographing wildlife in their gardens or out and about.

The Digital camera makes taking wildlife photographs easier
and with also having the facility of being able to be attached
to spotting scopes, which is called Digi-scoping, the versatility
of these cameras is considerable.

All we need to do is get out there and take pictures.

Here again local Nature Reserves are a good place to go as
often these will have hides that give a clear view of birds to observe or photograph.

Depending what the reserves main habitat is there will be opportunities with other wildlife as well. The one near us has small lakes and a network of ponds and reed beds so there is
a diversity of wildlife to watch and photograph.

For most of us cost will always be a factor so before we go spending a fortune on equipment we have no experience with
we are best starting off low key, if we are really interested we will always enjoy the challenge of getting the best pictures we can with the camera we've got and then as we progress in our skills with wildlife photography we can expand our kit.

Whatever we do buy lets make sure its reasonable quality as what might seem cheap can easily be quite expensive for what were getting.

There is the other end of the scale that what we can
pay a lot for is in actual fact not worth that much.

Reading reviews is a good move and if we know someone who has one of the camera's we are considering ask them, you can be sure they will tell you what they think are its drawbacks.

A reputable company that specializes in wildlife photography
will give sound advice and usually recommend a kit that's within budget, because they know if you get the bug you will be back to purchase other equipment for your growing hobby.

They want you as a customer for life so it's worth searching
out a company that can be trusted and use their expertise in making your choice.

Watching Wildlife