ColinD
Well-known member
I'd be interested to know how you work your local patch, and why. Do you prefer to visit as many times as possible for short periods each time, or do you prefer to spend hours there peering into every bush, and investigating every call? Does it depend on the type of habitat at your local patch?
I go for the former, mainly because I don't very often have long periods to spend birding. I try to slot birding into other activities, for example drop my lads off at football training, visit the local patch for an hour, then pick up the lads again. My local patch is a smallish mere and surrounding area, so I can reasonably quickly scan the water and see any unusual waterfowl, or terns etc., though it may mean I miss woodland birds.
Very often I visit my local patch in my dinner break, which allows me only 15 minutes at the place, but I may go three times a day, once on my way to work, once at dinner and again in the evening.
Clearly, the more time you spend at a site, the more wildlife you will see, and I have friends who spend several hours everyday, seven days a week at their local patch who see much more than I do. On the otherhand they spend hours seeing the same birds from one week to the next, until that special bird appears.
I find that by visiting in short, sharp, frequent doses I keep my enthusiasm, which I might otherwise lose by being there all day everyday.
Which do you prefer?
Colin
I go for the former, mainly because I don't very often have long periods to spend birding. I try to slot birding into other activities, for example drop my lads off at football training, visit the local patch for an hour, then pick up the lads again. My local patch is a smallish mere and surrounding area, so I can reasonably quickly scan the water and see any unusual waterfowl, or terns etc., though it may mean I miss woodland birds.
Very often I visit my local patch in my dinner break, which allows me only 15 minutes at the place, but I may go three times a day, once on my way to work, once at dinner and again in the evening.
Clearly, the more time you spend at a site, the more wildlife you will see, and I have friends who spend several hours everyday, seven days a week at their local patch who see much more than I do. On the otherhand they spend hours seeing the same birds from one week to the next, until that special bird appears.
I find that by visiting in short, sharp, frequent doses I keep my enthusiasm, which I might otherwise lose by being there all day everyday.
Which do you prefer?
Colin