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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pete Mella" data-source="post: 1756861" data-attributes="member: 47236">Just go out and look and listen literally everywhere you go - when you're out birdwatching, while you commute to work, while you're waiting outside the shops, while you're the passenger in a car, out of the window while you wash up. Always look at whatever birds you see, even the common ones and ask yourself why is it a house sparrow? Why isn't a tree sparrow or a dunnock or a reed bunting? Once the common stuff is lodged in your mind you'll notice when something different comes along that's worth investigating, even if you can't immediately put a name to it.Also learn more than what birds look like. What do they sound like? How do they behave? What months are they likely to be seen? What habitats do they live in? Are they common, rare or totally impossible in the place you're visiting? Knowing the likelihood of a species is just as important as what it looks like - ("It can't be a spotted flycatcher because it's December"; "It's unlikely to be a marsh tit because only willows breed in this county"; "It must be a willow warbler because of its song").And remember you'll never know everything, and no-one you meet in hides does either.I think everyone should help newcomers as much as they can, but newcomers also have to realise others don't have an automatic duty to teach them and may just want a quiet day out (although large nature reserves aren't the place for a quiet day out, IMHO!). Also if there's a stream of questions that are just "what's that?... OK and what's that?... and that one?" people may get fed up with that as they wonder why someone hasn't done any basic research. But everyone should feel they can ask questions, especially the tricky stuff such as waders, gulls, pipits (and no-one should ever forget how tricky they are, even if they've learnt them!).Some birders are just grumpy b*ggers, but you'll find just as many who love helping others.</blockquote>

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