I get into birding

A few weeks ago, Alex let me borrow his camera and so off I went for a my first ever birding session. It was an unseasonably cool and grey day, so wanting to stay close to home, I went for a walk along Daws Lane to Cherry Hinton Hall Park and back home via Snakey Path. Armed with the Merlin app, I set out to identify and photograph as many birds as I could.

My photography skills are still improving, but nevertheless I was really impressed by the diversity of birds. Once you start distinguishing between - let's face it - very similar-looking small brown birds, you realise there are actually a lot of different species hiding in plain sight. This was my first time (knowingly) seeing blackcaps - I was struck by how beautiful and jangly their song is - and long-tailed tits. 

Since that day, I've been trying to actively notice the birds around me, to listen out for their song and pay attention to rustling branches. I've invested in a bird book and even a pair of binoculars. I've done that walk down Daws Lane and Snakey Path a few times now - just this evening I caught the last bit of light and heard some beautiful song thrush song along the way. At the allotment a few weeks ago, we noticed a wren's nest in a nearby tree and caught glimpses of teeny weeny baby wrens (I did accidentally delete all 50 or so photos I took that day, so you'll just have to take my word for it). Further afield, I recently went with some friends to Dunwich Heath in Suffolk. I hadn't visited that part of England before, but it really was a beautiful evening - the sun was going down, casting pink light over the purple heather, and we had linnets and stonechats serenading us. The view of Sizewell B nuclear power station on the horizon was the icing on the cake. 

Dunwich Heath

OK, so I'm starting to understand why twitchers find this stuff so exciting. But what's been more surprising to me is just how mindful the whole process is. Birding is unique in that you have to pay attention using your ears as well as your eyes, forcing you to be completely in tune with your senses and the world around you. I don't remember feeling this sense of peace when I was catching butterflies in Panama - since sound is kind of irrelevant, you can be as noisy as you want, and you don't particularly have to pay attention to the noises around you. But birding requires you to be completely in the zone, and you come out of the woods in a trance, or as if you've just woken up from a dream. And I suppose if you're good enough, you also have some pretty nice pictures too. I'm not quite there yet - I think I might need to invest in some better gear first - but when I am I'll absolutely be sharing my photos with absolutely anyone who'll look at them.