The 'spot'
When trawling through guides on how to become a birder (wading through advice ranging from buying a ton of expensive gear to putting up feeders in your garden- not much use as I am both poor and live in a flat), one piece of advice stood out: find a spot. Basically, this means finding a spot and regularly going birding there. The spot could be your garden, a local pond, a local park or anywhere birds tend to gather. The idea is that if you repetitively bird in one area, you will get used to identifying that set of birds and get comfortable with the identification process. I liked this idea, and after some thought, I settled on a spot. There is a really nice stretch of river near where I live, and nestled near a carpark, some kind soul has placed a few bird feeders. I have visited the spot 5 or so times so far, and the feeders are always half full, and there are always lots of birds. Facing the bird feeders are some picnic benches, perfect for a flask of tea while I bird. Photo