Watching one of nature's wonders

3:42pm Thursday 3rd April 2008

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ONE of the delights of early springtime is the seasonal influx of wild birds.

In huge numbers, they come to our shore from far-off places, here to spend the summer months and often to produce their broods of new chicks. Then, when the chicks are but a few weeks old, they will fly all the way to their parents ' homes overseas. That is an even more amazing feat. How do they know where to go?

This annual event is one of the wonders of nature because so many of our visitors are tiny birds that have flown thousands of miles to unerringly reach their intended destination. It is a triumph of navigation and stamina and yet most of us are blissfully unaware of this amazing event, elements of which will be happening as we read these notes .

With a little planning, it is often possible to witness the arrival of our summer visitors and this is a splendid opportunity to spend time trying to identify the new comers.

A good bird reference book will be invaluable as will a pair of binoculars and a notebook. Some of us may be tempted to buy a pair of large magnification binoculars, but these are not very suitable - the larger the magnification the more difficult it is to hold them steady. Identification of a bird will therefore be more difficult. That is why so many high-power telescopes have tripods to hold them steady.

A suitable pair of binoculars would be something in the region of 8 x 42, eight being the magnification and 42 being the diameter of the object lens in millimetres. Some people might prefer a smaller pair, say 7 x 40 or even a larger pair with 10 x magnification and lens of 50 mm in diameter.

It is a personal choice and any reliable retailer will offer guidance, bearing in mind the weight and size of some styles, and the purpose for which they are intended. For example, binoculars used for bird watching are not necessarily the same as those used for horse racing.

Some wearers of spectacles prefer to use binoculars in conjunction with thei r specs whilst others like to remove their glasses. All preferences can be accommodated.

It is probably a good idea to practise using binoculars whilst watching garden birds from the security of the house. In that way, the birds will not be frightened away and you will become accustomed to the variations of viewing which are available.

Furthermore, you will quickly learn to identify our resident garden birds. Soon our robins, wrens, blackbirds, thrushes, blue tits, great tits, collared doves, house sparrows and others will be very familiar sights. That is when we begin to notice and identify new arrivals - and this month is one of the most wonderful times to observer those newcomers. A reference book with high quality colour photographs will be highly useful and should be kept close at hand because some summer visitors may visit domestic gardens.

A lot depends upon the natural food and nesting sites that are provided by way of trees, shrubs, flowers and insects but members of the warbler family are good examples. Willow warblers and chiff-chaffs (cousins of willow warblers can often be seen in a garden environment, as can spotted flycatchers, blackcaps and even cuckoos). Very soon, you'll learn to distinguish a blackcap from a marsh tit or great tit, and a robin from a redstart or chaffinch. You will soon graduate from calling all small birds "sparrows" or referring to all house martin and swifts as swallows. The next step is to watch birds in the wild and this is when we learn that bird have their own favourite habitats. Those found on the shoreline or in marshland areas will not necessarily be the same a those who favour high ground, moors and heaths. Some prefer river banks while others love woodland; some prefer to move at night whilst others favour the dawn.

This region is particularly well served by observation points along the coastline from where thousands of birds of varied species can be seen both arriving and departing from our shores, or spending time at their nests. In many cases they tolerate the presence of human observers.

Observation points include Marsden Rocks, near South Shields, the Tees Estuary, Flamborough Head and Bempton Cliffs near Filey in East Yorkshire.

Inland waters are another source of ever-present sights, including those within our country house parklands, but there is no finer starting point than our own gardens and their complement of birds.