Bird Watching advice
You don't need to know anything about birds to enjoy watching them. Here at Keen Gardener, we already know the pleasure you can gain out of watching birds in your garden, and whether you're watching small birds coming to your bird table, or big birds of prey soaring hundreds of feet above your head, birds are everywhere. We now supply a range of bird watching products to help you identify and enjoy these magnificent creatures from the comfort of your own home.
By following simple guidelines and principles, you can learn to identify any bird you come across. Every bird you see is different in some way and, if you want to, you can spend a lifetime learning about them. The RSPB identifier includes all the wild birds you're likely to see in the UK.
Bear in mind that in cold weather, birds can 'fluff out' their feathers and appear much fatter and more rounded (they also do this to make themselves look bigger to a rival). Birds with long necks, such as herons, can coil them up next to their bodies and look quite different, and a bird alerted to the presence of a predator might stretch its neck out in order to see it properly.
When using a bird book to help identify something you've seen, bear in mind that real birds do not often look exactly like the pictures. Every bird is slightly different. Most books illustrate birds at one or two times of year, but birds replace their feathers at regular intervals and so are often in an 'intermediate' stage not illustrated. Dull or very bright light can also make birds look different.
The noises that birds make are a great help to birdwatchers. Some species would be very hard to detect if they didn't call or sing. Tawny owls are secretive during the day but can be very vocal after dark. Nightingales are famous for their loud, beautiful song, but like to sing from deep inside thickets and dense bushes. Chiffchaffs and willow warblers look very similar, but fortunately their songs are poles apart.
Our range of binoculars and spotters start at just £21.99, making them the ideal for the novice or bird watch enthusiast, and also make an ideal gift alongside any other bird products such as bird tables, feeders, and bird food.