Kitting yourself out
What accoutrement do you need to get the most from wildlife watching and countryside exploring in marvellous East Devon? Well, in times of financial difficulty, the good news is that the basics are anything but expensive. First of all we don’t even have to look at sensory aids, the first thing you need is the right frame of mind.
To get the most from any visit, you need to have your brain in the right gear. Absorb everything - soak up everything, from every sense you have at your disposal, even investigate the best-known things with renewed enthusiasm and you are well on your way to discovering a new countryside on your doorstep.
I would argue that the mindset is the only essential ingredient for enjoying nature, everything from this point on is an additional benefit, an augmentation. With that in mind, here’s a quick guide to heightening the senses when out and about, without resorting to non-prescription drug use.
Firstly, remember your ears. Although I know some excellent birders and naturalists who are deaf, for people blessed with good hearing, this is the most easily ignored sense. Forget to use your ears at your peril; don’t be complacent about just how much information these auditory pathways can provide.
When spending time by yourself in a habitat with plenty of hiding places, it is imperative to go quietly and listen out for every snap, twitter or click; you never know when something like that will lead to an explosion of activity. I was leading a school group along a lane a few years ago, when I suddenly stopped: “Sparrowhawk, look out!” I said. A moment later and a little male sparrowhawk swooped out of the hedgerow and over our heads, out of sight towards the far fields. Safe to say, the children were pretty impressed with my clairvoyance, until I explained to them, that I had recognised the alarm calls of blue *** and great *** in the hedge a few yards further down the hill.
Once you tune in to the sounds of the countryside, there is so much you can see, without using your eyes. A group distress call of small birds to an approaching sparrowhawk is a very different sound to the same birds being threatened by a cat – the din is far louder for the moggy. There’s a great deal of birding to be done without even glimpsing the bird in question, the most fantastic exponent of this skill who I have been lucky enough to walk with, is local naturalist Donald Campbell. He regularly undertakes surveys of woods and can recognise tens of different individual wrens, for example, along a section of wood – definitely something to aspire to!
With ears tuned in – still no financial outlay you may have noticed – its time to turn to your vision. As a species, we are a pretty visually orientated lot. Again, lack of sight or partial sight does not preclude you from exploring the natural world, but there are several things you can do to help the peepers get a better view.
If you are exploring near water, think about using polarised sunglasses, to cut down on reflections and enable you to see a little way into the water. Especially on pelagic trips into Lyme Bay, a pair of polarisers on your face can be a great asset - if the sun is shining that is.
The most ubiquitous field aids by far, are binoculars, and I could write an entire season of articles devoted to this subject alone. Prices range from a few pounds, to over a thousand pounds, and value ranges across a similar spectrum. I’m not going to endorse a particular brand or style here, as I am yet to be snapped up by an optics company and given a chunky advertising contract, so here are a few non-specific guidelines to bear in mind.
The first quality I would look for within any given budget is waterproofing. If your budget brings you to a choice between one waterproof non-brand pair and a more snazzy branded but non-waterproofed pair, I would plump for the waterproofing every time. In our climate it’s just too hampering to be squirreling your bins away every time the clouds open. Also, after sea watching, I have been known to take my binoculars into the shower with me to clean all that nasty salt off the lenses.
Secondly think weight. There’s no point having a hugely powerful pair of binoculars slung round your neck if you will be on all fours after a few miles, as they drag you ever downwards. However, too light and you might find keeping the view steady is difficult too, so there’s a trade-off to be had here too.
Finally power, how much magnification are you going to go for? Printed on binoculars will normally be two numbers, separated by an ‘x’. The first number relates to the power and the second pertains to their light gathering ability. Great – go for the biggest two numbers then? Not necessarily.
Some people are able to use 10x bins perfectly well in the field, I’ve even seen some people pretending to be handling a pair of 12x with gay abandon. Personally, I favour 8x, as the field of vision is easily kept steady and it is normally perfectly powerful enough to get a decent “bin view”. Higher magnification leads to shaky scenes and seasickness.
A step beyond bins, lies the realm of telescopes, another massive area of optics with the chance to blow an ever bigger amount of one’s hard-earned. No scope can be hand-held, you always need a tripod, so for the sake of this article I’m not going to get bogged down with them – in either sense of the word.
So, you’ve got your brain switched on, your ears open and your bins poised and ready, when do we begin? As soon as you’ve put your clothes on, that’s when.
There is a pithy saying which goes: “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing”. How very true. Check the weather report and don’t be caught out. Spending time cold, wet and shivering will be a cruel and miserable experience, even if you stumble across something truly awesome.
Layer light breathable fabrics, rather than pull on a single heavy jumper, and ensure you have a good waterproof coat if there is even the remotest chance of rain. Waterproof leggings are brilliant if it’s really piddling down, and if you can’t outlay £100 for fancy walking over-trousers, check your local army surplus store for military cast-offs. I still use my 100% waterproof, breathable(ish) troos bought for £15, eight years ago, British Army clobber is generally made to last.
So, now you are bedecked in all your outdoor finery, time to head off. Where to go though? Perhaps I’ll give you some pointers next week?