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Basic fieldcraft

When you start watching wildlife, the time of year, the weather, or what time of day you set out may not seem all that relevant. But the more you spend time out in the field, the more you’ll come to appreciate the little tricks of the trade that experienced naturalists call ‘fieldcraft’.

Essentially, fieldcraft comes down to the art of knowing how to behave, what to do, and when and where to go in order to maximise your chances of finding, watching and enjoying a particular creature or wildlife experience.

Fieldcraft covers a multitude of things: some obvious, like not making a noise or a sudden movement when you’re watching a shy animal; others less so, such as standing downwind from a mammal to prevent detection.

It also includes timing (time of year, time of day and tide times); aspects of the weather, including wind direction, temperature and rainfall; where you are looking; and the many and varied clues that animals and plants leave behind, which tell you how to find what you are looking for.

Finally, knowing the best place to find wildlife – its favourite habitat – is also part of fieldcraft.

Timing

It’s often said that the secret of great comedy is … yes, you’ve guessed it – timing! But the same could just as easily be said about watching wildlife. If you go to the right place at the wrong time – or the wrong place at the right time – you risk missing out on what might be a truly memorable experience. Worse still, you may end up seeing virtually nothing at all. So, timing affects wildlife and wildlife watchers in lots of different ways:

Time of year: If you go searching for swallows in November or dragonflies in March, then prepare to be disappointed. Many creatures follow a regular annual cycle, and during part of the year cannot be seen – either because they are hiding, hibernating or have migrated far away from our shores. So swallows arrive back in Britain from Africa in April, and depart south again in September. Not all migrants are summer visitors: wild swans and geese breed in the Arctic before heading south to Britain in September or October, to take advantage of our mild climate and plenty of food for the winter (see The Wildlife Year: January, page 36).

Season: Some creatures are here all year round, but are much easier to see at certain seasons. So look out for bees and butterflies between spring and autumn; in winter a few may still be present, but they will be hidden away from view. Frogs and toads come out of hibernation in February or March and are usually easier to see at this time than the rest of the year as they are actively mating in garden ponds. Songbirds like blue tits are here all year round, but in late summer they moult, and can be hard to find.

Time of day: Most groups of wildlife are easier to see (or hear) at a particular time of day. Everyone knows the dawn chorus, but from late winter to early summer birds have a dusk chorus as well – not quite so intense, but just as enjoyable (and you don’t need to get up early to experience it). For birds and mammals, dawn and dusk are times of greatest activity; though many mammals are nocturnal, so ‘dusk to dawn’ would be a more appropriate description. Insects and wild flowers are usually at their best in the middle of the day, with dragonflies appearing at pub opening time – from late morning onwards on calm, sunny days.

Tide times: These are critical for several aspects of wildlife watching. Rock pools are covered up at high tide, so the two hours either side of low tide is the best time. It’s well worth investing in a set of tide tables – available at the local newsagent or post office in coastal areas, or on the internet – as these will help you time your visit to perfection. If you want to witness a spectacular roost of wading birds, then you need to visit either side of the high tide; while if you prefer to watch them feeding, then you will need to take a boat trip at low tide. Plan your visit to coincide with the ‘spring’ tides, where the difference between high and low water is at its greatest.

Bill's top tip

_ With fieldcraft, the more you know, the more you discover you don’t know! If you find this frustrating, try to see it as a challenge instead of a problem. In that way, you’ll enjoy wildlife watching even more.

Weather

Whole books have been written about the effect of the weather on plants and animals – and in these days of global climate change it is a subject far too large to do full justice here. Nevertheless, there are a few tips worth remembering before you go out to look for wildlife.

Temperature: This makes a big difference to what wildlife is doing, and where to find it. A mild day in late winter or early spring will bring out all sorts of creatures, including small mammals, frogs and toads and singing birds. If the weather stays fine, we may even see the first returning migrants such as house martins, and spring flowers like primroses. But a cold snap, especially with ice and snow, will cover up any signs of spring. The upside is that cold weather often makes birds easier to approach, as they are too busy feeding to bother about you. A hot summer’s day will encourage insects and wild flowers, but discourage most other activity.

Sunshine: Likewise, the presence or absence of sunshine will affect some creatures; it’s easier to get good views of butterflies on a cloudy day, as they are less fluttery and more inclined to stay still. Muggy, overcast nights are similarly the best for moth trapping. Sunshine also affects visibility: looking into rock pools is easier when they are well lit; while backlit birds may be harder to identify than when conditions are overcast.

Wind speed and direction: This is of great interest to birdwatchers, especially in spring and autumn, when migrants are blown off-course by easterly winds and turn up on our coasts. Local knowledge is vital here; and other factors such as cloudy skies or rain are also important. For other wildlife watchers, wind is generally unwelcome: it can make looking at flowers or insects, or tracking down mammals, very difficult.

Rain and snow: Rain is generally a disadvantage; but if you go out just after it stops, you often get wonderful views of birds as they emerge to feed. Snow covers up food supplies, but it may also bring birds or mammals out into the open as they search for something to eat.

Tracks and signs

When it comes to some groups of wildlife, tracks and signs are vital. Indeed, for many mammals they may well be the only clue to their presence. Small black droppings or shredded newspaper in your garden shed probably mean that a wood mouse is living there. On a walk in a wood, look out for all sorts of things, including owl pellets, the droppings of mammals such as fox or badger and, of course, the animal’s tracks in soft mud. Beaches are also good places to find signs, including empty shells, and footprints in wet sand; or stuff washed up along the tideline.

If you are interested in knowing more about tracks and signs, there are books on the subject; or you can go on walks led by experts, who will astonish you by pointing out what you have missed.

Habitat

Probably the most fundamental aspect of fieldcraft is to ask yourself the simple question: am I in the right place? You are very unlikely to see otters halfway up a mountain, or a golden eagle flying across a city skyline. So check out the right habitat for the creatures you are looking for; and also find out what to expect in a particular habitat. All experienced naturalists know what to expect when they go to a particular place helping them narrow down the possibilities when they do see something.

Habitats can be split into very broad categories, such as woodland, farmland, freshwater or coast; but within these there are many distinctions: for example, the birds you’ll find in ancient deciduous woodland tend to be different from those in a new conifer plantation.

Even within the same habitat there will be subtle differences: flowers of the woodland edge tend to differ from those in the heart of the wood; while small differences in things like the type of soil, the vegetation and the amount of sun on a patch of land will make a big difference to what you will find there.

It sounds complicated, and indeed it can be: but, like identifying what you see, you’ll soon learn to find the best places to watch wildlife, and know what to expect when you go there. Like so much else in wildlife watching, it all comes down to experience – but however many years you’ve been doing it, there’s always something new to learn!