[Closed] Calling STW birders

There are loads of really good little reserves in S Yorks/Notts....been to a few with friends who live in the area.  Sorry can't name any of them, but I seem to recall most were run by local "wildlife" type groups, though also several RSPB ones too.   RSPB ones often have demo days for binoculars too.  Sorry can't be more specific...google is your friend!

Hiya! My wife (and therefore by default me) has gotten massively into bird watching and photography lately. This I am happy with as it gets some nice walks and for once in our marriage the expensive Nikon stuff turning up at home is not funded by me!

Best thing I can suggest is join the RSPB, they have lots of good local walks and VERY knowledgeable staff/volunteers who are always keen to share their passion.

It sounds like you are about 30 miles south of us (we are south Leeds) near you there is Potteric Carr (Yorkshire Wildlife trust), Sprotborough Flash and RSPB Old Moor which is in Manvers near Doncaster. Further North you have Fairburn Ings and St Aidens. I am not familiar with whats in the Notts area as we have not yet ventured that far.

If you get to an RSPB (Fairburn or Old Moor) they have EXTENSIVE binocular selection for sale and evaluation. We ended up buying a pair of RSPB branded HDX ones (to our shame from Ebay for half the price!), But there are lots of choice (almost too much) for binoculars, so I really suggest trying a few.

There are some good Facebook groups for bird watching. There is the "Yorkshire Birders" Facebook group which is good for sightings.

Of course this can get expensive if you get into Swarovski binoculars and exotic cameras and zoom lenses, but as a basic hobby it's quite cheep (see what I did there) and seeing your first King Fisher is something you will remember.

As a start I would head to Sprotborough Flash as it's a lovely walk and there was lots to see, plus it's free.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is £5 a month for me and wife to have joint membership. RSPB is the same cost for joint (and the coffee is good value...though not great at Old Moor, much better at St Aidens and Fairburn).

If you venture to Leeds there is Adel Dam nature reserve run by the Yorkshire Wild Life Trust which has some nice hides and lots to see.

Today we are heading out to Potteric Carr.

Agree with the others about joining the RSPB.

If you go to one of their reserves you'll get a choice of free gift when you join, which is usually a book. Also go hunting in charity shops for bird books.

We're both members of the RSPB, which has a local group (I'm assistant treasurer atm). If there is a group near you it will be free for your son to join if he is 16 or under, adult membership (at ours) is £10 per year. The group has monthly walks out to reserves, where car sharing is encouraged. We also have speakers once a month at an evening meet. I've learnt such a lot from the speakers and more still from our RSPB members in our group.

We're also members of our local wildlife trust group. They will have info on where local bird hides are and reserves in your area.

It's great to have a bird book, then slowly over the years tick off the birds.

I would get onto the RSPB website as they have brilliant tips on how to get started, where to watch certain birds, how to make your garden more wildlife friendly, what to feed the birds etc.

You are starting at a very good time because the birds are now in their breeding (best) plumage and easy to identify. Also it's a good time to put up a bird box (again check out with the RSPB site, where to position the box, so chicks don't get overheated.

Maybe you can get over to Bempton Cliffs in North Yorkshire  in late spring when the birds are laying eggs. It's an amazing experience to see gannets, guillimots, razorbills,fulmars and other sea birds sitting on their nests. If you're lucky you'll get to see a puffin or two.

Let us know how you get on

In addition to the above. Do you feed birds in the garden? If not start doing that. You'll be amazed the species you can attract. You don't have to spend a fortune. Wilko have some very reasonably priced feeders. Hang them from a tree if you have one other wise you can easily make a hanger out of some wood. Some basic bird seed mix, Niger for the Goldfinches and some fat balls. Armed with a book and watching the feeders it will help you get 'tuned in'. Before I never noticed the birds when out and about. Now I spot them and can occasionally ID them with just a very quick glimpse. It's a rewarding skill.

As for binos, there’s a fine line between useless tat and reasonable budget binos. You don’t need top end unless you really need to see the finest details in difficult light conditions, and these are where Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica can justify their price tags, sort of. Look at Hawke, Vortex, Meopta. Also look at lower grade Zeiss, such as their Terra model.

Don’t fall into the gadget trap, so don’t bother with zoom binos, and keep to fixed modest magnification.  8x32 or 8x42 are more than adequate with a reasonable field of view.  10x42 will be fine as long as they aren’t too heavy to hold without wobbling. Stuff like 10x50  or bigger may even need a tripod to stop shake.

We sell quite a few different makes and models, and  I can assure you not all models suit every buyer. I wear specs so need an eye relief to suit my varifocals for example, so do the eye cups wind in and out to suit you? Does the diopter adjust enough to suit your prescription? Go to a proper seller and try them out. Learn how to set the eyepieces and diopter properly

Some basic bird seed mix, Niger for the Goldfinches and some fat balls.

Birds can be really picky, though: I’ve tried various fat balls, seed mixes with Niger seeds, mealworms, etc, and the bloody goldfinches would pick out the niger seeds and toss them on the floor to get at the sunflower hearts, the fat balls would be ignored, etc.

At the moment I’ve got half a dozen feeders filled with sunflower hearts hanging in my Acer out the back that the goldies, sparrows, chaffinches and blue tits go for, as do the wood pigeons, the blackbirds have a go, as does the robin, but the chaffinches seem to have a problem with feeders and sort of hover in front then go down and pick up all the mess dropped by the goldies, and the blackbirds and robins go after stuff on the ground as well.

The blue tits are the only birds that go for the suet pellets and the fat block I’ve got in a holder in the tree, and the blackbirds have been going for the Pyrocanthus berries just lately, fending off the Scandinavian immigrants who’ve flocked in from the frozen waste that is the countryside!

Or was, until yesterday...

Regarding binoculars, something around 8x20 - 8x40 is ideal, going up to 10x brings extra weight, which will start to tell after two or three hours wandering around.

Yup, pretty much agree with all the above, especially RSPB. Don't bother with high magnification bino's, don't buy large ones as you'll never take them out and about. Be patient and have fun!

Thanks for the info.

we have joined the RSPB and have been looking up some local places it would appear we are quite lucky with our location.

Re binos, are there any which are better suited to people who wear glasses or would it be more specific than that.

Does anyone have the Collins bird app? It looks good but £15 or an app seems quite high.

its nice that the whole family seem to be keen to learn more. What a great excuse for a walk.

If you do wear glasses look out for binos with an eye relief of 15 mm plus with adjustable eye cups  that will stay in place at  intermediate stages, in case you don’t suit all the way out or all the way in. Some have a click-adjust, or my Meoptas have a decent friction lock. Also, consider an elasticated chest strap. They mean you can walk about without worrying about the binos swinging around, they’re kept snug to the chest. Not brilliant if you’re sharing them though.

Do you live near any canals or rivers with well trodden footpaths and plenty of cover? Birds here seem to be a little more used to people and so you can get some close pictures without a big lens.

In the garden I have some feeders set up to which I've attached some bare branches. I then set up a tripod close by with my camera on (210mm lens) pointing at one the branches and use an app on my phone to remotely (wireless) take the photos when birds come in to view. You can get some quite natural photos that way.

One I took yesterday.

Regarding binoculars, something around 8×20 – 8×40 is ideal, going up to 10x brings extra weight, which will start to tell after two or three hours wandering around.

This may depend on magnification......Here's my lot..

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The old Optolyth Alpins on the right are 10x50's & weigh in at 700gms, the Opticron Oasys in the middle are 10x28's & the Leica Trinovids are 10x25's, both weigh in at 252gms.

Obviously 10x50's are going to be better in low light with a bigger objective lens diameter, but then there's a compromise with size overall. The beauty of 10x25/8's is the compactness of them I got the Opticrons to fit in a jersey pocket when out on the bike. ( I got the Leicas so the Mrs could have the Opticrons) & the Optolyths generally stay indoors. I have no problem with shake with 10x's.

It's all horses for courses & the best thing the OP can/must do is decide on a budget & go & try as many as possible. & don't rush it!

Edit, another thing to check out is the close focus distance. The Opticrons have a closer focus than the Leicas, which were dearer.

Recently got back in to birdwatching and bought some new bins a few weeks ago. I tried to do loads of research, tried plenty out there and finally settled on some Celestron Granite 10x42 - they were reduced from £450ish down to £185 on here  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-binoculars.html (back up to £285 now.)

They're really quite good, come with the chest strap and what seems like pretty good quality neck strap and case. I was going to get some of their nature series ones but these were a really good buy. I thought they were quite a lot better too. Felt more substantial and comfortable to hold, also have ED glass, waterproof etc.

I also wear specs so if you can, go to a proper shop and try as many as you can. I was lucky enough to be working near Exeter and managed to get there to buy what I wanted.

Edit: I'm never going to use the chest strap if anyone wants it? I'll swap it for some jelly snakes.

At most large RSPB reserves they have a range of bins to hire for a few pounds. This gives you an idea of what will suit you. Also good, if like us, we'd travelled quite a long way and forgot our own.

I would also consider paying for the squirrel proof feeders. Anything weighty landing on the feeder, such as a parakeet, squirrel, rat, etc will close down the mechanism.

Sunflower seeds are the preferred food in our garden.

Also if feeding the birds, always have a bird bath or something for the birds to drink from and bath in.

Also are there any good spotting areas between Derbyshire/ S. Yorkshire/ Nottinghamshire area?

Forge out your patch :-)...never forget the Edgelands 🙂

Also are there any good spotting areas between Derbyshire/ S. Yorkshire/ Nottinghamshire area?

Forge out your patch :-)...never forget the Edgelands 🙂

After years of feeding birds in the garden the 3 things that we have found that will be eaten without fail are, sunflower hearts, suet pellets and sultanas. We occasionally put out a suet block (on the ground for the blackbirds) also apples (red ones) cut in half will attract allsorts.

Obviously 10×50’s are going to be better in low light with a bigger objective lens diameter, but then there’s a compromise with size overall. The beauty of 10×25/8’s is the compactness of them I got the Opticrons to fit in a jersey pocket when out on the bike. ( I got the Leicas so the Mrs could have the Opticrons) & the Optolyths generally stay indoors. I have no problem with shake with 10x’s.

But you haven’t said just how much a pair of Leica binos will cost...

And the Opticrons are over £200, which might be a deal-breaker for someone starting out.

Id be looking around £150-180 for starting out, your Avian 8x30’s cost me £89 around ten years ago, sadly they’re no longer made, but Avian still do binos starting around £160.

And Opticrons

But you haven’t said just how much a pair of Leica binos will cost…

And the Opticrons are over £200, which might be a deal-breaker for someone starting out.

The Leicas were £325 or so, the Opticrons were £199. Opticrons come in a lot cheaper & IMO are among the best value binoculars around.

I wished I couldv'e gone Swarovski when I got the Leicas but both couldn't afford or justify over 1K for as far as I could tell, little difference in optical quality to the Leicas. (or the Opticrons for that matter.

http://opticron.co.uk/Pages/binoculars_menu.htm

birdforum is not a bad website plenty of info and a for sale section as well,

sherwoods isnt a bad web site for binos, you wont go far wrong with opticron, 8 x40 is a a good starting point    8 is the magnification 40 is the size of the lens screw down eyecups if you wear specs, ,