One of the best ways to watch birds at close quarters is to attract them to your garden, and use your kitchen or lounge as a super-hide. You will probably find that, unless your feeding station is within a few feet of your window, you will want to see the birds more clearly. Focus At this point you may consider buying a pair of binoculars. If you decide to do this buy the best you can afford. A really cheap pair is unlikely to prove satisfactory, and when you consider that your initial outlay buys an instrument that, properly treated, will last indefinitely, the cost should appear less prohibitive. You will be well advised to spend some time in making your choice. It is not a good idea to purchase such an important item without examining it, so mail order is not recommended, even from reputable dealers. Unfortunately Staffordshire does not boast a binocular and telescope specialist, though the yellow pages reveal a few photographic dealers which carry some in stock. Ideally you could examine advertisements in such magazines as the RSPB's own ‘Birds’ or the monthly ‘Bird Watching’. You will find that there are specialists within about a 60 mile radius of North Staffordshire. If possible visit one of these, preferably one who offers the opportunity of testing the binoculars in the field. Ask for advice and take your time in choosing. Spotting and naming A rather cheaper item, but one which will enhance the pleasure of bird-watching, is a field guide which will help in bird identification. Tremendous satisfaction can be gained from correctly identifying a ‘new’ species, and the more you study the field guide the more likely you are to achieve this satisfaction. However field guides are no substitutes for the experience and knowledge gained by watching birds in the company of other people. So we make no apology for suggesting that you consider joining the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Once you are a member, you are entitled to join the local members group. Our activities take place on an organised basis throughout the year and frequently groups of individuals meet to go out bird watching locally. We welcome newcomers and are happy to help and advise them. Many of us are not experts, but we have learned a good deal from being with people who know more than we do and have been happy to share their knowledge. Members’ children frequently accompany their parents, and they are catered for by their own national organisation, The Young Ornithologists’ Club, the junior branch of the RSPB. The two organisations work closely together. Place and time... As this knowledge expands, the novice birdwatcher learns that such factors as habitat and weather provide clues as to what birds are seen. Some species are found almost everywhere, such as the blackbird, wren, house sparrow, while others are limited to specific habitats, for example nightjar, dipper, black grouse. Yet other birds normally seen for example, at the coast, or even in other countries, may be wind blown into unfamiliar territory, a notable recent example being the manx shearwater found in the middle of Hanley, which has also played host to a little ringed plover and black redstart. The time of year is another factor to consider. Britain provides breeding habitats for summer visitors like swallow, ring ouzel, willow warbler, which travel thousands of miles south for the winter, while we become the wintering grounds for more northerly species such as redwing, field ware and golden eye. Thus we have the advantage of a year long variety of bird life, and increasing knowledge leads to increasing pleasure in simply- bird watching... | 
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