The Birds

You don't have to label yourself a 'bird watcher' to enjoy birds. Labels anyway are best avoided if you want to stay independent.

Neither does it matter so much if the bird you see is exactly what you think it might be unless you have a meticulously kept journal in which you tick off each specimen that you see. (I did collect train numbers as an eight-year-old).

The weeks in early May are often the best to actually see the birds rather than tell them from song and call.

Our friend here is just visible because leaves are not fully out. But is it a warbler or a Whitethroat?

Other birds make life easier for the identifier.