Most people think a complete guide to birdwatching needs to start with a list of the most expensive Swarovski optics or a PhD in ornithology, …
The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Birdwatching
2026
Shakedown Trips: Finding the Failure at Home
I once watched a group of climbers sit in a dry, sunny valley, admiring the sheen on their brand-new, ultralight hardshells like they were looking …
Wildlife Watching With Children Who Cannot Sit Still
I remember a group of hikers last autumn, parents who had spent a small fortune on high-end, lightweight binoculars only to have their seven-year-olds drop …
Carrying a Camera Versus Using Your Phone
I was halfway up a scree slope in the Cairngorms last October, trying to track a pair of golden eagles through a sudden, stinging sleet, …
Butterfly Identification for People Who Walk Fast
I remember sitting in a damp hollow near the Brecon Beacons back in 2012, trying to log a specific sighting while the light was failing …
Hill Food That Works After Six Hours
I remember a Tuesday in the Cairngorms, about six years ago, when the wind was hitting forty knots and the temperature had dropped ten degrees …
Camping From a Canoe: Weight Stops Mattering
I once watched a group of well-meaning weekend warriors try to figure out how to canoe camp while they were actively drifting toward a reed …
The Complete Guide to Watching Wildlife
I was crouched in a patch of gorse three years ago, my knees aching and my fingers numb from a biting Atlantic wind, waiting for …
Planting for Pollinators Across the Whole Season
I was up on a ridge in the Cairngorms last Tuesday, watching a pair of peregrines circle a scree slope, when I realized how much …
Binoculars: Eight by Forty-two and Why
I’ve spent more hours than I care to count squinting through cheap, high-magnification glass only to realize I’ve missed the actual bird because the image …