NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE

Remember, as hinted at in the other two tips on this page, there is no substitute for experience when it comes to the challenging business of seawatching. If possible, as a beginner, try to watch with more experienced observers who can help you learn and avoid the myriad pitfalls which are flying out over that open sea. You will soon learn the different flight styles and structures which distinguish, for example, waders and terns and gulls; seaducks and auks; skuas, Gannets and shearwaters; grebes, cormorants and divers. When you have learned the subtly different flight styles of different birds flying at two miles’ range, you are starting to get somewhere. Practice, practice and more practice is the key.