Learn About Your Surroundings:
When out in the wilderness, you will encounter beautiful views and interesting landscapes and, for many, these are the reasons for hiking. There are other interests that you can develop as you hike or can even be a reason to start hiking. The most obvious is developing a knowledge and interest in the wildlife you are likely to encounter on your hikes. This can range from the small such as insect life right up to large mammals but perhaps the easiest and most ubiquitous type of fauna is the birds that you will see.
Bird Watching:
Bird watching in itself gets rather a bad press. A little like train spotters, avid birdwatchers (or twitchers as they are called in England) are seen as rather boring individuals who are quite happy to sit in the cold and rain all day just to tick off another bird on their lists. There may be some truth in this but for the hiker, spotting and identifying birds adds to the pleasure of the hike.
The nice thing about identifying birds is that you can often know a type of bird is near you without actually seeing it. Just from the call you know what is around. When walking in the hills and mountains of southern Crete, I thrill to the sound of bee-eaters, a very distinctive trilling sound. The bee-eater is one of Europes most beautiful birds and always a treat to see. They are often heard first as the swoop through the olive groves catching their favourite insects so I then know it is time to sit quietly in my camping chair and munch on a sandwich while waiting for them to come into view.
A Little Tech Can Help:
As with other activities, it is good to research a little first. Find out the type of birds that you are likely to encounter at different times of the year. This is important if you are hiking in an area unfamiliar to you, while on vacation perhaps. The only two important items you need to take on the hike in your camping gear are a decent and small pair of binoculars and a pocket bird identification guide. Believe it or not, there is now also a smartphone app which identifies bird calls. If you are camping, tents with a screen room can allow you to stay protected from insects without missing out on the wildlife.
Once you have encountered a few more exotic birds than you get in your garden, you will quickly discover that being an accidental twitcher can be very rewarding indeed.
About the Author:
Barry Rodgers is an outdoors enthusiast. He has a love of the outdoors lifestyle and has hiked in the USA and many European countries. Currently living in Greece, he is often found hiking and camping in the mountains and on the beaches of southern Crete with his camping gear, camping chairs, some camping tents.
Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Getting-More-From-Your-Hikes/4491826
saul alinsky annapolis wwe royal rumble trisomy leon panetta luck sag awards 2012 nominees
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন