Initial observations

Here I’ll give some tips on just watching animals.

Tip 1

Get out and look around. Always be noticing what’s going on. Keeping your ears open is a huge help; I pick up on most things in nature because I notice sounds (though maybe that’s because my eyesight’s terrible …).

Tip 2

Give things a chance to happen. Not everything happens immediately, and many of the coolest things actually happen quite rarely. So be patient.

Having said that, don’t let yourself get bored. If that starts happening, move on.

Though note that this tip does not apply when you’ve started your formal study and are doing formal observations. That stuff always gets boring now and then, but you just have to stick with it.

The next tip should help stave off boredom.

Tip 3

Always be asking yourself questions, always be asking “what’s this animal doing?” “why is it doing it?” “how is it doing it?” and so on.

Take guesses at answers as you go. Be free with this step, but as you do it, also reflect on “how do I know that?”, i.e. “what am I noticing about what I’m actually seeing that makes me think x?”.

That’s a big clue to making hypotheses and predictions.