I consider myself an armchair birder - unlike the majority of the Phoenix Forum, I can only just about tell the difference between a coot and a moorhen (coots are the ones with white beaks - I think!) and frankly, I am baffled by the sheer amount of waders, terns and just birds generally - and don’t even get me started on moths! However, I still love watching birds on my walk to school each morning, and find nature in all its forms fascinating.
My nearest RSPB reserve is about a 30 minute drive away, which is accessible, but not on a daily basis! Recently, I’ve been wanting to get outside more, particularly with rising exam stress - a feeling captured perfectly in the previous blog post - but wandering around the local park and admiring the ducks soon gets a bit dull. That’s where Geocaching comes in. I was only recently introduced to this phenomenon by a friend, and I’ve been converted!
‘Geocaches’ are generally small containers that contain a logbook (and maybe more!), which can be discovered in millions of locations worldwide. To get involved, you just have to sign up online, and download a (free!) app. The app works with your phone’s GPS system, but you can always find the coordinates before you head out, and use a GPS device.
I love geocaching because it feels like a real adventure (which the secret Indiana Jones within me adores). There is a real sense of accomplishment when after crossing rivers, crawling through bushes and having nervous breakdowns over dog poo (don’t ask) you find the cache and open it to reveal ‘treasure’ and write, with pride, your name in the logbook. I managed to persuade some of my friends, who are more interested in Twitter than actual birdsong, to go out for a day of geocaching in a local wood. We had a great time, even though they had previously claimed to be ‘allergic to the outernet’, and it was a much better bonding experience than trawling through New Look for the umpteenth time. We saw wild places in our neighbourhood that we had no idea existed, and I got to see some great wildlife, even if I didn’t quite manage to identify every bird. I’d really recommend trying geocaching - there are so many caches all over the UK, and if there aren’t any near you - you can always make your own! It’s a great, free, way to be out enjoying nature in places you never knew existed.
For more information, visit: http://www.geocaching.com
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