Birds near me

One of the things you could is listen out for there calls and then follow the calls you hear cause they can lead to the bird. Another is to regularly visit somewhere near you and see what birds you can see or hear. Another way is to get a Bird app like Merlin bird Id. 
And birds eye that pinpoints your location and then tells you what birds are nearby.

For apps birds eye is one of the best apps to find out

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/birdseye-bird-finding-guide/id324168850

Benji, have a look around and see if there is a local bird watching group in your area As a rule they publish an annual report of birds seen in their area plus there can be social contact which can be a big part of birding Birders usually like telling others about birds they have seen.

in my exspeariance I found all 2 or 3 of the abouve worked very well rather than doing only one. I got to know what birds were nearby very well.  Mainly following birds calls and visiting  somewhere nearby regularly.  if your unable to go out and about and do that then a Bird app like bird eye can come handy. but  it just depends on the person and what works for them. I think that a bird watching group is a good idea to suggest aswell   I didn’t think of that one. 

When I was learning the birds in my area it was a Couple of years ago way before lockdown I didn’t rely on bird apps like birds eye to tell me what birds are nearby cause I wanted to get out there and get to know the birds personally so I also traveled locally aswell and I find travelling can help you learn what birds are nearby aswell. Sometimes you can see a greater variety of birds when you travel aswell cause your not just in one place all the time. Bird apps that tell you what’s nearby are more helpful if you can’t get out and about and birds aren’t active outside aswell. I rarely use the apps that tell me what birds are nearby. .

  In case there’s ever time you can’t go out at all  I thought I’d suggest it since I been in that situation too. I thought  bird apps were more of a idea for if you ever find yourself in a situation you can’t get out and about at all And that’s why it was my last suggestion. the other two suggestions are better when it comes to birding. You dont have to stay in one place you can also travel but I thought it would still be a helpful suggestion at the time. . Weather you stay in one place or not looking out for them and listening out for them can help you get to know the birds in your area. I forgot to suggest that There are field guides and books that tell you what birds you can find and where aswell. For example birds of Gloucestershire or birds of Madrid. you can also get to know what birds are nearby that way. You can get pocket ones so you can take them around with you 

Yes I agree the localised field books are a great help if you do not know the area, I have just bought a guide for Lindisfarne in Northumberland as we are going there in two weeks time. Even though we have been there several times before it shows sites I did not know abut and history of what has been seen and what time of year.. There is one for n ear us, Harrogate, but it needs someone to update it but still a useful book. All these things are great aids but, for me, nothing like standing on the moor edge.

I know what you mean. I can be very adventurous sometimes but sometimes it pays to be abit adventurous. Sometimes It’s even more exiteing if when you don’t know an Wildlife area you can just go round and exsplore and see how far you can go and what birds you can see. how many birds you see  and you never know what will pop up it can also be interesting to find out there’s places in a area you havnt exsplored yet and go and have a look. I only moved to Gloucestershire in 2010 cause I used to live in Wiltshire. due to some challengeing and unexpected events mental health wise no one could of done anything about I I wasn’t able to start exsploreing Gloucestershire until around 2015.

It was a very exiteing time then finding places I didn’t even know were there nearby or even in Gloucestershire as a whole. And there was so much more to it then I thought. And finding out about places I didn’t know were there from books after aswell. I usualy take a camara maybe about 2 in case I run out of battery and a pair of binoculars and also a telescope and drawing in case I don’t manage to get a picture of a bird and write it things down things like that.

They can be helpful for getting to know birds in your area aswell.

What you said about how there great aids but there nothing like standing on a moor edge. I know what you mean by that aswell.
But For me I also think that there’s nothing like standing on top of the hill or mountain and looking at the vast view with Buzzards calling and souring abouve your head and skylarks flying up so high in the sky with there long continuous call with all while parachuteimg all the way back down to the ground. I sometimes go by the phrase theres so much more to life than you can ever imagine. That include Wildlife and wild places aswell. And I think it can be fun and exiteing getting to know the birds nearby.

Like you seem to have done Zo I spent a lot of time shielding and staying local when we could go out. It was a great time for discovering even more of our local patch.

When lockdown happened I had to do that too. rules were even more strict for me cause I was classed as more vulnerable so had to completely self isolate sometimes. It does make you realise that being inside isnt the same compared to being out there actualy interacting with nature. and it makes you feel more connected with it. I stayed local when I don’t need to isolate anymore, So I stayed very local cause of that I know the birds even more than before to the point it’s almost like I almost know them as well as the next door neighbor. I spent a lot of time recording the birds I see and how many sending them to things like Bird track.

And I think maybe useing birdtrack and things like that might also be another idea or another way
to get to know what birds are nearby.
I have a lot of hills and commons ( nearby) which is partly why I mentioned the hills.

There are a lot of things out there that can help with getting to know birds near you and I think looking out and listening out for them.
Your idea of a local birdwatching group.
Books that say where you can go and where you can see places and birds near you can be helpful. there’s nothing like exsploreing places nearby you already been to that has somewhere you didn’t know were there aswell
as well as exsploreing the places you just have and havnt been to nearby To find out aswell.
a camara pen and paper. Binoculars and telescope
Can help you identify the birds nearby and find out what ones you get near
You. And can be very helpful when it comes to takeing notes and seeing
Details you wouldn’t see otherwise can help you spot the birds you get.

Overall I think there some of the best ways of finding out what birds are near you if not all of them. But If I think of any other helpful ways aswell il let you and Benjis know if you don’t mind it

I have been a supporter of BTO BirdTrack since its early days using it to record sightings for most of my regular sites. It is through people inputting their sightings on BirdTrack that we get a lot of the details about bird numbers.