Most bird watchers are excellent at spotting birds by using their sight. It stands to reason - the easiest way to identify a bird is to look at it and get visual clues as to identity.

Therefore the first item you need in your inventory will come as no surprise: a good quality guide to the resident birds of your country.

You should go for a guide with good quality pictures in it - steer clear of ones with drawings or illustrations, because they might skew the shape and proportion of the bird.

Start with common birds, then move to rarer birds.

It is always a good idea to get a sense of the size of each bird, this is often the first clue to what the bird is; often you will be looking at birds in silhouette against a bright sky, therefore noting the profile of each bird is also useful.

When it comes to distinguishing between similar looking birds, take into account clues such as usual habitat for the bird, and features such as bill size, body markings and so on.

Over time you will get to know which bird is which naturally, so there is no need to try and commit to your mind a mental image of each bird from the book!