Bringing nature up close (Guest post by Janelle Hardacre)

How I’ve gone from nature novice to binoculars queen

This is a guest post by Janelle Hardacre, whose Substack, because she has to, is a favourite of mine. Find out more about Janelle at the end of her article.

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It’s sixteen months since we migrated from buzzy, trendy Chorlton in Manchester to what I still refer to as ‘the sticks’. 

Sixteen months since our back view changed from metal fencing and a supermarket carpark to a great expanse of sky, rolling fells and farmers’ fields. 

Our new local tourist board says; “Most of Ribble Valley is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From the River Ribble to the Bowland Fells, the area is the perfect destination for immersing oneself in stunning scenery…”

They’re not exaggerating. Where we live now is breathtakingly wild and beautiful. 

Swirled in with all the feelings about our big move was one of ignorance. It was palpable.  Previously I had never felt compelled to stop and notice wildlife or the change in the seasons. Now I had been thrust face-first into nature. And I didn’t have a clue what I was looking at.

When we walked along our local tracks, I couldn’t name a single tree or wildflower. At best I could point out a pigeon and a sparrow in our garden. 

One evening as we sat watching telly, my eye was drawn to a creamy-white flash past the window. 

“What was that?”

I stood up and inhaled sharply as an owl flew face first towards me with its round dark eyes. It took a swift turn and flapped away across the next field. 

“Did you see that!?” I said, smiling and dancing light on my feet. 

The barn owl, who I’m thrilled to say we still see regularly, was my hook, my invitation. 

“I want to learn about nature.”

On a day begrudgingly set aside for chores, I pressed play on a short audiobook: Rewild Yourself by Simon Barnes: 23 spellbinding ways to make nature more visible. 

“Let the learning commence!”

In this book, Barnes essentially lists out activities to help us connect with the natural world. 

Chapter nine is ‘A spell for making birds and beasts come closer’: 

“You probably know this spell already. If so, you’ll know it also works for mammals: you can gaze into the eyes of a deer while the deer still thinks it a safe distance away. The spell works by means of a pair of binoculars…”

I let Simon’s words wash over me as I dusted and filled bin bags. I later regaled my partner, T, with some of my learnings. The binoculars chapter had, for some reason, lingered. I explained that I might save up for a pair, imagining a future version of me who could identify all manner of birds, flora and fauna.

A few things about T… He likes to research things online. He likes to buy things online. If he can afford something now, he doesn’t see the point in waiting.

So, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find him a few days later with a small cardboard box, pulling out the packaging on a brand-new pair of binoculars (Vortex Diamondback HD 8 x 28).

Uh oh! This was one expensive impulse purchase. Would they end up gathering dust on a shelf? Binoculars were for serious nature-ites, not the likes of me. 

I assumed I’d need some kind of skill, but when I lifted them to my eyes and twisted the dial a little, my reward was instant. I was suddenly up close to the trees on the fell. And that brown rock in the field next door… it was actually a hare, hunkered down in the grass!

“Woah!”

The binoculars’ new home was on the windowsill. In the days and weeks after they arrived, pretty much every day, one of us would walk into the room to find the other one stood at the window, getting closer to the comings and goings of our wildlife neighbours. 

I’ll never forget the morning we watched three deer trotting across the distant misty fields as the sun rose. 

I took the binoculars up the hill and was thrilled to be able to focus in on a hovering bird of prey. A kestrel of course! A great first bird to ID, as it’s the only one that hovers distinctively in place over its prey. 

In a matter of weeks, I became that person who rarely leaves the house without her ‘bins’.

They have fast-tracked my fascination with - and connection to - the natural world. I could never have imagined the joys that a pair of binoculars would bring me. The things I have witnessed!

A proud peregrine falcon surveying the view from its cliff perch, the distinctive brown patches under a buzzard’s wide stretched wings, a sparrowhawk’s beady yellow eye, the moon’s craters, the tiny black dots on a red admiral’s wing.

T and I have since invested in another pair and you’ll find the two of us out most weekends with our binoculars slung across our backs. Not only have they brought us closer to nature, they’ve brought us closer to each other, through our new shared fascination. We are both novices, ticking off our sightings list and tuning into nature in a way we never have before.

“Research shows that people with a greater connection to nature are more likely to behave positively towards the environment, wildlife and habitats,” says the RSPB. It has taken me too long to get here, but I know this will be a lifelong journey for me now. That’s why I’m so grateful to Zabby and others for inviting us to notice nature in accessible ways.

And as you can see, binoculars have been a game-changer when it comes to my own relationship with the natural world.

Ask around with family and friends. Do they have a pair you could borrow? The RSPB holds regular binocular and telescope weekends at its UK nature reserves. And National Trust hires them out at certain sites too.

I have not tried this myself, but Zeiss offers the chance to test out its products for free for 48 hours.

If you can get your hands on a pair, I’d definitely urge you to. You won’t regret bringing the natural world up close.

As Simon says to close off the chapter, with a pair of binoculars,“I have perpetual access to magic”.

Janelle Hardacre (she/her) is a writer working on her debut novel. She posts a weekly letter on Substack about writing, mental blocks, nature and things that spark joy.

When Janelle’s not working on her creative projects, she is a freelance copywriter and works for a charity in Manchester. She also sings. Janelle has recently moved to the stunning Ribble Valley with her partner, her cat Victor and collection of books.

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