I've been fascinated by nature for most of my life, but there are still lots of things I have never seen. So, this type of advice is not only discouraging, it also reinforces that sense that being interested in nature is simply a quest to fill in some long list, perhaps in the hope of a prize. There is always something brighter, rarer, more exciting just around the next corner.
My new book ‘Every Day Nature’ is about another way to watch nature. It's about noticing the commonplace, marking the cycle of the seasons and taking time to study things closely. It’s not about heading off to distant parts in order to find a creature – rather it's about looking at what's under your nose.