Sit Spot FAQ

Emily Coats, Nature’s Apprentice, July 2021

When I first tried to start a sit spot practice, I was incredibly confused and struggled to find clear information about what I was meant to be doing.

When it was explained to me, it seemed so simple – just find somewhere to sit down and watch nature go by. But was I meant to bring a journal? A field guide? Binoculars? Did I have to sit for an hour? Did it have to be in the morning? Did any of these details matter?

Of course there are no hard and fast rules, and any time in nature is better than none, but I’ve put together this FAQ to help the would-be sit spotter get started.

Beautiful tree outside my front door in Hepburn Springs, Victoria, that I never got around to ID’ing

Contents

What and why

At the sit spot

Finding the sit spot

What to bring

After the sit spot

Making it a practice

Further resources

Sydney Redgum at Hawks Nest, NSW

What and why

What is a sit spot?

A sit spot is a place you go to regularly and diligently to learn about and connect to the natural world. Over time, your sit spot will become your friend and ally, your teacher, and your way in to learning about the wider ecological community. At times it may also be a source of immense frustration and confusion! The practice as I describe it here was popularised by Jon Young who learnt it from his mentor Tom Brown, a renowned survivalist who grew up under the instruction of Southern Lipan Apache elder Stalking Wolf. 

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Can’t I just pay attention to everything all the time? Why do I need a separate practice?

It’s great to be paying attention to nature while walking, running, gardening, etc., and this is definitely better than not doing it! But having a single spot allows you to really go deep, to know one place intimately in all seasons, in all weather, at different times of day and night. And having a dedicated time offers you the best chance to sink into a slower, deeper way of being in nature, which is qualitatively quite different to the prevailing culture of multi-tasking, rushing and being stuck in our heads.

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Is doing a sit spot the same as learning bird language?

Some people choose to focus on birds initially because it can narrow down the complexity and provide an alluring doorway into the activity in a wild place. Birds are bright and colourful and there aren’t THAT many of them compared to plants or bugs. Bird language simply means understanding the meaning in bird behaviour and calls – e.g. noticing that one call might signify alarm while another means territorial aggression. Doing a sit spot is the recommended way to learn bird language, and if this is your primary goal then your sit spot will initially focus mostly on birds. Even then you’ll soon find that you’re observing the flowers and bugs that the birds are eating, or noticing the alarm call was in response to another animal nearby.

But you can also approach the sit spot practice more broadly, without prioritising birds. If that’s the case you might find you’re paying more attention to the plants, bugs, animal tracks, rocks, soil, weather, etc. as well as birds – or whatever your curiosity is drawn to.

There’s no right way and after enough time going to the same sit spot, the two approaches converge more and more.

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At the sit spot

What do I do at my sit spot?

  1. Sense and be present

Mostly you will be sitting there tuning into your surroundings, zooming in and out from the finer details to the wider picture and back again. If you notice you’re lost in thought, just gently bring yourself back to your senses. Pay attention to what you can see, hear, smell, taste, feel, and also how it feels in your body, physically and emotionally. Be attuned to subtleties, such as the quietest sound you can hear in each direction.

  1. Observe and remember

As well as tuning into your senses you’ll want to pay attention to what’s actually happening. What does that bird have in its mouth? What colour was that bug that just flew past – would I be able to draw it later? Did the wind just change direction? What flowers have opened since yesterday? Notice also links between events, e.g. the smaller bird flew close to that other bigger bird in the banksia tree, the big one started making a different sound, and the small one flew away. Maybe you have a theory of what’s going on, maybe you have no idea. You don’t need to understand and remember everything, but let yourself be curious.

  1. Balance the two

It’s a fine balance between staying relaxed and present to what is happening but also trying to remember what you’ve observed so you can write, draw or talk about it later. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your lack of understanding of what’s going on, or inability to remember anything, just take a breath, let go of trying, and let yourself be serenaded by the sound of the wind in the trees. It’s not meant to be stressful. Every day will be different. One day I spent the whole time making up names for the 15 tea trees surrounding my sit spot. 

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Do I need to identify everything?

Eventually, you’ll probably want to ID things, as having a common language is very useful when talking to other people, and makes it easier to find out further information about different species. But I wouldn’t make this the first step, in part because it can be very tricky (especially with plants), and secondly, it can actually shut down curiosity – it’s easy to see a bird in the distance and once it flies close enough to identify, we lose interest. Be aware of that and remain curious about what it is doing, and why.

With plants I often start by making up my own names for the different species, so I can refer to them easily and record any changes I see, like when they start flowering. I find having some way to distinguish things is better than just seeing a ‘wall of green’.

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All I can hear is a ‘wall of sound’. How can I distinguish different bird calls?

Remember that there’s no hurry and this practice takes years. Start by trying to focus in on one or two calls, and putting the rest out of your awareness. It really helps to imitate the call out loud as soon as you hear it. Pay attention to how it feels in your mouth to try and make the call. Are there any human words you could put to it that captures the rhythm? I’ve noticed red wattlebirds saying ‘get the peanut butter’, while little wattlebirds say ‘the clerk is wrong! the clerk is wrong!’ You can also try drawing the shape of the call. If you’ve tried all these things and are still struggling to remember, you can always record it on your phone, but I try not to do this too often.

Then switch to just hearing the whole serenade and enjoying the quality of it like an orchestra. Staying zoomed in too long can cause us to miss important things going on.

All the different calls of crimson rosellas

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What if nothing is happening?

If you’re trying to learn bird language and there aren’t any birds, that can be frustrating. Make sure you’ve chosen an effective spot to maximise your chances (see How do I choose my sit spot?). There are also times of day when birds are more active, such as dawn, so you might experiment with going at different times.

It’s possible also that your arrival has scared everything away. As a rule of thumb it takes about 20 minutes for the area to return to ‘baseline’, which is what it was like before you walked in causing a disturbance. So staying for longer than 20 minutes can help too, as can arriving as quietly as possible.

Different times of year will have more activity too. Everything is quieter in winter.

Finally, remember that our culture constantly exposes us to high stimulation, vivid colour and fast movement, and that sitting in nature offers a different experience. Allow yourself to slow down and tune into the subtleties, the slowness, the calm. Maybe nothing needs to ‘happen’?

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Do I have to sit perfectly still?

Not to the point of pain and discomfort, but be aware if you are constantly moving and wriggling, as that might mean your mind is busy too. The more still you are the more likely creatures will come up closer. If that does happen, pay them respect by staying as still as you can.

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Am I allowed to wander off to follow my curiosities?

If I see a bird repeatedly flying to a spot nearby, I will be curious and want to follow that thread. I prefer to do this at the end of my sit spot though so that I cause minimal disturbance during the sit spot time. There aren’t any rules though!

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What do I do if it’s freezing cold/raining/there are lots of mosquitoes?

You don’t want to be so uncomfortable that the whole experience is miserable, but you do want to get used to witnessing nature in all conditions. So be gentle but experimental. If there’s heavy rain for example I might only sit for half as long as normal. Wrapping myself up in waterproofs also keeps mosquitoes off. I have brought a hot water bottle before but I did find it slightly distracting.

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Finding the sit spot

How do I choose my sit spot?

The most important thing is that your sit spot is as close to home and easy to get to as possible. Less than 5 minutes walk is great. It’s best to be in a wild or wildish place such as a parkland, but people have successfully made a sit spot in their garden or even their balcony. If you are in a city park try to find somewhere away from highly trafficked paths and ideally out of sight.

You want to be able to sit fairly comfortably for long periods of time, so be wary of steep slopes or uncomfortable terrain. More bird activity is likely if the place is near water, or at the border between two different ecosystems, and it is good to have some kind of view, to not be entirely surrounded by thick bushes. Finally, I find it helps me mentally if it’s a place I use only for this purpose.

But… it’s said that your sit spot will find you. So while all the above points are important, let it all go and allow yourself to wander, being surprised where you end up. If you feel drawn to a certain place, go with it, even if it doesn’t tick all the boxes. You want to find somewhere you enjoy going to.

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What to bring

Should I bring binoculars?

There are differing schools of thought on this. Andrew Turbill says your binoculars should be permanently attached to your body everywhere you go all day, while others advise against binoculars so as to tune into the environment more, reduce your reliance on ‘gadgets’ and develop your ability to recognise things far away. I generally do bring them these days, as they allow for more detailed observation, such as of what a bird is eating. However I find they can also make me more distracted and fidgety and less likely to sink into a quiet state of mind, as I’m constantly putting them up and down at the sign of any activity. 

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Should I bring field guides/bird books/bird apps?

Leave the field guides at home. There’ll be plenty of time to look things up when you get back. The important task at the sit spot is to observe. The muscle of observation improves if you have to remember details until you get home, rather than being able to immediately look things up.

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Should I bring a journal?

Generally no, save the journalling for afterwards.

There may be times that it’s useful though. If you’re starting out in a new area and there is an overwhelming ‘wall of sound’ of unfamiliar bird calls, taking notes of the shape or tune of a couple of different calls can help make the experience more manageable. If doing a group sit spot with multiple people spread out over a larger area, people can take note of events and the time they happened, and the group can plot the patterns of different animals and birds through the space. One technique is to break the time into smaller 10 minute intervals, and then write notes at the end of each interval on what has happened in that period. I’d say it’s best to not be writing constantly, as this can take you out of the present.

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Should I bring my phone?

If you’ll be tempted to look at it, leave it at home. Personally I find it useful to set a timer so I don’t have to keep looking at my watch, but I set it to flight mode and avoid looking at it. Very occasionally I will use it to record a bird call, but even this I do sparingly, as I prefer to find other ways to remember sounds.

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Can I bring a cup of tea?

Sure, if it will help motivate you to go there. I find things like this distracting though.

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Can I bring my partner/friend/child/dog/cat?

With adults and older children it’s better to find sit spots nearby to each other rather than sit together, because you want to be fully immersed in nature and not distracted by each other. Doing this kind of together-but-separate sit spot is a great way to stay motivated. Young children of course can sit with you. Taking a walk with your dog that includes a sit spot is better than not doing a sit spot, but be aware that birds and other creatures are very sensitive to danger and may not want to come as close.

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After the sit spot

What do I do after my sit spot? 

Doing the sit spot is only half of the practice really, the other half is integration: sharing and recording the stories, and following the curiosities. Ideally the sharing would be with other people, but for most people it’s with a journal. Even if you have others to share your stories with, keeping records can still be useful to keep track of your own knowledge and to record over time the seasonal changes in the landscape. This integration time is also the time for looking through the field guides and apps to try to figure out what you’ve seen or heard, and then perhaps spending some time researching any new visitors to the spot, what they eat, when they nest, etc. I usually allow roughly as much integration time as I allow for the sit spot itself.

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What do I record in a journal entry?

There are whole books on how to do this, some people create exquisite artwork while others just jot down a few quick dot points. I usually start with a simple description of the weather, temperature, time of day, and sometimes a rank out of 10 for the level of bird activity, mosquito activity and cicada activity, etc, depending on the time of year. I used to then just write anything and everything in a kind of stream of consciousness, using a combination of words and pictures to record anything interesting I’ve noticed. ‘Interesting’ could include the beautiful way the light fell on the trees, or the fact that the neighbours were playing Backstreet Boys…

These days I find it helpful to break it into categories (birds, plants, bugs, mammals, etc.). I also keep a separate list at the back of my journal of all the birds I’ve seen at my sit spot and all the mystery calls (described in a combination of symbols, shapes and words), so I can refer to them easily, e.g. ‘Heard mystery #1 and #5 throughout, #3 came through in the last few minutes.’ I usually note down how my inner landscape was too – whether I found it fun or boring or stressful, whether I felt present and distracted.

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Do I have to draw?

You don’t have to do anything, but I am amazed by how much more observant drawing has made me. I initially had a lot of resistance as I didn’t think of myself as a ‘good’ drawer, but I realised the main problem was not having paid enough attention to how something looked in the first place. So if I see something interesting I’ll try to really commit it to memory.

Inevitably when I get back and draw it I won’t remember half the details, so I’ll take a stab and then make notes of what bits I’m sure of and what bits I’m not sure of. If it’s something I can find a photograph of online I might then check and update my picture, otherwise I’ll wait until I see it another day and then do a better drawing. It’s not really a case of feeling bad about the bits I didn’t notice, rather I feel good about the bits I did notice! It’s a lifelong practice, and I do really enjoy having some drawings to look back on.

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Is there a Shazam for birds? (i.e. an app that IDs my bird call recordings?)

There are probably apps out there that try to do this but I’ve never tried them – I do sometimes use sources like ebird.org or xeno-canto.org which have many different recordings of each bird, and once I have a hunch what I might be hearing I go on there and play through the different calls and often I find something that matches.

Remember though that IDing isn’t the main goal, and often you’ll learn more along the way if you don’t get an instant answer.

It’s also really worth considering getting mentoring or finding others to do the practice with, and sharing knowledge that way.

Update 2023: There is now an app in North America that IDs birds in real time.

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Making it a practice

How often should I go to my sit spot?

Every day is great but if this doesn’t seem possible or realistic, try for a few times a week.

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How long should I sit there for?

If you’re just getting started, try 20 to 30 minutes. As a rule of thumb, it can take up to 20 minutes for any disturbances that you have caused by arriving there to calm down, (assuming you are in a quiet spot without other humans nearby causing more disruptions), and so staying beyond this point is helpful.

I usually aim for 40 minutes. Depending on the day, I sometimes find my mind is busiest in the first 20 minutes and then settles down and the really interesting observations happen in the second half. Other times it’s the exact opposite, I love the first few minutes and then get bored and impatient. I try to not look at the time! Others spend two or three hours sitting out there.

On busy days I go for shorter. I find it’s much better to go for five minutes than not at all – once I went for 30 seconds!

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Do I have to always go at the same time of day?

Eventually you want to get to know your sit spot at all times of day and night, but for the first few months it’s best to go at the same time each day, so you can build up a picture of the normal activity at that time and tune in to what might be different on a given day. It removes one less variable.

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Is it best to go in the morning?

There’s generally more bird activity in the morning and for a lot of people it’s the easiest time to fit in a new habit, but there are no rules. Dusk is also a good time for birds.

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How do I stay motivated?

It should be fun, at least most of the time, so if it always feels like a struggle try mixing it up. Go at a different time of day, or at night, or with your eyes closed, or just give yourself a day off. If you haven’t made it to your sit spot for awhile, try to still note down in your journal some interesting things you’ve observed that day, or that week.

It does help to gain some momentum though. Usually after 10 consecutive days I’m quite into it, and if I then go away for a few weeks and come back, the first 10 days or so are a bit of a struggle until I reach that flow again.

If you feel like you’re plateauing and not learning anything new, try to get to know the area surrounding your sit spot. If birds regularly come into your spot at a certain time of day, where are they the rest of the time? Can you recognise individual birds? Come up with some good questions that you don’t know the answer to.

Finally, look for others interested in the practice to connect with and share stories.

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How can I encourage my children to do a sit spot?

Start with a very short one, and if it’s cold, allure them out there with tea and blankets. Make sure to catch their stories afterwards and show genuine interest in what they’ve discovered. Allow yourself to learn from them. And follow up their stories with questions to keep them curious. ‘What colour was the butterfly’s wings? Maybe you can find out tomorrow.’ Whatever you do, don’t let it become a chore, it should be fun!

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Is this cultural appropriation?

I believe all people need to relearn how to connect to nature – urgently. This isn’t just about feeling good (although that does happen, and is important!), it’s about healing our Earth and culture. Taking time to go into nature and learn its rhythms takes us outside of ourselves, teaching us greater understanding and respect for the non-human beings we live among. And it brings such aliveness because it’s what of our ancient bodies are wired for.

In the West we have lost this knowledge, and so a lot of the practices and tools that show us how to do this work are being handed down from remaining intact Indigenous cultures. For that I’m tremendously grateful, and wish to use it respectfully. I’m also deeply upset that my culture has been responsible for destroying so much of this knowledge, and causing ongoing harm to Indigenous cultures everywhere.

All of us are descended from Earth-based cultures, and our ancestors spent much more time in this state of expanded awareness than we do. Knowing bird alarms was a matter of life and death if it informed of an approaching predator. And even then, I don’t know of any cultures that didn’t also have some form of ceremony, meditation or awareness practice to continue to train this muscle in a dedicated time and space.

The practice described here has been adapted from the practice passed from Grandfather Stalking Wolf who would sit in his sacred area every morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset. Tom Brown says that if there is one practice, one tool, in all of what he teaches, that you could take on and embody, this twice a day sacred time will change your life.

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Feedback on this resource is welcome! I would love to know if you have other questions not answered here or if there’s anything you disagree with or are confused by. Email me at emily@naturesapprentice.com.au

Further resources mentioning sit spots:

Books:

Courses/programs:

Video:

Articles:

Field guides:

  • Simpson and Day – Field Guide to the Birds of Australia

Apps/websites:

Facebook groups:

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