After you have been studying wildlife for a year or so, you will have built up your local general knowledge and may want to go deeper and specialise in one particular group of organisms. To do this, the best way is to join a national society and members there will be glad to help you. You may also be lucky and have a local society as well. This is ideal as you can share knowledge, ask for advice and go on field trips in your local area. However, this does depend on where you live.
There are a number of factors to consider when specialising. After your first year you will now which organisms appeal to you and you find interesting. It may be an easy choice for you. If not, here are some of my observations on what it is like being a naturalist in particular specialist areas. They apply to where I live in the UK.
Mammals
There is a national Mammal society and they have local groups that you can join. There aren’t too many mammals in the UK and learning to identify them is fairly easy. The hard part is finding them and there is a greater emphasis on tracking and hunting skills than for other areas. However, those people who like mammals delight in their greater character and personality and you can learn much more about their life cycle and lifestyle than for other animals. Although some surveying is done, the main focus on mammal work is getting involved in conservation, habitat creation and protection of local animals.
» Read more: Specialising in Different Areas of Wildlife
