Camouflage for Wildlife Watching
Nature explorers want to blend into the scenery so they don't startle the wildlife and can observe it close up.
Clothes with dark colours or camouflage patterns that are easy to swim in but keep you warm and protect you from cuts and scrapes.
A poncho, combined with nylon or cargo pants, hides your shape and covers your whole body. Put the hood up to hide your head. A fleece pullover underneath keeps you warm, as you won't be moving as fast as on usual open water swims.
When you go into the water in these clothes and move slowly, you look like something that just floats by, not like a predator. We've found that breeding seagulls don't attack when we wear the hood up. They don't see us as a threat when we sit silently in the bushes or lay submerged in the water.
A poncho or hiking cape is airy, lightweight, and easy to swim in.
It hides your shape so you look like something that just floats by, not like a predator.
The trapped air in your poncho creates a random shape.
Monochrome Colours
Most animals can't see in colour, but can quickly recognise shapes, patterns and movement with much higher precision than us. Monochrome clothes are neutral when you wear them in the water, especially if you wear the hood up. You just look like driftwood.
On land, large monochrome shapes like this anorak stick out more, even without colour. The pattered pants however become almost invisible.
Camoflage Patterns
Camouflage patterns break up your shape. On the colour photo, the poncho stands out a bit from the background. On the black and white image the poncho blends into the background, only the face shows up, so the poncho almost vanishes.
Comfy Outfit
We've found this a lightweight wetland outfit for when you often go into the water:
- Quick drying pullover or swimshirt
- Robust pants
- Long cagoule
- Camo poncho
