Bird Watching was established in 1986. Key content areas include bird identification, location guides, skills development, recent sightings, and news and reviews. Its contributors include notable birders such as Nick Baker, Dominic Couzens and David Lindo. Originally published by EMAP, the magazine is published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media of Peterborough. Its ABC-certified total average net circulation/distribution per issue for 2010 was 17,511, of which just over 7,400 were newsagent sales and over 9,800 went to subscribers.