A2GG
Beth
Well, he wouldn't be able to hear the birdsong, so that would make him a miserable birder.
He'd also upset everyone else by shouting across the hide "IS THERE MUCH ABOUT?"
Ron
good points !
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Miserable Birders??? (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter The sniper
- Start date
good points !
Johann Sebastian Bach
Quietly decomposing
Beethoven looks angry. I think he'd be a miserable birder
There's a cuckoo in his Pastoral Symphony.......
Peter
MJB
Well-known member
A2GG
Beth
That's pretty cool. I was never a Beethoven fan, but he just went up a notch
JS Bach was always my fav classical composer. I should find it on the iPod and listen in the car this week...it's been quite a while.Sorry for going off topic...I tend to do that too frequently.
michaelboustead
Well-known member
It may be a little less stressful in US, fewer birders. I bird in small groups of friends or most often alone. SeattleDan birded in the Skagit in February. Had no idea how birdy Washington State is in the winter. Wonderful time-coffee good-oysters better.
Mike
Mike
Mike Robinson
Well-known member
For my part I have found bird watching bods to be generally very amiable. And a propos the seemingly very knowledgable, I have found them to be invariably helpful and always modest.
Zackiedawg
Well-known member
Careful Mike boustead - depends on WHERE in the US you are! Down here in Florida, there are certainly almost too many birders and bird photographers, and not only our own natives, but the huge flocks that descend on us every spring & fall migration and throughout the summer (the birders, not the birds). Many Brits, Francs, and Germans especially among the birding tourists - at times at some of the most popular wetlands birding spots in South Florida the trails and boardwalks look like the throngs waiting to see the prince and his new bride motorcade by. Except they're facing the opposite direction of course.
I agree that there are miserable birders - as with any hobby, any obsession, any group of fans, there will always be the anti-socials, the holier-than-thou, the self-declared 'experts', the annoying tag-a-longs...it's part of human nature. And I come from the photography perspective, as I am a bird photographer as much or more than a birder...we not only have to deal with miserable birders, but miserable bird photographers too...they can have the same range of personalities, not only anti-socials and egotists who are better than you, but also those who look down on anyone using a camera brand different than his own.
The best way I know to deal with it, and indeed to counter-balance it, is to be the opposite - I try to be the most open, friendly, social, and patient birder and photographer I can be. I always greet fellow birders with a hello when passing - some respond in kind, some pass silently but not rudely, and some glare or snort that I dared to utter words at them. I always share what birds I've seen and where - some are appreciative, some ask more questions, some don't really care but are courteous about it, some ignore me or blow me off with a nod or careless word, and the rare few will let me know that they are on a plane above my own, and that the birds I've seen are lowly commoners and my information is of no worth. If I spot a bird I consider rare or worth seeing, I'll quietly wave nearby birders or photographers over. I'll take a few shots in a crowded spot, or where there is only a narrow view to the bird, then back away and let others squeeze in for a look. I'll answer questions with a smile from amateurs and beginning birders who might not know a species.
Maybe we just need the same number of birders being the opposite of the miserable birders...as a way to offset their misery. Maybe birders can seek to be Miserable-neutral - give points for our counter-misery which offset the miserable behavior of others. Maybe other folks and outsiders will harbor a better image of birders from our efforts!
I agree that there are miserable birders - as with any hobby, any obsession, any group of fans, there will always be the anti-socials, the holier-than-thou, the self-declared 'experts', the annoying tag-a-longs...it's part of human nature. And I come from the photography perspective, as I am a bird photographer as much or more than a birder...we not only have to deal with miserable birders, but miserable bird photographers too...they can have the same range of personalities, not only anti-socials and egotists who are better than you, but also those who look down on anyone using a camera brand different than his own.
The best way I know to deal with it, and indeed to counter-balance it, is to be the opposite - I try to be the most open, friendly, social, and patient birder and photographer I can be. I always greet fellow birders with a hello when passing - some respond in kind, some pass silently but not rudely, and some glare or snort that I dared to utter words at them. I always share what birds I've seen and where - some are appreciative, some ask more questions, some don't really care but are courteous about it, some ignore me or blow me off with a nod or careless word, and the rare few will let me know that they are on a plane above my own, and that the birds I've seen are lowly commoners and my information is of no worth. If I spot a bird I consider rare or worth seeing, I'll quietly wave nearby birders or photographers over. I'll take a few shots in a crowded spot, or where there is only a narrow view to the bird, then back away and let others squeeze in for a look. I'll answer questions with a smile from amateurs and beginning birders who might not know a species.
Maybe we just need the same number of birders being the opposite of the miserable birders...as a way to offset their misery. Maybe birders can seek to be Miserable-neutral - give points for our counter-misery which offset the miserable behavior of others. Maybe other folks and outsiders will harbor a better image of birders from our efforts!
Socar MYLES
Well-known member
I hope I never meet a birder like those described in this thread, and others like it. It was some of the lovely birders I've met online who got me interested in birding, in the first place, and I have so far found birding a good way to meet smart, kind people.
eddy the eagle
Well-known member
If you saw what I wear sometimes you would never call me SMART but I do think I´m kind......Eddy.
Socar MYLES
Well-known member
Ha, ha! I was using "smart" to mean "intelligent," rather than "well turned-out." (I could hardly take anyone to task for not looking so snappy: once, I was out birding, and a community officer mistook me for a homeless person, and tried to get me to leave the neighbourhood. I have bought new clothes, since then; hopefully, the mistake will not be repeated.)
Farnboro John
Well-known member
In Britain it is considered a bit uncool to look shiny and new. Equipment and clothes should be a bit "distressed" i.e. give indications of hard and frequent use. Mind you, with good fieldcraft non-birders shouldn't see you at all!
John
Well I think it´s always important to be SMART when birding. One needs to keep up the image of the team, doesn´t one. Why only this week I dipped on a surf scoter while sporting a Harris Tweed three-button jacket (with double side-pocket, of course), a paisley silk scarf, two-pleat green corduruouy trousers, and spats. It was damned inclement weather, but my man (Squidge) kept me supplied with vittals from the hamper. and when I arrived back at Chez Sanch, i was able to put the whole sorry episode behind me with a Balkan Sobranie and a glass of fine brandy. It´s not about the birds, it´s about the attitude!
Xenospiza
Distracted
The one guy making an effort is indeed constantly slated (yes, that's the one).
Zackiedawg
Well-known member
Mind you, with good fieldcraft non-birders shouldn't see you at all!
Am I the only one having playback of Monty Python's 'How Not To Be Seen' skit in my head after reading that line?
MJB
Well-known member
Mind you, with good fieldcraft non-birders shouldn't see you at all!
Who posted that?
MJB
Allen S. Moore
Well-known member
I know that it is probably uncool to ask, but who is it?
Phil Andrews
It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Im confused; the photo was clearly taken in the 1980s judging by the clothes but thats a modern camera slung over the shoulder ......
Xenospiza
Distracted
"Well if you don't know that you are obviously not worth my oh-so-valuable time!"
It's Lee Evans.
(miserable enough?)
Socar MYLES
Well-known member
You'd think a general air of shabbiness would be quite acceptable, here--we've got loads of hippies and outdoor types--but if your clothes are simply old and worn, without making any sort of statement, you may become aware of a certain quiet judgment, in the air. (This is not universally true. Vancouver has plenty of nice, welcoming people. But I have noticed a certain expectation of affluence.)
