Welcome to BirdForum.I’ve lived in Lanarkshire all of my 38 years, and in that time I have seen my local area change beyond all recognition, and definitely not for the better. From the appearance of massive identikit housing estates where rolling fields once rang to the song of yellowhammers, the inexorable process of urbanisation goes on as the local authorities undertake a concerted effort to eradicate every sign of nature- or so it seems. The nature- filled halcyon days of my childhood are a swiftly receding memory, replaced by the creeping horror of what is replacing them. Its important, I think, to highlight what we, as nature lovers in general and bird lovers in particular, still have, for the moment at least.
Satisfaction
Posted Saturday 16th June 2012 at 00:34 by Green Sandpiper
My wife doesn't really understand me. Its ok, its not some Loose Women- type confessional, she doesn't get why I'll happily go out for 6 hours in the pouring rain, miles from anywhere. What do I get from going birding, rather than say, going for a pub lunch with my spouse.
While I know the answer, or at least, am satisfied with the vague, amorphous answer that I usually produce, my wife never really understands, as much sa she will try.
Recently, though, I've started asking myself and challenging my own beliefs. A mixture of curtailed birding opportunities (life has intervened), limited equipment, and being restricted to my locl patch has seen me becoming unaccustomedly frustrated. Do I want loads of lifer ticks? Do I want to spend every living moment in the field, to the detriment of everything else? The answers I would normally give to this were becoming less and less sure.
That is until last week. Last Saturday, with my eldest daughter at something of a loose end, I suggested we go for a walk in the country. Thankfully, she agreed, and we visited Coulter's Wood, in Carmunnock, near Glasgow. I've had my eye on this place for some time, but I have criminally neglected it.
Although this wasn't a birding trip, and my mini- sandpiper isn't all that keen on birding, one moment made me realise something fundamentally important. Mini- sandpiper had paused to tie her bootlace, and as she stood up, a swallow sped past, passing no more than 3 feet in front of her face. The look of wonderment was something to behold as a father, and a birder. My daughter had witnessed something magical for the first time, I had witnessed something else that was magical, and it was then that I realised that birding for me isn't about NEEDS, or even WANTS. Its about LIKES. I'd like a big list, I'd LIKE more chances for all day trips in muddy places, I'd LIKE a Swaro scope, for that matter.
But the important thing, the very act of birding is joyful. From a sparrow or greenfinch on a garden feeder, to seeing a tree pipit carrying food, to seeing a swallow fly within touching distance of my daughter, our interaction with birds is in itself enough.
While I know the answer, or at least, am satisfied with the vague, amorphous answer that I usually produce, my wife never really understands, as much sa she will try.
Recently, though, I've started asking myself and challenging my own beliefs. A mixture of curtailed birding opportunities (life has intervened), limited equipment, and being restricted to my locl patch has seen me becoming unaccustomedly frustrated. Do I want loads of lifer ticks? Do I want to spend every living moment in the field, to the detriment of everything else? The answers I would normally give to this were becoming less and less sure.
That is until last week. Last Saturday, with my eldest daughter at something of a loose end, I suggested we go for a walk in the country. Thankfully, she agreed, and we visited Coulter's Wood, in Carmunnock, near Glasgow. I've had my eye on this place for some time, but I have criminally neglected it.
Although this wasn't a birding trip, and my mini- sandpiper isn't all that keen on birding, one moment made me realise something fundamentally important. Mini- sandpiper had paused to tie her bootlace, and as she stood up, a swallow sped past, passing no more than 3 feet in front of her face. The look of wonderment was something to behold as a father, and a birder. My daughter had witnessed something magical for the first time, I had witnessed something else that was magical, and it was then that I realised that birding for me isn't about NEEDS, or even WANTS. Its about LIKES. I'd like a big list, I'd LIKE more chances for all day trips in muddy places, I'd LIKE a Swaro scope, for that matter.
But the important thing, the very act of birding is joyful. From a sparrow or greenfinch on a garden feeder, to seeing a tree pipit carrying food, to seeing a swallow fly within touching distance of my daughter, our interaction with birds is in itself enough.
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Recent Blog Entries by Green Sandpiper
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