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.
Wants and Needs- Whats the Difference?
Posted Saturday 28th July 2012 at 18:30 by Green Sandpiper
My birding has been seriously restricted over the past few weeks. Thanks to a kidney stone, family duties, then a (admittedly wonderful) holiday, I've barely ventured out for a month. In this time, restricted as it was to garden watching, made me realise how much I had come to rely on my weekly birding escapes.
Deciding to bite the bullet- and mindful of Mrs Green Sandpiper's oft- stated desire for me to take more exercise- I opted to skip the Olympic festivities for a dusk walk around Cathkin Marsh, SCottish Wildlife Trust reserve.
The weather- as usual- was starting to close in as I arrived a 7:30, and light was already failing. Nonetheless, the mere act of being out, birding, in the evening, was liberating.
Being the birding 'quiet season' I didn't expect to actually see much. Massed crows and rooks formed an impressive sight in the fields next to the reserve as I parked the car, standing to savour the fresh air.
The reserve itself remained quiet, the finches and buntings which are usually so confiding, were absent- either roosting or skulking, hiding in mid- moult. A water rail squealed finatly from the marsh, and a Linnet hopped about gamely. Above me, a female kestrel hovered, dived, then rose to hover again, seeking one last evening meal.
The solitude and quiet of the reserve made some self- reflection inevitable. The sight of this female, still seeking food as dusk fell, made me realise that for me, birding is as much as passive, instinctive act as hunting is for this graceful raptor. In different ways, we were both on that nature reserve at dusk because our instincts told us it was the right thing to do.
My quality of life suffers without birding, without that feeling of solitude- or the feeling of camaraderie if you bird in a group. The feeling of being out, enjoying the natural world. I realised, again, that its not the number of birds that is important, its the presence of birds. Its my presence in their world and their presence in mine that satisfies some primordial desire.
I bird for the sake of birds, I bird for my sake too. They are not mutually exclusive concepts.
Deciding to bite the bullet- and mindful of Mrs Green Sandpiper's oft- stated desire for me to take more exercise- I opted to skip the Olympic festivities for a dusk walk around Cathkin Marsh, SCottish Wildlife Trust reserve.
The weather- as usual- was starting to close in as I arrived a 7:30, and light was already failing. Nonetheless, the mere act of being out, birding, in the evening, was liberating.
Being the birding 'quiet season' I didn't expect to actually see much. Massed crows and rooks formed an impressive sight in the fields next to the reserve as I parked the car, standing to savour the fresh air.
The reserve itself remained quiet, the finches and buntings which are usually so confiding, were absent- either roosting or skulking, hiding in mid- moult. A water rail squealed finatly from the marsh, and a Linnet hopped about gamely. Above me, a female kestrel hovered, dived, then rose to hover again, seeking one last evening meal.
The solitude and quiet of the reserve made some self- reflection inevitable. The sight of this female, still seeking food as dusk fell, made me realise that for me, birding is as much as passive, instinctive act as hunting is for this graceful raptor. In different ways, we were both on that nature reserve at dusk because our instincts told us it was the right thing to do.
My quality of life suffers without birding, without that feeling of solitude- or the feeling of camaraderie if you bird in a group. The feeling of being out, enjoying the natural world. I realised, again, that its not the number of birds that is important, its the presence of birds. Its my presence in their world and their presence in mine that satisfies some primordial desire.
I bird for the sake of birds, I bird for my sake too. They are not mutually exclusive concepts.
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