I'm a bad man. Not BAD bad, I mean, I'm not expecting to spend time in the jail or anything, but I'm guilty of making false promises.
2015, I vowed, was to be the year where I put my foot down and insisted on birding time, be assertive, assert my rights. It was also, incidentlly, the year where I'd post to this blog more regularly...ahem.
Anyway, now that the year is 3 months old, and I find myself on 102 species, having enjoyed a couple of Big Days Out with some Damned Fine Birding, I can look back and chafe at the weekends where my birding was transient or passive, if anything at all.
Again, we have the problems facing all birders whose nearest and dearest don't share this passion of ours. Unless your significant other has the patience of a saint, they'll make reasonable/ unreasonabe demands on your time when we'd much rather be out in the field/ out in A field somewhere.
2 big days, a few 'little days' and I've realised that what really makes my birding year 'tick' along are what I call medium days out- birding trips outside my local patch, but not so far that its a 12-14 hour trip. Days out in Ayrshire and the Clyde have been sadly missing, I even resorted to urban birding in Glasgow to tick dipper and grey wag- and I HATE cities.
So, the battle goes on, the fight to get balance between birds and other life continues. I must be strong, I must be assertive, my birding year depends on it.
In saying this, 102 species by the end of February whilst barely being out isn't too shabby.....
2015, I vowed, was to be the year where I put my foot down and insisted on birding time, be assertive, assert my rights. It was also, incidentlly, the year where I'd post to this blog more regularly...ahem.
Anyway, now that the year is 3 months old, and I find myself on 102 species, having enjoyed a couple of Big Days Out with some Damned Fine Birding, I can look back and chafe at the weekends where my birding was transient or passive, if anything at all.
Again, we have the problems facing all birders whose nearest and dearest don't share this passion of ours. Unless your significant other has the patience of a saint, they'll make reasonable/ unreasonabe demands on your time when we'd much rather be out in the field/ out in A field somewhere.
2 big days, a few 'little days' and I've realised that what really makes my birding year 'tick' along are what I call medium days out- birding trips outside my local patch, but not so far that its a 12-14 hour trip. Days out in Ayrshire and the Clyde have been sadly missing, I even resorted to urban birding in Glasgow to tick dipper and grey wag- and I HATE cities.
So, the battle goes on, the fight to get balance between birds and other life continues. I must be strong, I must be assertive, my birding year depends on it.
In saying this, 102 species by the end of February whilst barely being out isn't too shabby.....
