As you may have realised by now, I'm a farmboy, who thanks to various work and family commitments, tends to do his birding locally. I rarely have the chance to spread my wings and do any birding farther afield. And mostly, this is fine. I work my patches, I enjoy being out in the field for the sake of it, I feel at home, its as comfortable as a pair of slippers.
Sometimes, though, I get hit with a wanderlust, a desire to go birding elsewhere. Usually driven by reports from other birders- not so much twitches, just visits to different places- it can sometimes be frustrating.
Recently, and after some hefty negotiations with Mrs Green Sandpiper, I had the chance to join up with some birders and visit Fife, on the East coast of Scotland. This, I realised, was birding at its best. Leaving home at 7am in the dark, meeting up with other bodies, then a full day in FIfe with a local birder eager to show off his patch at its best. Managed to get 4 lifer ticks, no out of the ordinary species, but birds I'd have struggled to see elsewhere.
Towards the end, though, I started thinking- in among the sheer joy of birding that day, was I being disloyal to my local patches? All those spring and summer mornings spent feeling the sun slowly getting hotter, was I saying that this wasn't good enough? Or was I being greedy, wanting the best of both worlds? With limited spare time, I can't service a local patch, and also go wandering. Or can I?
There's no disloyalty in enjoying new experiences, as long as I always see my home patch as home, the place I call my base, the place I know intimately, then where's the harm in sampling what other places have to offer.
Sometimes, though, I get hit with a wanderlust, a desire to go birding elsewhere. Usually driven by reports from other birders- not so much twitches, just visits to different places- it can sometimes be frustrating.
Recently, and after some hefty negotiations with Mrs Green Sandpiper, I had the chance to join up with some birders and visit Fife, on the East coast of Scotland. This, I realised, was birding at its best. Leaving home at 7am in the dark, meeting up with other bodies, then a full day in FIfe with a local birder eager to show off his patch at its best. Managed to get 4 lifer ticks, no out of the ordinary species, but birds I'd have struggled to see elsewhere.
Towards the end, though, I started thinking- in among the sheer joy of birding that day, was I being disloyal to my local patches? All those spring and summer mornings spent feeling the sun slowly getting hotter, was I saying that this wasn't good enough? Or was I being greedy, wanting the best of both worlds? With limited spare time, I can't service a local patch, and also go wandering. Or can I?
There's no disloyalty in enjoying new experiences, as long as I always see my home patch as home, the place I call my base, the place I know intimately, then where's the harm in sampling what other places have to offer.
