Going it alone or in company (1 Viewer)

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tjbirdofprey

Dorset birder in Spain

• Sep 17, 2009

• #21

I bird with my Aunt mainly, who got me into birding in the first place. Sometimes i go with my dad or mum but there not as serious as me, on my local patches we nearly always bump into birders either in a group or solo and very rarely just for an hour or so we "team up" with them to have a look around ....

I have to say i prefer company but that might just be because im young

 

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Phil Hill

Well-known member

• Sep 18, 2009

• #22

I do bird alone but most of the time I'm with 2 or 3 friends which to be honest I prefer. More birds are found but the banter between us makes it special and when something good has been seen to relive it after with friends is just great.
Myself and two friends had our first birding trip abroad this year and we can't stop talking about it, infact we've just booked to go again next year, so I'm defintely in the group which prefers company.

 

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Nick Elliston

Well-known member

• Sep 18, 2009

• #23

Always on my own as I only go locally when I find a bit of time. Work/family/other interests mean time is limited and I have not yet got around to visiting Titchwell, Holme etc or chased even Norfolk rarities.

However, if/when time permits I could see the real benefits of being with a group sometimes. I struggle with the ID of Warblers/Gulls etc and birdsong so a group would definitely be of benefit to me.

Probably p..s the rest of the group off though and make them wish they had gone it alone!

 

Enji

Well-known member

• Sep 18, 2009

• #24

I like both... when I'm alone I can walk around wherever I want to, choose my own speed and so on. On the other hand I like to be around others, because I like to have people to talk to. I'm always a bit nervous I'd discover something rare when on my own and having no one to confirm it! (I don't have a camera, and I'm not experienced enough that most people here would take my word for it...)
One thing I like about being around others is that I learn a lot, especially stuff that might not be mentioned in the books. Knowledgeable people who encounter me might have to put up with a few questions... (Although I only ask if they seem okay with it.)

 

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davercox

Dave Cox

Supporter

• Sep 18, 2009

• #25

Good question Ken, well done for raising it.

With groups, the question is, who's in it ?
Once or twice (for reasons I won't go into) I've found myself plodding along with noisy dudes, with no hope of seeing or hearing anything.
And I've been out with a "group" of one or two, much better birders than me (I hope they don't put me in the first category, at least I try not to be noisy unless a Tufted Puffin appears).

Then, what did you have in mind when you went out ? Is it (a) a survey, or a piece of regular patch-working or (b) a hopeful visit to a known hot spot where there might be rare migrants or (c) an exploration of somewhere you've never been before or (d) a shameless twitch ? (or (e-z) ...)

I reckon the consensus is, mostly alone but sometimes glad of company, and maybe that's because people mostly do (a). And good on you if you do; but as many have said above, you do learn a lot from other birders, often more than you can any other way.

 

tacumshin

Tacumshin

• Sep 18, 2009

• #26

Hi Ken , i do most of my birding on my own , might meet up with someone along the way but generally like to stay alone.
I try to get out 1 full day every week and this is my escape from reality for a little while and much prefer just to wander by myself , find it very relaxing , just have to concentrate on the birds and not worry about anyone else , sometimes mainly saturdays my little daughter will tag along for the ride. Tac :t:

 

JTweedie

Well-known member

• Sep 18, 2009

• #27

None of my friends or family go birding, so if I am ever with someone else then they're always strangers.

I took a boat trip to Ailsa Craig earlier this summer. The boat was heaving with a group of strangers, but I was surprised how when we landed on the island most of the people stuck together in a large group (they didn't know each other from what I could make out), but I struck off on my own and got a part of the island to myself. How can someone go to an island like this and not feel the need to explore it?

Most of them were day trippers as opposed to birders, but it was funny to see how most people tend to stick together.

 

Tero

Retired

• Sep 18, 2009

• #28

Last group I went out with, half the group was clueless, hard of hearing and beginners. And they had way more time tha I did. But we got the birds anyway. Good leader.

 

Monahawk

Well-known member

• Sep 23, 2009

• #29

I generally like birding alone. You can think [and talk] to yourself quite contentedly. Mess up and no one need know.
However I enjoy occaisional birding rambles with my birding mates. An extra pair of eyes often comes in handy and as we say in Ireland we enjoy the craic.
I dislike large birding crowds such as organised trips. You always get a show off an over talkative type or a bloody whinger or some one in the crowd who doesn't want to share the spoils.
And if the birding is quiet, us blokes tend to talk about sport instead.

 

Euan Buchan

The Edinburgh Birdwatcher

Supporter

• Sep 23, 2009

• #30

I like going on my own but when I'm on holiday with my cousins & aunt & uncle I normally go out with my uncle who is a keen birder now after he went birding with me.

 

bkrownd

Well-known member

• Sep 23, 2009

• #31

Ken Hall said:

Apologies if this has been done before, but I can't find any previous thread on the subject. Do you go birding on your own, or do you prefer to have company?

Click to expand...

I'm almost always on my own. Very few people here are interested in the wilderness (except the hunters, for obviously a different reason), and I only know one other person in Hilo who's even remotely as interested in it as I am, which is quite depressing considering the peril the native flora & fauna are in. I enjoy showing occasional visitors all the goodies, but otherwise I'm 99% out there on my own with the wilderness all to myself except for a few hunters.

If there were other people I'd usually be on my own anyhow. I'm very specific about what I'm doing and where I'm trying to get to, and I like the quiet (i.e. nobody talking).