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What Not To Do when Birding...Not birding etiquette...laughter.. (1 Viewer)

Dr Manjeet Singh

Dr Manjeet Singh

Dr.Manjeet Singh
:hi: Well i started birding seriously just Two years ago (Squeakingly New-lol)..
WHAT GET"S YOUR HACKLES UP AND MAKES YOU WANT TO STRANGLE YOUR FELLOW BIRDER WHILE BIRDING ;) . Well i have met up with quite a few birders and my fav. are James Eaton,Hanno &etc..i could go out with many of them at a drop of a hat(opps Turban) job permitting of cause.But there are some that make me not want to live the experince...here are few things.that i had to contend with....(HELP PLEASE-desperate laughter..)
1. GOLD DIGGING OR NOSE PICKING..
..went to pick him up in the morning -reached his place and he was waiting out side his house ,as i got down from the car saw him(FIRST TIME MEETING) with half his right Index finger up his nose,merrilydigging away-reached and he at once brought his right hand out to shake my hand-I avoided it by picking his bags.Well people for the one hour drive to the birding place he was busy digging either his left nostril or his right and in between he will gave a small grunt of satisfaction when some glob like thing came out and then with a another grunt fleck it out of my car window(thank God he unwind the window first).This continued thro out the whole day(poor,poor me).
2.NOSE BLOWING
Another time picked a birder at 6.30am at his house-he had about 3 to 4 huge cameras around his neck(Manjeet you are meeting a real birder this time-i felt so happy).Stored his things in my car and then we went off-.After some time while driving i saw him take out a huge table cloth and suddenly there was a blast of sound-my head hit the roof of the car and with tears of pain in my eyes i saw him blowing his NOSE-all the way blasting ,during birding and on the way back -no let up-off cause no birds.
3.PASSING WIND...
Far.. loudly while birding and frightening the birds away or doing it on the SLY and making me gag due to the smellesp. when the wind is blowing to-wards me,while for him IT'S GONE WITH THE WIND :'D -off cause not a single bird seen in that outing.
4.FORGOTTEN THINGS TO BRING WHILE BIRDING .
Batteries,S.D. Card or water..asking for it when you have just got a bird and are about to press the shutter and IT IS YOUR LIFER(GRRRRRRRRR.)
5.WEARING LOUD SHIRTS AND BRIGHT CLASHING COLOURS
.....,squeaky shoes and stepping on every branch while you are stalking a bird when he is behind you..
6.AFTER A BIG NATURE"S CALL...
...cooly coming back and setting down without washing his hands-decides to open every thing edible and taking one sample from each and poooping it in his mouth with the same hands...shudder(I stayed hungry that day people---) and telling me..Manjeet your food is excellent and where is the ale... :storm:
7.SNORING..
The last but not the least-on the way back snoring so loud that it could wake the dead-and every time i took a turn he would fall on my shoulder and snore more louder(God forgive me-i may do murder).
Since most of you"ll are very experience birders I am sure you'll can add a few more things to my list-so that when i go birding next-i will fax the list one day earlier to the birder-and show him the norms-PLEASE PEOPLE HELP ME 3:) :'D
 
Don't touch a cobra just because you think it can't bite you since it's got another snake half-way down its throat!

I did this in Khao Nor Chuchi one time. I couldn't believe how quickly the cobra spit the other snake out and turned towards me. It was right before sunrise... Let's just say that I was as awake as I've ever been once the cobra let me know the error I made.
 
Manjeet :eek!: :-O

You should have put a warning in your title! I was trying to eat my breakfast when I read this

Another brilliant read from my favourite story-teller

D
 
Well done, have you noticed its all men who have the bad habits...mind you I think your wife would have something to say if you were going out in the company of lady birders all the time.

Perhaps Delia & I should visit and Nora and Rose from Australia, KC & Katy from the USA. (Probably left a lot of ladies out that are in your fan club though).:gh:

Your complaint then would probably be :-
1) We smell too nice and are putting the birds off, after all the female birds do seem to like posing for you.
2) We won't drink ale..we will only have wine (myself only pepsi).
3) We won't let you pass wind.
4) We have brought our handbags with us and have everything including the kitchen sink and expect you to carry them.
5) We are so well coordinated in our clothing we make you look scruffy.
6) We tell you off for wanting to spend a penny behind the tree.
and finally
7) We all talk too much and you cannot get to sleep on the journey back...the memory of us talking even stops you from sleeping the next day.

I am sure others have had some of your experieces and don't wish to re live it.

Great thread
 
Regarding the passing of wind.. A few of us went hill walking / birding in Yorkshire. We all kitted up with GPSs, high-tech rucksacks, gadgets etc. I decided to take serious mountaineering/astronaut spec packet of high energy food (reconstituted Chicken Curry) which I impressed everyone with, as I added flask water, and proceeded to enjoy a full meal on the hill tops.
30 minutes later, the aftermath was truly frightening. My soon to be ex-friends could smell my gases when upwind of me in a field of cows.
I suspect my carbon footprint cloud could be seen drifting over Thirsk that afternoon.
 
gyrfalcon said:
Regarding the passing of wind.. A few of us went hill walking / birding in Yorkshire. We all kitted up with GPSs, high-tech rucksacks, gadgets etc. I decided to take serious mountaineering/astronaut spec packet of high energy food (reconstituted Chicken Curry) which I impressed everyone with, as I added flask water, and proceeded to enjoy a full meal on the hill tops.
30 minutes later, the aftermath was truly frightening. My soon to be ex-friends could smell my gases when upwind of me in a field of cows.
I suspect my carbon footprint cloud could be seen drifting over Thirsk that afternoon.
Click to expand...

I think if farting ever became an olympic sport many birders could be serious competitors.
 
Dr Manjeet Singh said:
:hi: Well i started birding seriously just Two years ago (Squeakingly New-lol)..
WHAT GET"S YOUR HACKLES UP AND MAKES YOU WANT TO STRANGLE YOUR FELLOW BIRDER WHILE BIRDING ;) . Well i have met up with quite a few birders and my fav. are James Eaton,Hanno &etc..i could go out with many of them at a drop of a hat(opps Turban) job permitting of cause.But there are some that make me not want to live the experince...here are few things.that i had to contend with....(HELP PLEASE-desperate laughter..)
1. GOLD DIGGING OR NOSE PICKING..
..went to pick him up in the morning -reached his place and he was waiting out side his house ,as i got down from the car saw him(FIRST TIME MEETING) with half his right Index finger up his nose,merrilydigging away-reached and he at once brought his right hand out to shake my hand-I avoided it by picking his bags.Well people for the one hour drive to the birding place he was busy digging either his left nostril or his right and in between he will gave a small grunt of satisfaction when some glob like thing came out and then with a another grunt fleck it out of my car window(thank God he unwind the window first).This continued thro out the whole day(poor,poor me).
2.NOSE BLOWING
Another time picked a birder at 6.30am at his house-he had about 3 to 4 huge cameras around his neck(Manjeet you are meeting a real birder this time-i felt so happy).Stored his things in my car and then we went off-.After some time while driving i saw him take out a huge table cloth and suddenly there was a blast of sound-my head hit the roof of the car and with tears of pain in my eyes i saw him blowing his NOSE-all the way blasting ,during birding and on the way back -no let up-off cause no birds.
3.PASSING WIND...
Far.. loudly while birding and frightening the birds away or doing it on the SLY and making me gag due to the smellesp. when the wind is blowing to-wards me,while for him IT'S GONE WITH THE WIND :'D -off cause not a single bird seen in that outing.
4.FORGOTTEN THINGS TO BRING WHILE BIRDING .
Batteries,S.D. Card or water..asking for it when you have just got a bird and are about to press the shutter and IT IS YOUR LIFER(GRRRRRRRRR.)
5.WEARING LOUD SHIRTS AND BRIGHT CLASHING COLOURS
.....,squeaky shoes and stepping on every branch while you are stalking a bird when he is behind you..
6.AFTER A BIG NATURE"S CALL...
...cooly coming back and setting down without washing his hands-decides to open every thing edible and taking one sample from each and poooping it in his mouth with the same hands...shudder(I stayed hungry that day people---) and telling me..Manjeet your food is excellent and where is the ale... :storm:
7.SNORING..
The last but not the least-on the way back snoring so loud that it could wake the dead-and every time i took a turn he would fall on my shoulder and snore more louder(God forgive me-i may do murder).
Since most of you"ll are very experience birders I am sure you'll can add a few more things to my list-so that when i go birding next-i will fax the list one day earlier to the birder-and show him the norms-PLEASE PEOPLE HELP ME 3:) :'D
Click to expand...

Nice one DOC!

For myself I prefer to bird alone.

1. I can break wind and no one cares! My mother in law once said "better out than in" though I am not sure what she was referring to.

2. I carry a lot of gear when photographing and nearly always forget something so I only have myself to blame. I do however forget things more when I bird with other people.

3. No2's, best thing is eat a diet that makes one constipated ...one does not have to waste time toileting. More time for watching birds!

4. Nose picking ...a disgusting habit and ought to be punishable by death! Ones bits should be put into a hanky , we dont want the birds eating it.

5. Snoring ....every one does it, it's human!

One of my biggest gripes are birders who lack real birding skills. I do not mean ID skills , I mean getting near birds or explaining where birds are when in a group situation. Pointing is pointless (forgive the pun) no one shares the same angle as the observer. There are better techniques than pointing and besides pointing can alert birds and scare off those which one has not seen yet. There is not one bird book (or bird photography book) that covers this subject well enough in my view.

Another gripe is with those with an ego bigger than a double decker bus. Watching a bird half a mile through binocuars and e.g. aging the bird and telling you what it had for breakfast. How can they do all that with a dot in a landscape? Don't get me wrong, there are some superb birders out there but some should just come clean, it would make the lesser mortals feel more comfortable.


Finally what ever gripes we may have about others I won't let them spoil my day with the birds. There were of course a few gripes I have which I could not put to print for a family show.

Keep birding Doc!

AD
 
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:clap: :clap: :clap:
Brilliant! I am going to have to remember not to do all of this if I ever get a chance to go birding with anyone other than my husband or mother-in-law. On the other hand, I think I will start doing some of these things while out with my mother-in-law...heh heh heh
 
I really don't know if this is true, but when I went to see the Green Heron near Scunthorpe a few years ago I arrived at the point where the bird had been only to find people heading off saying that the bird had just flown. Apparently (and I stress apparently ), the bird had been showing at close range and someone had let off a monster fart, the sound of which had been enough to flush the Heron. Thankfully it did come back eventually, but that was the first time I'd heard of a mega being flushed thanks to someones anal emissions.
 
timwootton said:
Er, Manjeet - you ABSOLUTELY PROMISED not to mention my behaviour!!!
Some friend you are ;)
Click to expand...
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW TIMWOOTTON HASNT GONE BIRDING WITH ME YET :D :D and i almost forgot-HANDPHONES-GRRRRRRRRRR-you have stalked a bird & are about to focus for a shot and you suddenly hear the charge of the American Calvery(you know like those western moves and red indians) :D -what bird would stay after that- :-O B :)
 
I almost always bird alone, and now I know why! Manjeet, I really needed a laugh after the week I've had and am now in a much better mood for the weekend. Thanks, my friend!B :):-O:D
 
Lisa W said:
I almost always bird alone, and now I know why! Manjeet, I really needed a laugh after the week I've had and am now in a much better mood for the weekend. Thanks, my friend!B :):-O:D
Click to expand...
Lady you are always welcome..... :D B :)
 
OMG, Doc M, I've just awakened the neighbors I'm howling so loud!! What a fun thread! But beware the truths in Marmot's post -- except that I like beer and wine equally and loathe soft drinks (sodas; cokes; whatever they're called in your neck of the woods) so I guess you could say I'm easy. LOL! :bounce:

Oh -- things I don't like about other birders? People who want to take a "quick peek" through my bins because they left theirs at home. Usually these people are all sweaty, or sneeze/cough while using them, and I can barely stand to touch the bins again much less put them up to my eyes. Icky yucky pooh pooh. ;)
 
Manjeet thanks for the entertaining article, I was going to mention the cell phone, its a curse not only for birders, but for a golfer like me, just as you are about to putt for the money the bells chime. I only go with the wife, I don't think she trusts me out on my lonesome. Ernie
 
Manjeet, what a laugh, I could actually imagine some people I have known doing those things. Thank goodness I always go off alone.

I really laughed at the nose-picking story though, because just a few weeks ago I saw a man do that. I had gone to a patch of bush just outside a nearby town, wearing an old men's army shirt I bought to camouflage myself when I'm trying to photograph birds. There is a walking track right through the middle of the bush, but I had moved off the track, and was standing among some trees, trying to locate the Crested Shrike-tits. The man came into view, walking his dog on a long lead. With his free hand, he was exploring a nostril; each find was hauled out on the tip of a finger, carefully inspected - and then wiped on his shirt. Neither the man nor the dog noticed me, as I just stood still - well Manjeet, I had forgotten about the man with the dog (and the nose) until I read your post. Thanks very much, I'll have nightmares tonight now. :eek!: 3:)
 
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