Ladies - do you feel safe when birding? (1 Viewer)

I'm fairly new to birding and visit mainly local areas, but I do worry about personal safety.
I'm wondering how safe other women feel and if they go birding on their own. My husband does not share my new hobby but occassionally comes with me, (which means I have to occassionally visit motorsport venues!!).

I must admit its never really bothered me.

Caz,it is highly unlikey you will ever be harrassed whil'st birdwatching.It is considered an eccentric occupation by most people,and you will be viewed as a mad female!!.Honestly!!.We have druggies who use our bird hide,and whenever I appear,they just smile patronisingly and carry on with their business.I do all my birding on my own,and have never felt threatened.But if you have to accompany hubby to bike racing motor sport,then that is a fair swap!!.But if it is car racing(very boring) then yes,I do sympathise!!

It doesn't bother me really. Common sense that's about it. I certainly don't worry whether something "bad" will happen to me; my theory, if it's gonna happen it will, where-ever you are. Anyway, I'll give as good as I get - or at least I'll have a damn good go.

Because of some of the areas I bird in, I do carry protection with me. Unfortunately, some of the best water bird spots are frequented by the cities homeless and drug users, I learned quickly that some of them would love to grab the camera equipment I carry for a fast sale and drug buy. On the other side of the coin though, I have had homeless men step between me and some unsavories. As Helen said, you have to use common sense.

Hey Caz
Like Jane, it's never really bothered me, but then again, the places I've ever went birding are usually safe anyway....Of course birding is a male dominated sport, but what I like about it is that whenever I'm out there with them I'm treated like "one of the guys" which I like so I'm not treated differently. I do a lot of birding on my own though......usually see more that way anyway.....but I guess you just gotta be alert to all that's around you..

I'm pretty street wise like we have to be and I have to say i've rarely given it a thought!

Most birders are ok...usually helpful approachable....

Obvious you take the usual precautions...but as Helen says common sense!

However if you are a little worried stick to the RSPB and other reserves and join us on BF meets!!!

Eagle

I'm surprised none of the BF chaps have "offered" their advice yet...

helenol said:

I'm surprised none of the BF chaps have "offered" their advice yet...

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Too scared of the cauldron!

Eagle

Take an alarm and be prepared to whack some idiot over the head with your bins. I'm not female, but I have been attacked.

ALWAYS have your mobile phone with you and always have a speed-dial to the emergency services and/ or your loved one- I would give this advice to any birder, not just females though I appreciate the added risk.

Regards

Cinyras said:

Take an alarm and be prepared to whack some idiot over the head with your bins. I'm not female, but I have been attacked.

ALWAYS have your mobile phone with you and always have a speed-dial to the emergency services and/ or your loved one- I would give this advice to any birder, not just females though I appreciate the added risk.

Regards

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Now there is a sensible reply!

Eagle

I USED to feel very wary when I went out birding in North Tyneside as I was approached twice in as many years and had my scope stolen! Really shook me up and I will admit that I did think long and hard about giving up the birding but my husband Neil wouldn't hear of it!
Silly thing was...back in the early/mid Eighties I was always at the Wallsend Swallow Pond and often there way after dark as I loved to watch the bats with only my small mongrel dog for company and I never ever worried about anything happening to me! It has only been in the last ten years that I've been a LOT more wary! Don't know if I'm just getting sensible in my old age (36!) or whether I'm more aware of the dodgy characters that can sometimes be around but I don't take risks anymore. VERY frustrating as I often just wanted to watch bats and nightime wildlife up at St Mary's!
BUT as some of the others have already said...it's just a case of being alert and aware of what's around you....if it's gonna happen,it's gonna happen! But if anybody was dumb enough to grab me they'd soon regret it...I certainly wouldn't give in or submit without doing a bit of damage to them first LOL
Having said that...since we moved from the towns to the open countryside I DO feel a lot safer and often go out for walks around the country lanes and over the hills at dusk/night...see so much more wildlife now! Only precautions I've had to take is to let our landlord (who's the farmer who owns the land) know that I'm planning to go for a late-night walk so he doesn't come after me with a shotgun LOL
Caz...just be aware that there ARE nutters out there BUT it's very VERY rare, just seems a lot more common as only bad news makes it onto the tv news or in the papers...fellow birders that are male don't worry me...most of them just treat you as one of them! And they are MORE interested in the other types of bird LOL
So don't let your worries put you off birding...it's a GREAT hobby and you'll meet a great bunch of folks! My hubby is just like yours, slightly interested but not much! But neil has accepted that once I pass my driving test i WILL be off out gallivanting after birds!!! He has a choice...join in or do his own thing and see me when I get home! LOL

GILL

Ladies, get some self-defence training.
Even a big guy (if untrained) is no match for a reasonably well-trained woman.
Even if you never need to use it in anger, it'll give you lots of confidence - and it's a great way to unwind !

Hey Ladies!!
That's a great idea, self defence training! And about the whole "whacking the guy over the head with the bins" ....I've even wanted to do that sometimes just to let the guys know that I'm just out for birding, and I'm not interested....anybody else have THAT problem? LOL ....I do always carry my cell on me, that's for sure!

Keeping your mobile phone with you at all times is a wonderful precaution to take -- provided no one is sneaking up on you from behind!

The self-defense training is also a good idea, but I wonder how many of us will do that?

I've very frequently gone birding by myself over the past decade, and have only once or twice felt threatened, which just made me turn on my heel and get the h*ll outta Dodge.

The other precaution is to go birding in a group -- which is always fun anyway -- or at least find a buddy, hubby or otherwise. There is a growing number of women getting into birding, so finding another woman to buddy up witih is less and less of a problem.

i agree with Cinyras.I don't move quick enough to run and have thought about uglies on the trail.The bins would make a good persuader.The problem is. how do you practice using it as a weapon.As my father taught me at a young age all gentlemen carry a pocket knife.I do and it's substantial.Theatre can help too.If I see someone approach that looks a little unsettling I reach up to the space beween the buttons on the coat or if no coat reach behind my back.I live in a gun happy nation and don't own one but am more than happy at times to have someone else think I'm armed.
Sam

I bird on my own nearly all the time, and I never give personal safety a second thought in most areas. In areas, though, where I know there have been past or current problems (but the birds are just too good to miss!), I use a bit of theater, too:

Attitude! It's worked for me when traveling abroad and in certain areas in LA, even when shopping during the day. While I've never had an unsavory incident while birding anywhere in the world, if I were on my own and someone happened on the scene that made my antennae start waving around, I'd do what I do in the city and somebody bugs me: Immediately go into "meaner'n snake poo-poo" mode. Meaning, I don't act, look, or sound pleasant, and I always look the newcomer straight in the eye -- not in challenge, but just to let them know I know they're there and I know what they look like and I'm not afraid of them. Not that that'll deter *all* the baddies out there, but if you don't look or act like a potential victim, chances are favorable you won't end up being one. But I'm a brazen ol' broad sometimes so it works for me. However, common sense always rules, so if the person who made my hackles rise looks like the "looking nasty bluff" won't be very effective, I just leave as unobtrusively and casually as possible. As others have already said, being alert is the best first line of defense.

Cel phone is an absolute must, but I never leave home without it anyway, even just for the odd grocery trip. What did we ever do before them?

Bins! Yes!! That has always been my weapon of choice. When I start feeling a little nervous, I grab those bins as if they were meant for whacking someone and I am looking for someone to whack. I like to keep mine heavy just for that reason. Oh, and if I have to, the camera will be sacrificed.
I do have to say, since my son was born two years ago, I have become more cautious and a little more paranoid. I used to never worry about it, but I am very tall for my height, so most unsavory people steer clear.
Also having a two year old out in the woods or wherever is another license for insanity, so most people stay away as soon as they see me trying to point out a bird that just flew overhead, get my son to point his binoculars in the right direction and then open his eyes.
I also like to scope places out before really getting into the avifauna. It helps if you know where the paths lead, how far from your car will you be, how low are the branches of that tree, etc...you know, the basics.
Common sense is definitely the key and not getting too freaked out about to keep yourself indoors.
Elizabeth

Katy Penland said:

and I always look the newcomer straight in the eye -- not in challenge, but just to let them know I know they're there and I know what they look like and I'm not afraid of them. .

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Oh yes, I'm familiar with that.

This may sound stupid, but -
Why and where would someone attack a birder? What places have attacks happened? From the posts so far it sounds like druggies and shady characters are hanging around hides and birding areas.