Most Awkward place you've Birded (1 Viewer)

jpoyner · Nov 17, 2004

As many members of the GP sadly seem to often view birders as a breed of anoraked "trainspotter", where is the most "self-concious" place you've visited.
Mine has to be with a group on Majorca trying to get a view of "mediteranean" Shag. They favour a rather busy beach at Porta Pollenca, it was about 90 degrees, hundreds of bathers and most of the group were still in woolies, hats and boots as we had just come from a rather cooler Cuber reservoir. (Removal of these items just had not occured to some individuals, despite the sweat).
The looks on the faces of the bathers said it all as scopes were set up on the beach, I just want the sand to open up and swallow me. I did feel a complete t*t on that occassion I must admit and actually began to question what on earth was I doing there.

One of the group muttered about how on earth all these people could come on holiday just to sit and laze around on a beach all day, and then we went off to sit in a hide at a sewerage treatment works..................it's a strange hobby sometimes.

JP

prairiemerlin · Nov 17, 2004

Wandering around residential neighborhoods looking at feeders... one time, three different cars stopped and asked us what we were doing!

Julian Sykes Wildlife · Nov 17, 2004

jpoyner said:
As many members of the GP sadly seem to often view birders as a breed of anoraked "trainspotter", where is the most "self-concious" place you've visited.
Mine has to be with a group on Majorca trying to get a view of "mediteranean" Shag. They favour a rather busy beach at Porta Pollenca, it was about 90 degrees, hundreds of bathers and most of the group were still in woolies, hats and boots as we had just come from a rather cooler Cuber reservoir. (Removal of these items just had not occured to some individuals, despite the sweat).
The looks on the faces of the bathers said it all as scopes were set up on the beach, I just want the sand to open up and swallow me. I did feel a complete t*t on that occassion I must admit and actually began to question what on earth was I doing there.

One of the group muttered about how on earth all these people could come on holiday just to sit and laze around on a beach all day, and then we went off to sit in a hide at a sewerage treatment works..................it's a strange hobby sometimes.

JP

Brilliant (laughing with tears), had similar looks here on the costas when sea-watching. Thing is, most of the people on the beach would have also been looking for a (Mediterranean) shag of there own that night!!!. As you say it's a strange hobby at times.

Bluetail · Nov 17, 2004

Had a not dissimilar experience scanning for seabirds off the beach at Mousterlin, Brittany. Not as bad as yours, but one or two of the topless women clearly thought I was a perve! :eek!:

More embarrassing than that, though, was the Dark-eyed Junco at Portland in '89, especially when our hunt led us past a school playground. Usual sort of comments you'd expect including, "It's a Lesser Spotted Eagle!" I reckon if they'd known that was a real bird they'd have wet themselves laughing.

robinm · Nov 17, 2004

Bluetail said:
Not as bad as yours, but one or two of the topless women clearly thought I was a perve! :eek!:

Which reminds me about of on the Isle of Sheppey. There is a nudist beach there near Swale NNR and you have to be very careful where you are pointing your scope.

mountain man · Nov 17, 2004

Quite a few places. That b@stard council estate in Skelmersdale, where the controversial Chiffchaff and Yellow-browed Warbler were in April, perhaps wins overall. I really felt like a complete pratt there. It was as dodgy as hell. I had to keep jumping down into a big ditch everytime someone emerged from the back of the estate - I was right though, because 2-3 people got mugged there the next day!

I still cringe when I remember saying "We're looking for a rare bird," after being asked "What the f*** are all you lot walking round wiv cameras for?" by a Pikey, Chav, Burberry-clad girl with the hugest hoopy earrings in history.

Pure evil !!!

jpoyner · Nov 17, 2004

tom mckinney said:
Quite a few places. That b@stard council estate in Skelmersdale, where the controversial Chiffchaff and Yellow-browed Warbler were in April, perhaps wins overall. I really felt like a complete pratt there. It was as dodgy as hell. I had to keep jumping down into a big ditch everytime someone emerged from the back of the estate - I was right though, because 2-3 people got mugged there the next day!

I still cringe when I remember saying "We're looking for a rare bird," after being asked "What the f*** are all you lot walking round wiv cameras for?" by a Pikey, Chav, Burberry-clad girl with the hugest hoopy earrings in history.

Pure evil !!!

Tom, not sure if that symbol is the best one to use to hide expletives

mountain man · Nov 17, 2004

John, I actually meant batstard. It's a common word round my way ;-)

Andrew · Nov 17, 2004

Every month I finish my WeBS count in The Basin section of the canal which is on the edge of town in the burbs and always check the gulls as even a Lesser Black-backed would be a new tick. They are often on the aerials and some residents peek out to wave me away when I am staring at the gulls with bins. I always stop at one spot trying to wind one of them up!!!

jpoyner · Nov 17, 2004

I have a non-birding friend who works locally, as he does some jobs using helicopter lifting they have to keep a rather loud portable air-horn on site to use to warn of danger when the helicopter is manouvering sacks. He keeps this in his van.
Picture the setting.........quiet road around the edge of loch garten, group of early morning birders silently enjoying watching a Crestie in the stillness of the dewy pines, white van slowly cruises past, window silently opens, arm stretches out........................

JP

Bubbs · Nov 17, 2004

Most awkward place

Without a doubt Suez. The constant questioning and threat of arrest by the military made for some uncomfortable days. The passage of overhead raptors, plus skuas, terns, waders, at the head of the Gulf made my stays all the more pleasant..even though I had to hide all and every day.

By night Suez just came alive and the markets were something else..I won't tell you what was in them though.

JB.

Edward woodwood · Nov 18, 2004

in a similar vein John, eastern Turkey was tricky in mid 90s when the Kurdish people were being removed from the area.. I took an overnight bus into the area and felt like I'd awoken in a war zone, tanks everywhere, plain clothes police with constant questions etc... Kurds approaching us in the evenings trying to tell us of police/army abuses and worse. It never got reported in UK press as Turkey were NATO friendly and we were using their air bases to bomb Iraq, a favour for which i guess 'we' turned a blind eye to their treatment of the curds...

any jungle can be awkward, especially the leech ridden ones of Borneo and Sumatra etc, remember a nightmare week in Sumatra for leeches...yuk! Sandflies in South America, packs of dogs any bloodywhere, 'bullet' ants and sand flies that would test the patience of a saint in South America. :eek!:

travelling in eastern Indonesia at the time of the East Timor business was a bit tricky and getting ferries organised was the devils own job... :C

mind you the Waxham area can be a pain in the arse when the listers turn up for the cranes or whatever happens to be there

Kevin Mac · Nov 18, 2004

Peering into peoples yards looking at their feeders during a Christmas bird count (but they think you're looking into their house) is tricky and always makes me feel uncomfortable. One of my bird count areas was on the US border in Washington State. The border patrol was very interested in me.

Katy Penland · Nov 18, 2004

Most uncomfortable birding was on one of the smaller, less inhabited islands in the San Juan group off Washington State. Our boat had docked at the only town -- village, really -- and we walked inland on one of the main roads, stopping every few feet to scan fields and trees with bins, no scopes. A pick-up approached us, driving veeeerrrrrrrry slowly, and we could see a gun rack (full of rifles) mounted in the rear window. When the pickup got up to us, we waved but the driver didn't respond, just gave us what we call "the stink-eye" and continued on past us. A few minutes later, the truck returned from the opposite direction, but this time stayed about 100 feet behind us, matching our walking-stopping pace. I'd finally had enough after about 5 minutes of this. We were on a public road and if he had a problem with us, he could just go get a sheriff or something. In the meantime, his engine was drowning out any birdcalls and bugging the hell out of me. So I started back toward the truck and he sped up, toward me, but instead of meeting me he just kept going and we never saw him again.

So I guess rather than truly awkward, this started off as kind of a scary experience, what with the guy's unfriendly attitude and the obvious display of firepower. Then it just teed me off that anyone thought they owned the very road itself. I hope I'm never that suspicious of strangers.

Darrell Clegg · Nov 18, 2004

john barclay said:
Most awkward place

Without a doubt Suez. The constant questioning and threat of arrest by the military made for some uncomfortable days. The passage of overhead raptors, plus skuas, terns, waders, at the head of the Gulf made my stays all the more pleasant..even though I had to hide all and every day.

By night Suez just came alive and the markets were something else..I won't tell you what was in them though.

JB.

Oh I know what you mean John!! We found it helpful to take a copy of "Birds of Egypt" with the bird names in Arabic. That way we could point out what we were watching to the soldiers who approached us. It worked because we were invited onto an army base to watch Sooty and White-eyed gulls at Zafarana. The base commander was delighted to have a look through our scopes and we all enjoyed cup after cup of very sweet, very strong coffee.

The worst place for me has to be Salineno, Texas. We went there for Brown Jay, but to see them you had to park at an old cemetery and walk down a very quiet path to the Rio Grande. There was obvioulsly some smuggling operation going on, and a group of binocular and scope toting Englishmen didn't go down very well.

Darrell

Edward · Nov 18, 2004

Nothing quite as awkward as Suez or leech-infested jungles, and there aren't any rough housing estates in Iceland, but a couple of weeks ago on the beach at Port Douglas in northern Queensland there was a very interesting wader a few feet away from a very attractive topless sunbather. The dilemma was obvious: raise the bins and get a reputation as a peeping Tom, or sit tight and just count it as one that got away. I made the right choice. It was a Grey-tailed Tattler for the record.

E

POP · Nov 18, 2004

Two ticks in one go ,very good Edward.

POP

Julian Sykes Wildlife · Nov 18, 2004

john barclay said:
Most awkward place

Without a doubt Suez. The constant questioning and threat of arrest by the military made for some uncomfortable days. The passage of overhead raptors, plus skuas, terns, waders, at the head of the Gulf made my stays all the more pleasant..even though I had to hide all and every day.

By night Suez just came alive and the markets were something else..I won't tell you what was in them though.

JB.

Sorry John
Can't agree with Suez, dropped a wallet full of gypo pounds in the packed Bus Station (just come from Taba) and a little Egyptian gentleman runs up behind me, taps my shoulder and gives back the wallet, cash and all. Kinda restores the faith in mankind. You are right about the birds though.

Around Paphos Airport in Cyprus is a good place to get lifted by the fuzz, but if you need Black Francolin.
Wasn't birding but felt my most awkward was when I was 12 I tried to give a talk on bird-watching to the class, which went down like a lead balloon. Council estate comprehensives are probably not the best place to try and enthuse potential birders, wasn't good for getting the girls either.

CornishExile · Nov 18, 2004

Wacka Quay in the early 90's - scary proto-chav new age traveller encampment (new age chavler?!) - bear in mind Little Egret was still worth some effort in those days! Remember vividly the day I turned up in a shiny new car to find them there, and while wildly trying to three point turn the car and get the hell out, a small child of oh, four or five years of age wanders over and demands, what are you doing here?

I can't bring myself to 'fess up to my sordid egret-fetish, so mutter some sort of evasive nonsense about a wrong turn. The child looks reflective for a moment, then says with venom, well you can f##k off!!

From the mouths of babes... I took the chavling's advice and did just that!

Bubbs · Nov 18, 2004

Jules Sykes said:
Sorry John
Can't agree with Suez, dropped a wallet full of gypo pounds in the packed Bus Station (just come from Taba) and a little Egyptian gentleman runs up behind me, taps my shoulder and gives back the wallet, cash and all. Kinda restores the faith in mankind. You are right about the birds though.

Around Paphos Airport in Cyprus is a good place to get lifted by the fuzz, but if you need Black Francolin.
Wasn't birding but felt my most awkward was when I was 12 I tried to give a talk on bird-watching to the class, which went down like a lead balloon. Council estate comprehensives are probably not the best place to try and enthuse potential birders, wasn't good for getting the girls either.

Hi Jules,

My post wasn't having a go at the military or the people of Egypt. The people are delightful and at no time did I ever feel unsafe - quite the opposite. The troops were only doing their job in a sensitive area.

I forgot to tell you about the less zealous soldiers who just wanted a look through the bins and thought I was crazy....why would anyone want to look at birds?Then they would ask me for a cigarette; I don't smoke but I always carried a packet with me.

Once again, this wasn't a complaint against the troops or people of Suez.

JB.

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