[newfie ghost]

Once upon a time I saw folks looking at hawks and thought that was so stupid. Fast forward and now I joined the stupid club . I bird several times a week and find it VERY relaxing. Get away from all the rat race, noise and stress and find peace and zen. I am sure I added years to my life. Confessions of a stupid man. Why do you bird?

[Jaff]

Nowadays I need professional therapy for the stresses caused by birding. LOL! The UK scene is a little too crowded for my liking and trying to find a quiet corner to get away, relax and enjoy the birds and other wildlife is an increasingly difficult task. When it all comes together though and you see that little something unexpected or have a memorable encounter with even something very familiar it reminds you why you started doing it all in the first place. Nothing quite like it.

[llewey]

Birds are extremely calming to watch. It definitely is a type of therapy for me. :)

[Keebs]

Originally Posted by Jaff

The UK scene is a little too crowded for my liking and trying to find a quiet corner to get away, relax and enjoy the birds and other wildlife is an increasingly difficult task.

You should try fishing, a billion times worse!
When I started (fishing) 30+ years ago I had lakes and rivers virtually to myself and was never happier than when being immersed in nature for the day.
I have all but given up now as it's been completely ruined by too many people going for entirely the wrong reasons.

I bird now because the peace and quiet, the interaction with nature and environment, and the sheer get-away-from-everyone-ness of it all is at least still achievable in this wonderful hobby.
(It's a lot less to carry around for the day as well )

[Tideliner]

Mainly for work , but also to relax far from the maddening crowds , so keep most sightings to myself. The last thing I want is to return to a quiet marsh or wood and find it full of twitchers- little point in returning if that happens.

[newfie ghost]

Originally Posted by Keebs

You should try fishing, a billion times worse!
When I started (fishing) 30+ years ago I had lakes and rivers virtually to myself and was never happier than when being immersed in nature for the day.
I have all but given up now as it's been completely ruined by too many people going for entirely the wrong reasons.

I bird now because the peace and quiet, the interaction with nature and environment, and the sheer get-away-from-everyone-ness of it all is at least still achievable in this wonderful hobby.
(It's a lot less to carry around for the day as well )

Sorry to hear the fishing has changed, I wish somethings were like it used to be as well.

[PhotographyExpert]

looking at birds or spending sometime with birds is a kind of therapy, it reduce tension and stress and one feels happy doing this.....try it, its my personal experience.

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by Jaff

Nowadays I need professional therapy for the stresses caused by birding. LOL! The UK scene is a little too crowded for my liking and trying to find a quiet corner to get away, relax and enjoy the birds and other wildlife is an increasingly difficult task. When it all comes together though and you see that little something unexpected or have a memorable encounter with even something very familiar it reminds you why you started doing it all in the first place. Nothing quite like it.

It's interesting you should say those thing about the UK birding scene. I got fed up of the numbers of birders after a while (I'm an anti-social bugger...); here in Cairns I can often have a site to myself or just wander for hours around rainforest or tropical savannah and not see another soul, let alone other birders!

I have really learned to appreciate the bigger picture of the natural ecosystems here, not just the birds. That in itself is wonderful therapy.

[MJB]

Originally Posted by chowchilla

It's interesting you should say those thing about the UK birding scene. I got fed up of the numbers of birders after a while (I'm an anti-social bugger...); here in Cairns I can often have a site to myself or just wander for hours around rainforest or tropical savannah and not see another soul, let alone other birders! I have really learned to appreciate the bigger picture of the natural ecosystems here, not just the birds. That in itself is wonderful therapy.

Chowch,
You're one of the least anti-social people I've met! You convey awareness and enthusiasm for the wonder of the underlying strands of nature. Now, those benighted folk who are unable to appreciate such matters, who do not wish to, or, worst of all who seem to believe that assertion is stronger than evidence and so such matters are irrelevant or beneath them, they could form the group that might conclude you were anti-social...

Below are a couple of quotes from Gerald Durrell, who demonstrated so clearly that some people can see and understand and that others can't or won't.
MJB

“The great ecosystems are like complex tapestries - a million complicated threads, interwoven, make up the whole picture. Nature can cope with small rents in the fabric; it can even, after a time, cope with major disasters like floods, fires, and earthquakes. What nature cannot cope with is the steady undermining of its fabric by the activities of man.”

"The world is as delicate and as complicated as a spider's web. If you touch on a thread you send shudders running through all the other threads. We are not just touching the web, we are tearing great holes in it."

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by MJB

Chowch,
You're one of the least anti-social people I've met! You convey awareness and enthusiasm for the wonder of the underlying strands of nature. Now, those benighted folk who are unable to appreciate such matters, who do not wish to, or, worst of all who seem to believe that assertion is stronger than evidence and so such matters are irrelevant or beneath them, they could form the group that might conclude you were anti-social...

That's very kind of you Mike. I suppose I should qualify my statement by saying that whilst I can appreciate nature in solitude I can also appreciate the company of 'good' people, i.e. those who appreciate the simple things in life and the importance of the 'craic' when you're in the company of others rather than the relentless pursuit of profit above all else; I've nothing against wealth btw, just boring people who think that it's the only thing that matters; not us birders of course...

[Farnboro John]

Anyone who wants peace and quiet should go to - no, I'm not telling you, I'll keep it to myself.

John

[Tarsiger]

Originally Posted by Jaff

Nowadays I need professional therapy for the stresses caused by birding. LOL! The UK scene is a little too crowded for my liking and trying to find a quiet corner to get away, relax and enjoy the birds and other wildlife is an increasingly difficult task. When it all comes together though and you see that little something unexpected or have a memorable encounter with even something very familiar it reminds you why you started doing it all in the first place. Nothing quite like it.

Personally I'm always amazed how crowded a rural car park can be but how few people venture far from it. Today, my car was less than a mile as the crow flies and I was laying on the ground, 't-shirted and sun-glassed' watching a very smart Great Grey Shrike, watching singing and displaying Dartford Warbler and admiring stunningly plumaged Stonechats and no other people around other than 2 horse-riders too far away to hear.I'm sure if I'd been 'mammaling/mothing/herping/planting' or whatever I would have been just as happy. Open air, blue skies and silence; fantastic and great therapy.
Sadly the more time in this type of environment the harder it is to tolerate cities, crowds, noise, rubbish, people!! Unfortunately any-stress relief gained in the countryside is negated by the driving to get there!!
Russ

[David Hale]

You all mirror my reasons for birdwatching. I also fished & enjoyed the peace, fresh air, the wildlife etc. 45 years on, i no longer fish. I now prefer to know that the fish are in the lakes & rivers, swimming free, without the need for me to trap them with a baited hook. The more i think about it, the more pointless it all seems. I watch birds come & go. I travel light, it`s easy, relaxing, peaceful & causing no stress to any living creature, providing i stick to the country code, which i do.

[Mike Montier]

I could write a book. Birding has helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life and yet has also caused me high levels of anxiety, stress and frustration. Today I went to the central plain here in Mallorca and I was the only person there watching wonderful raptor migration in the warm sunshine. It was bliss and I saw nobody else all day. Nature is a great healer and allows me to see a bigger picture by being part of it all. Magic.

[Trubrit]

I love the challenge of bird watching.

Hear the bird, find it.

See the bird, identify it.

[follownoone]

I used to stream fish by myself because it was challenging catching trout and it was peaceful attempting it. I now bird for the same reasons without as much harm. Birds, fresh air, trees, water, rocks, squirrels, turtles, deer, racoons, mountains, oceans,...... and most of all for me, quiet.

[Denise Anderson]

Everything everyone else has said really, I love getting out in the fresh air, enjoying the peace of it... and watching the birds and other wildlife... I have a love for Raptors so if I spot anything soaring I automatically just want to stand there and watch, probably why so many of my films I've made on my youtube channel are Red Kites hehe :)

But it definitely takes the stress away for a bit :)

[Andy Mills]

There is nothing quite like sitting/standing in the open air watching birds/wildlife.
calming, relaxing, totally chilled.
Then reality comes and bites you on the bum!
But isn't it wonderful while it lasts ;-)

[Marmot]

You must have started this thread when we were on holiday so I missed it.

We were at Sizergh Castle grounds just checking out what was around before we came back early morning the following day to see the Hawfinch.

We found out that they had made a bird watching feeding that had a steady flow of different species of birds coming through. There was a lady who was beside us and said that she had been to work that morning and it had been quite stressful and it was just coming out to see the birds that totally calmed her no matter how she felt. I thought about that and it totally summed up how I feel.

Ok at times we get the mickey taken out of us for standing staring into trees,or what looks like nothing is there. But surely our lives are richer than those who cannot see the relaxation and beauty of these little feathered beauties.

[cugsy]

I fished a lot when we lived in Lancashire - twice a week and at nights a lot. That was peaceful. You had the whole beach to yourself and it cleaned your hard drive - so to speak. Daytime fishing usually brought people over to chat. There was a big difference - they fished to be seen fishing.
Since we moved to Norfolk 6 years ago we live in virtual isolation but with a railway track next to us and a main road 1/2 mile away. I can't get to fish as often - the beach is 50 miles away. But the birding from the garden excels what we saw up north. Just sitting in the conservatory or garden watching everything from tits to buzzards is my new 'fishing'. And fundamentally, the peace and quiet is life changing. I used to think it was just me but now the wife has changed her attitude to being in a crowd.
If we go to any birding site, its the noise from the car slamming and chattering birders that puts a frown on her face. Almost every time, we leave early and go home to find 'our' birds. You can't blame people for taking up the same hobby as you. But you do feel that it is 'yours' and get annoyed when those others don't apply the same rules of quiet and courtesy as you do. I think thats why people drift away from a hobby - we get protective and thats when the saying 'its not the same as it used to be' pops up.
I love my astronomy and luckily I have my own little observatory. I visit my society very infrequently because of the chatter. miserable sod? Probably
john

[Andy Hall]

I just love birds

[Hughv]

Interesting how many fishermen are here. I fished avidly for many years, and the birds are part of the experience. I remember startling a Black Crowned Night heron (And myself) one day, and looking through my Peterson's to find out what it was.