[senatore]

For me it is IDing birds.I struggle with loads of them in particular Waders,Warblers,Pipits etc.One day I am going to be on my own birding somewhere and a great rareity will be in front of me and I will not know it.

What about you.What do you find most frustrating about birding?

Max.

[turkish van]

As soon as you get your bins on them they fly away!!!

Grrr....

[level seven]

Originally Posted by turkish van

As soon as you get your bins on them they fly away!!!

Or before then, in my case.....

[birdman]

When I see a distant bird, my bins are ALWAYS on close focus, when I see a close bird they are ALWAYS on distant focus and I ALWAYS turn the focus wheel the wrong way.

Other than that, I share your problem, Max!

[charlierocky]

Shortage of time and finacial recources, working with only two functioning brain cells memory span shorter than a golfish apart from that eveything is fine.

[Runcorn Birder]

Can't decide between long distance dips and elusive skulkers.

Worst dips:

Pine Bunting (six hours in FREEZING muddy field whilst other birders were picking it up regularly)

Little Bittern (ten hours at Dungeness to no avail)

Purple Heron (many hours at Cley sat scouring distant ditches)

Worst skulkers:

Quail - amazingly difficult bird to see, but I've seen one now (ner ner)

Small Sylvia Warblers in autumn

Golden Pheasant - don't bother getting out of the car, just sit and wait for one crossing the road.

Nightingale species - Have got both now but they were tough little blighters

[Keith Dickinson]

The fact that most rare birds seem to have a copy of my schedule and decide to b****r off for the day when I go to see them.
Keith

[Edward woodwood]

being away from beer in some exotic places

an uncontroversial one i guess!

Tim

[lvn600]

Trying to pick the best spots at the best time without going to the obvious places. It is either rewarding or frustrating.

[jurek]

That you cannot bird all the time...

[PeterK]

Hi Driving miles to see what I am reliably informed is a prolific birding site only to find the usual mob of Canada Geese, mallards and Coots. I guess I must hold a world record for the number of these wonderful birds. Oh yes I almost got to see a Water Rail at Inner Marsh Farm RSPB reserve, but at least there were 100 Little Egrets nesting there so that made a refreshing change. Good Birding PeterK

[James Day]

Most frustrating - not knowing how to say "YES - it is a Shoveler", without actually saying "For Goodness sake I've seen enough of them to know what I'm talking about - I know it isn't exactly like the picture blinking book - but it is a Shoveler!" to the "expert" bird watcher.

[Reader]

[quote=birdman]When I see a distant bird, my bins are ALWAYS on close focus, when I see a close bird they are ALWAYS on distant focus and I ALWAYS turn the focus wheel the wrong way. /QUOTE]




I'm with you there.

[Jane Turner]

For me its failing to nail a rarity. Knowing you have seen something and also knowing you will not be able to get accepted or being unable to work out which of two it is.


The worst was either a Summer or Scarlet Tanager..95% sure it was the latter. I was at the time held together by 24 stables - I was supposed to be recouperating from abdominal surgery - otherwise I'd have climbed the fence between me and it rather more quickly and might have seen it better.

Last year I heard a Semi-P plover but only saw it in flight.

Then there was that singing Western Orphean Warbler that I couldn't see despite 10 hours trying.

And the Lancie that I only saw in flight...

this is getting too painfull.

[postcardcv]

The fact that I don't live close enough to the sea to go seawatching before breakfast every day.

The fact that school finishes at 3pm so I have to be home to pick up my eldest, surely they could keep teaching her until I run out of daylight.

The fact that I didn't twitch the golden-winged warbler.

[James Eaton]

Just when you get on something and it clears off just before you identify it beyond doubt, when you know its something good. I end up kicking myself for days (make that years) over it!

Or, when someone your birding with grips you off with something and you miss it.

One that has frustrated me for years is whenever I go out and cover my patches I know that I'm not going to see anything rare or beautiful, living in Derbyshire, yet I keep on doing it, though I've got sensible this year, by just staying in more.

[postcardcv]

Originally Posted by Jane Turner

For me its failing to nail a rarity. Knowing you have seen something and also knowing you will not be able to get accepted or being unable to work out which of two it is.

You've got mine beat - that's definitely more annoying.

[London Birder]

finding something 'interesting' ... and then it gets away

[Edward woodwood]

Originally Posted by James Eaton

One that has frustrated me for years is whenever I go out and cover my patches I know that I'm not going to see anything rare or beautiful, living in Derbyshire, yet I keep on doing it, though I've got sensible this year, by just staying in more.

ha ha ha

too right

i remember it well...oh the pain. it's why so many Derby boys end up travelling the globe

when u gonna move to Norwich/Bangkok/Jakarta then?

or gonna stick with Willington

[prairiemerlin]

Hmm... excellent question.

My biggest problem with birding is that I usually go with my dad, and since he usually has to work a few hours on Saturday, I can't spend the whole day birding. Yea I know I shouldn't be complaining but still....

[Adey Baker]

Originally Posted by James Eaton

One that has frustrated me for years is whenever I go out and cover my patches I know that I'm not going to see anything rare or beautiful, living in Derbyshire, yet I keep on doing it...

You are not alone - I must have bashed my local patch a couple of thousand times but although I've had some good sightings that I've reported in to the LROS website, for instance, none have been good enough to bring even one person out to 'twitch' them!

[russkie]

max
im with you there - ive been birding since i was a kid and still struggle with id. im sur in the past ive probably seen good birds but have never had the confidence or skill to claim a rarity. obviously if it was something recognisable instantly such as bluethroat then it'd be different , but theres plenty of lbj's ive never been close to identifying
nigel

[DenBee]

The most frustrating thing I find is two fold, been surround by plenty of birds calling and not been able to see the liitle blighters, and not been able to recognise many of their calls " VERY VERY FRUSTRATING"

DenBee

[Gill Osborne]

Originally Posted by Keith Dickinson

The fact that most rare birds seem to have a copy of my schedule and decide to b****r off for the day when I go to see them.
Keith

LOL Keith - me too!!! Heard about a Spoonbill at Cresswell earlier this year and it's one bird I've ALWAYS wanted to see. Yet when I got there I looked in every nook and cranny yet could not find so much as a discarded feather!!!
And isn't it just SO annoying when a non-birder out walking their dog - usually with a air of cheapo tiny pair of binoculars in their pocket - informs me that they saw it that very morning ( from a distance of ten yards GRRRRR ) at 7am.........and it hasn't been seen since!!!!!!!!


Juggling my time is a nightmare too! Between working full-time, doing the shopping, housework AND being a dutiful wife and spending time with Neil and making sure he has a proper meal inside him before going off on nightshift - I need MORE than 24 hours in a day!!!!!! And it's only me and Neil in our household as we don't have kids.....I don't know HOW i would cram everything in if I did!
Oh, and before I forget....there's the catching up with news & gossip on BF, catching up on reading my bird/wildlife magazines & books, trying to improve my sketching & painting ( that's why I don't mind TOO much if it's monsooning it down outside LOL ).
The good side of my job though is that, being in a newsagent, I'm at work at 5.30am most mornings ( get up at 3.50am ) and finished by 1pm so even in the middle of winter I can still squeeze in an hour or two's birding before it gets too dark AND, best of all, I see LOADS of wildlife on my drive in every morning. In the summer I often see Roe Deer, Rabbits, Foxes, Weasels & Stoats and various birds. In these darker mornings I get to see Tawny and Barn Owls, Hedgehogs, Wood Mice scurrying across the roads in front of me and I have a couple of places where I can virtually guarantee a Fox three/four times a week on average!
Only downside to this wonderful opportunity to watch the night-time wildlife on my way in to work is having to go to bed by 8pm! But it's a small price to pay and I'm usually dead beat by then anyway and out as soon as my head hits the pillow! Oh and the local wildlife groups....their indoor meetings are held in the evenings and I can often feel my eyes getting heavy by the time it's 9pm - the poor speakers probably think they are boring me to sleep ....I usually explain to them that it's well past my bedtime though and they seem to find it amusing

Just need to win the lottery and then I MIGHT be able to fit everything in....possibly!!!

Gill

[salty]

for me it's a few things:

not enought time/hours spent birding as i would like.

a cracking bird in the lens, not moving an inch, but can i get a clear picture? - can i hell....

the weather.

i do however consider myself quite lucky with birds, i have seen some breathtaking birds in some stunning surroundings this year, i wouldnt change any of it!