Does anyone know, or can hazard a guess, as to whether birdwatching whilst out taking your daily walk is considered to be recreation or exercise? Went for a walk around a local reservoir today and saw some anglers but was recently told that I couldn’t stop walking to view a bird high in a tree with my bins!
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England lockdown policy (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter NQYbirder
- Start date
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Wrong answer, as our exceptionally moronic government can make any bad situation worse and despite the fact that outside is safe, decreed that exercise means exercise and recreation is a no-no. (The exception for anglers is of course ridiculous, as what they do is sit on their backsides in one place.)I would count it as both exercise and recreation
However, I would argue that both carrying and raising bins is exercise and for that matter pointing them at particular things is exercise of fine-motor skills.
John
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Here we go again,
Trystan
Well-known member
Here we go again,
It's true though. The situation is bad enough, people are having to give up many of the things they have in their lives for understandable reasons but people lose respect for the rules when illogical decisions are made.
It's safe to be outside, maintaining social distance so anyone doing anything outside and maintaining social distance should be left in peace, not harassed by petty police officers or neurotic scare-mongerers.
I appreciate there’s different rules in Wales but I almost always take my bins with me when I walk the dog. With us we have to start and finish from home. Rich
Deb Burhinus
Used to be well known! 😎
Maybe Andy, yes we have bashed this about ad nauseam on BF the past year but the question came from a new member and her husband who joined yesterday to be ‘part the wider birding community’ and may not have known who else to ask - let’s be welcoming eh? 🙂Here we go again,
As for birdwatching during lockdown, I would follow Government guidelines on distance from home you can go, social distancing when you get there and not meeting up with other people while you are out. Clearly, walking around a reservoir is excersise, setting up a scope and standing in one spot for half an hour isn’t. The only main concern in that situation was whether stopping to look at birds briefly caused some one else’s path to be blocked ie that they couldn’t get round you whilst maintaining a 6 foot distance. Then standing looking at birds in trees, even for a few minutes would not be fair for others out having a walk.
Common sense.
Welcome to Birdforum NQYbirder!
Here in Melbourne (Australia), when we were locked down last year, fishing was banned too. I'm not sure if birdwatching was specifically banned, but I think photography was. Exercise was allowed once a day for up to an hour, wearing a mask, and we weren't allowed to drive to do it. Probably not all necessary in hindsight, but they were afraid it would spread if people congregated. It worked extremely well. Just do it.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
It wasn't aimed at the NEW, member, several contributors to such threads, have basically carried on regardless, interpreting rules to suit.
I think ”common sense “ is the thing. As soon as you start asserting your “rights” someone will contradict you and you will find yourself in a quasi legal argument. We all know what we can and shouldn’t do.Just do it quietly and safely, without drawing attention to yourself (and that’s what birding is about anyway, surely) and you will find most people are reasonable about it.
My patch was so wet and muddy yesterday I was the only one there. Apart from the barn owls that is.
Cheers
My patch was so wet and muddy yesterday I was the only one there. Apart from the barn owls that is.
Cheers
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Whilst most others do as requested to prevent to the spread of disease, the usual suspects bang on and on, insisting they know better and this itself, causes friction.
If everyone in the country adopted this attitude, the outdoors would be overun and it has been in places.
Trystan
Well-known member
So far, based on the worldometer stats; Covid has taken out approximately 0.0003% of the worlds population in a year.
To some of us, the restrictions imposed seem over the top and also hypocritical. The damage we do to our environment which is responsible for uncalculable deaths now and the increasingly irreversable trends towards mass extinctions which will result in collapsing ecosystems and societal metldown has been widely ignored for generations to protect the economy by governments around the world.
I have followed the rules and guidelines throughout this debacle, admittedly occasionally bending them, but as they are often open to interpretation, unclear, inconsistent, illogical or ineffective, I have every sympathy with people who don't. There is also no rule or guideline that says you cant moan about stuff you aren't happy with and create friction on a public forum as your own posting history stands testament to.
Gill Osborne
Well-known member
I'm just staying local for now and not driving to any birding spots....even though the coast is just 5 miles from home It's frustrating but I'd feel hypocritical driving to somewhere to go birding (whether we class it as exercise or not) when I'm fortunate enough to have places closer to home that I can walk to and, most importantly, are not in a built-up urban area so I rarely see anybody. I'm telling myself it'll do me good to get to know my local area better
It's frustrating but I'd feel hypocritical driving to somewhere to go birding (whether we class it as exercise or not) when I'm fortunate enough to have places closer to home that I can walk to and, most importantly, are not in a built-up urban area so I rarely see anybody. I'm telling myself it'll do me good to get to know my local area better
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Ahhh, the stats, that makes it all ok then.
I didn't mean friction here on the forum (you can't even interpret me right never mind government guidelines) but in broader society. People who are knowingly 'bending' the rules, to their own advantage and then going on boards such as this one to tell about it, are no better than the people who think they're exempt from wearing a mask in a supermarket so if you feel the need for a little personal jab at me, you can have that one......................
Trystan
Well-known member
Well "the stats" are what are being used to decide what restrictions we need to have. I do understand the need for restrictions to protect the NHS from being swamped, I don't understand why the countryside has been shut down. To go back to the OP, he should feel quite able to take his bins out on a walk and stop to look at things without fear of recrimination from the police or the general public but he may be taking a gamble in doing so which is ridiculous.
As for the jab, don't take it personally, I generally enjoy your posts, but you did leave the last one open to interpretation!
Steve Babbs
Well-known member
Not getting into the arguments. But I suspect walking from the house with bins and stopping to look at birds is unlikely to be an issue. A scope might be another matter and certainly would draw attention, although the difference from fishing would seem to be close to zero. Personally I take this disease extremely seriously, and have done from the start, and I am aware that as a teacher (married to another teacher) I am far more likely to have it and to spread it than the average person. I am extremely anxious even going to my local shop, and especially so going into work, but it does seem that the odds of catching or spreading it, socially distancing, outside are extremely low. I stick to the rules, and the car I have just bought hasn't moved since lockdown, but I don't feel guilty going for a walk with my bins from my front door.
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WalterRayle
Well-known member
It would appear though, that if you live in Hampshire it's alright to go birding by car, a quick look at the Going Birding site each day, not just since lockdown began, but also when the whole county was in Tier 4 shows a number of 'birders' not only driving around the county, but then also showing off about it by posting their sightings.
Of those people that I vaguely know in the past week it's been journeys from Lyndhurst to Lepe, Redbridge and Romsey and one of the crowning glories from a house that overlooks Fishlake Meadows to a site ten miles up the road. Also, from Tier 4 days, Basingstoke to Blashford Lakes, and a well-known person openly telling us all about a new years day trip from Farnborough to Pagham and Farlington.
It beggars belief that these people firstly don't understand the 'stay at home' and don't do non-essential journeys bit and secondly openly show off about it by posting their sightings on line.
What is wrong with these people?
Of those people that I vaguely know in the past week it's been journeys from Lyndhurst to Lepe, Redbridge and Romsey and one of the crowning glories from a house that overlooks Fishlake Meadows to a site ten miles up the road. Also, from Tier 4 days, Basingstoke to Blashford Lakes, and a well-known person openly telling us all about a new years day trip from Farnborough to Pagham and Farlington.
It beggars belief that these people firstly don't understand the 'stay at home' and don't do non-essential journeys bit and secondly openly show off about it by posting their sightings on line.
What is wrong with these people?
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Ed Davey, leader of the Lib-Dems, has just argued on the Andrew Marr show, that it is 'appropriate' for their campaigners to be leafleting, door to door and the way it complies with guidelines, is that it falls under 'volunteer organisations', because the leafleters are unpaid volunteers!
Voulnteer organisations, my guess, would be mobile care givers, meals on wheels etc, not political leafleters, another egregious, manipulation of the guidelines which need to be far, far less ambiguous.
Voulnteer organisations, my guess, would be mobile care givers, meals on wheels etc, not political leafleters, another egregious, manipulation of the guidelines which need to be far, far less ambiguous.
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Steve Babbs
Well-known member
I found Ed Davey's comments pretty rubbish, I have to say.
