Do you bird watch alone or in groups? (1 Viewer)

Scyza · May 1, 2012

Hello,

it seems that birding can be quite a social activity. Personally, I enjoy going out into the woods and fields alone and in fact even get annoyed if I run into other people (especially if they are noisily chatting). I love being alone sometimes and just enjoy the absence of human noise.

I'd like to know if other birders are mostly the social type or if there are more solitary ones like me

Stefanie

lmans66 · May 1, 2012

Depends.... A good friend if I am near them, otherwise I would soon go at it alone as opposed to hooking up with a groupwhom I am unfamiliar with. Although having said that I have found myself in situations where others are staying atvn we all hook up....

Mysticete · May 1, 2012

Depends on the mood

I like birding with friends, especially if the friends have slightly different interests (like herps for instance), since you observe more. In general I always find that my trip list is a little bigger when birding with 2-3 friends than by myself, since more eyes are available to spot stuff

However sometimes, especially when I am mulling over problems, birding by myself can be good. Most of my long distance birding trips are by myself, and it's nice to be able to schedule an itinerary around my own specific wants or needs

Zheljko · May 1, 2012

For me, going in groups is more about having good time with friends while doing a common interest activity. I do list more species because I am not so great about recognizing certain species by jizz at a distance and someone reminds me that a particular species exists

and I look and it really is that.

At my home patch there are MANY joggers and walkers and I just ignore them like when you pass people at a city street. If you stand still and other people walk away, birds will often suddenly start to chirp and fly around.

Himalaya · May 1, 2012

I tend to go alone because :-

1. None of my friends birdwatch
2. My work and social commitments
3. I dont have any birding friends even though I have joined a local club.
4. Maybe I am a bit difficult too?

The sniper · May 1, 2012

I mainly bird alone but i go out with a group around once a month which is good fun

lazza · May 3, 2012

up to now, always alone. With a young family (4-year-old twins) and a job that takes me away a lot, I don't get a lot of time to include trips out with other birders. So I fit in 30 minutes here and there whenever I can. Also, dare I say it, there are plenty of other things I would also like to put more time into than I can at the moment (cycling, allotment, real ale and good food, watching/playing football) that I can't make a commitment to spend a couple of hours with another birder on my time off. I realise I will never be a good birder until I do, which is frustrating... but I can live with it!

Euan Buchan · May 3, 2012

I always go alone think you see more if you are quiet I just don't like it when people walk by with a strange face looking at me as if thinking why has he got binoculars.

Tideliner · May 3, 2012

Always , always , always alone, and if I see another birder I walk to other way. Nothing worst than a twitching scrummage.

pppppvvvv · May 3, 2012

Alone!
you read lots of threads on here, people complaining of photographers, inconsiderate dog owners, noisy people, noisy children, BMX bikers, off-road 4x4's..
For me, it's all part of the challenge. Let's face it the birds avoid the noise, so if you want to find them then you need to seek out the quiet corners, or quiet periods.

So on my own, off the beaten track (within the law obviously!), anti-social hours, and bad weather.. Heaven!

birdboybowley · May 3, 2012

Prefer company of good mates - birding alone is sad and boring most of the time. If the day's crap on your own you end up feeling like crap. If the day's crap but you're with your mates then you can still have a damn good laugh!
And if I find a rare - or scarce - bird the first instinct I have is to share my excitement with someone.

Adam W · May 3, 2012

Mostly on my own but then i'm a pretty anti social miserable git though i do enjoy spending a day with a few like minded friends when i get the chance.

follownoone · May 4, 2012

Alone.

It is my fortress of solitude. I have times where I wish I could capture what I see, but everyone I know could care less.

When something hard and creepy falls down my shirt collar I wish I had a birder friend though.

Tideliner · May 5, 2012

birdboybowley said:
Prefer company of good mates - birding alone is sad and boring most of the time. If the day's crap on your own you end up feeling like crap. If the day's crap but you're with your mates then you can still have a damn good laugh!
And if I find a rare - or scarce - bird the first instinct I have is to share my excitement with someone.

Why is it sad to go bird watching alone ? Some of the most thrilling bird watching experiances I have had have been while being by myself , like a moon lit night 2 miles out on the wash mud flats when hundreds Bewicks swans started to arrive ahead of a big freeze up, pitching in all around me within a few feet. Several hours later I had to creep away down a creek for fear of disturbing them. Or a sea eagle apearing out of the fog on the tideline with an escort of curlew only a few yards away from where i was hidden. Or the magic moment I held a dusky warbler for the first time while ringing on the coast. To have had anyone else there would only ruin the moment.

I fail to see how anyone can ever be bored when bird watching. Even if there no birds about , the play of sunlight on the reeds , rippling of the incomming tide across the muds or the dappled shade of a spring oak wood are just as important as seeing birds.

My birdwatching today started before dawn listening to singing nightingales and seeing my first turtle dove of the year in a Suffolk wood and then later at watching a monties hunting a Norfolk field , , but just as exciting was my first swift of the year , before having to move off as a car load of birders ( quite unaware that the monties was perched up in the next field ) turned up arrived shattering the peace of my field.

Perhaps some other past time would be better if you get bored birdwatching even if its just watching some dunnocks. When you are alone and well hidden the birds behave in a more natural manner than if there are others nearby.

You say your first instinct is to share your excitement with someone. Mine is to keep quiet dreading what would happen if the news gets out.

Green Sandpiper · May 5, 2012

Depends on my mood- I sometimes call it a solitary pastime thats best shared. It also means that, if you're with a group, there's nothing stopping you driftig off and meeting up later.

I'm very much a quiet, shy, introspective bloke who's often happiest in his own company, and who loves getting up at silly o' clock to go wandering around a field, alone. But, even I find sometimes its good to meet up with fellow birders. Especially if they are good birders or have local knowledge.

Peewit · May 5, 2012

I like being myself (at times), with OH or/and in groups of other birders.

When it comes to photography it is better to be on ones own (less distraction) :gh:

I am very sociable and love to exchange news, ask questions, to other people. My OH on the other hand is a little quieter than me LOL.

Regards
Kathy
x

birdboybowley · May 6, 2012

Tideliner said:
Why is it sad to go bird watching alone ? Some of the most thrilling bird watching experiances I have had have been while being by myself , like a moon lit night 2 miles out on the wash mud flats when hundreds Bewicks swans started to arrive ahead of a big freeze up, pitching in all around me within a few feet. Several hours later I had to creep away down a creek for fear of disturbing them. Or a sea eagle apearing out of the fog on the tideline with an escort of curlew only a few yards away from where i was hidden. Or the magic moment I held a dusky warbler for the first time while ringing on the coast. To have had anyone else there would only ruin the moment.

I fail to see how anyone can ever be bored when bird watching. Even if there no birds about , the play of sunlight on the reeds , rippling of the incomming tide across the muds or the dappled shade of a spring oak wood are just as important as seeing birds.

My birdwatching today started before dawn listening to singing nightingales and seeing my first turtle dove of the year in a Suffolk wood and then later at watching a monties hunting a Norfolk field , , but just as exciting was my first swift of the year , before having to move off as a car load of birders ( quite unaware that the monties was perched up in the next field ) turned up arrived shattering the peace of my field.

Perhaps some other past time would be better if you get bored birdwatching even if its just watching some dunnocks. When you are alone and well hidden the birds behave in a more natural manner than if there are others nearby.

You say your first instinct is to share your excitement with someone. Mine is to keep quiet dreading what would happen if the news gets out.

And that's where you and I obviously differ! Any of those experiences you mention are indeed magical but to me, would be so enhanced by sharing with someone else, so in years to come you could always have that "..remember when..." conversation and relive it again - just not from your own perspective. I watch birds intently - being a wildlife artist probably a damnsight more intently than most - but yes, watching the same old thing again and again and again does indeed bore me. I like the attraction of new things, new challenges....but that's not within everyone's comfort zone.
As to keeping news to yourself, well that's an old argument that I'm not gonna rekindle here as it just ain't worth it.
When people first find out I'm a total bird-nerd they are genuinely surprised....they usually tell me they think of birdwatchers as strange loners that creep around and don't talk to normal people. Wonder where they ever get ideas like that from?

TheThing · May 6, 2012

I like a bit of both. I bird mostly on my own as I have no friends who are interested in birding local to me. The thrill of finding and watching birds oneself is hard to beat.

I'm lucky though that my uncle-in-law is a serious border and nature lover down in the West Country. We visit him quite often and I always look forward to our birding trips because he has a wealth of knowledge. Plus, every time we visit I see something new due to his expertise. It's great to share this with him but also to learn from him.

BillN · May 6, 2012

always alone

Redshank3 · May 6, 2012

The camaraderie and gossip of chatting to people in a busy hide or at a twitch can be good however mostly I tend to bird alone. I have had great times with bird club trips and seen new species as a result but for me the best experience is finding birds myself. Seeing something that someone points out to me is never quite as exciting as the thrill of spotting something myself.

My work tends to mean I have to bird when I can and this isn't very amenable to going with people. Yesterday I was off work so I went out on a long moorland walk, enjoyed the freedom of being able to alter my route on a whim and unexpectedly found a Ring Ouzel and got close views - I would probably not have seen his or got so close had I been with other people adding noise and visibility.

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