Your Birding Anniversary (1 Viewer)

This month (February 16th) I celebrate my 15th anniversary as a birder. How I know this I still have my first notebook and it was on that day I wrote down my first bird sightings at The Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh which became my first local patch, to celebrate that's where I will go birding. What do you do on your birding anniversaries?

Euan Buchan said:

This month (February 16th) I celebrate my 15th anniversary as a birder. How I know this I still have my first notebook and it was on that day I wrote down my first bird sightings at The Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh which became my first local patch, to celebrate that's where I will go birding. What do you do on your birding anniversaries?

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Well done you for keeping a record. I sort of drifted into Birding so can't put a date -even a year - on when we began. But I haven't regretted a minute of it - had some wonderful days out/holidays/met great people over the years and we're still learning. Wish we'd had our Kowa scope when we began Birding - but we didn't have the money then of course.

Congratulations!. I know the Botanics well. My 1st patch was Bavelaw Marsh but unfortunately I don't have my original notebooks any more so can't remember when I first visited. Anyway have a great day and hope you see some good birds.

Wow. Well done you for keeping such great records. Like Sandra I also drifting into it initially as a side line to fishing trips when a youngster and one of my secondary school teachers who was a registered ringer and used to set his nets up in the school grounds and was more than happy to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with us and set up a school ornithological club. Sadly after university, the usual pressures of work, family, mortgages etc meant that there was too much to do and not enough time for pursuing my hobby other than as a passing interest, until after a twenty odd year break I bumped into my old birding pal from school who suggested a trip out to Rutland Water. Whilst I certainly cannot remember my first anniversary I certainly know when I became a "born again" birder and will be celebrating the fourth anniversary of that trip this weekend. Its good to be back.

21st March 1981....recorded every bird I see every day since....now that's sad !!
For my 30th anniversary we went to Israel - excellent trip

As mine is over 50 years ago now I can't say there was a definite date!

I started Birding at school 57 years ago, I have a record of every bird and every trip, including the weather since 1969; this includes over a five hundred 'overseas' trips. I first joined the RSPB in 1969 and kept the first magazine that they sent me, I often read it if only to be amused at the price of Optics and Bird Holidays. If my memory serves me (which often it does not) I bought a pair of Swift Audubon for 45 guineas on a Hire purchase agreement only to find out that I was made redundant the same week. In the end I think my Dad lent or invariably gave me enough money to pay off the HP.
Those were heady days.
regards
Merlin

regards
Merlin