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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pshute" data-source="post: 1755678" data-attributes="member: 59235">I think if anyone had loaned me some binoculars and field guide, and shown me a few birds when I was 9 or 10 then I would have been a birder since then.  I was interested, but didn't have the equipment, didn't have that many obvious birds around to look at, so I never made the effort beyond identifying (using the school field guide) the 10 or so that were obvious.At the age of 44, it suddenly happened that I had binoculars and a field guide, accumulated over the years at whim, a swamp with 120 species at the end of my street, expert guidance just a Google search away, and it finally clicked.I think the first two or three years of birding are tricky, and anyone who has got beyond that point will scarcely believe what species they used to pass off as probably sparrows or starlings, or had to get a good, close look at to id.    Deboo, I think you've become so good at it, and it's been so long, that you've just forgotten how hard it was at first.Regarding the other hide occupants getting bored with the OP's questions, probably fair enough after the first few.  They most likely wanted to get a little birding done for themselves.  Sometimes one has the time to help someone, other times one has to justify the time and fuel spent getting there.</blockquote>