Annoying birding conversations in hides (1 Viewer)

[Weekend Birder]

We all know the scenario - you go into a hide and the conversation makes you wish you'd stayed at home.

Does anybody have any pet peeves?

Mine are:

1. Rare birds that other people have seen, but I haven't. Call it sour grapes, but I simply don't believe these birds exist...

2. A 2 hour discussion about someone else's birding holiday. This isn't sour grapes - If I wanted to go on a birding holiday, I could afford to. If I did, I would have due regard for other birders and have a 5 minute summary prepared.

Can anyone else come up with a bad day earwigging in the hide?

 

[Mysticete]

To be honest, none of the above sounds too bad. I have had much much more annoying encounters with non-birders while in the field.

 

[Mono]

My main peeve in hides is not conversation, it is the fact that any conversations one would like to have is drowned out by the machine gun fire of umpteen cameras banging away at their maximum frames per second.

 

[Keith Dickinson]

My main peeve in hides is not conversation, it is the fact that any conversations one would like to have is drowned out by the machine gun fire of umpteen cameras banging away at their maximum frames per second.

OOOhhhhh yyyyeeesssss.....

For your deity's sake most modern cameras have a facility to turn of the jeffing shutter noise, freaking use it you tossers!

 

[phil baber]

OOOhhhhh yyyyeeesssss.....

For your deity's sake most modern cameras have a facility to turn of the jeffing shutter noise, freaking use it you tossers!

:t:

 

[Peewit]

My main peeve in hides is not conversation, it is the fact that any conversations one would like to have is drowned out by the machine gun fire of umpteen cameras banging away at their maximum frames per second.

Yes, I would have to agree with that as it is just the annoying thing when people have noticed some interesting bird. Then enter a man with a very large lens and that person sound like the lens is shooting the bird with live ammunition.

So why so people have to be so inconsiderate, I will never know...and instead be more thoughtful by turning off their camera shutter noise to mute instead.

Is it a form of showing off your camera to other people - like they really care!

Regards
Kathy
x

 

[Hanno]

I can't turn off the shutter noise on my camera. But then we don't have hides in Cambodia;-)

 

[Farnboro John]

My main issues in hides are children running up and down with clumping feet, people with no volume control on their voices and people who, having got their front row seat, spend their time eating sandwiches and talking instead of birding.

Oh, and intolerance.

John

 

[John Cantelo]

Life's too short to get wound up by any of the above. However, people conversing in glowing terms and at inordinate length about the close/wonderful/rare bird that flew off just before you arrived are another matter ......

 

[Adam W]

Just the very fact that there's anyone else in the hide to be having a conversation but perhaps that says more about me than it does other people.

 

[Peewit]

Just the very fact that there's anyone else in the hide to be having a conversation but perhaps that says more about me than it does other people.

Absolutlely, people are keen about their subject, and there is nothing wrong with a chat, but it is nice to remain on the quieter side as to not disturb the wildlife that everyone is trying to see all together at one time.

It is just being considerate to others simple as that.

Regards
Kathy
x

 

[pete wragg]

OOOhhhhh yyyyeeesssss.....

For your deity's sake most modern cameras have a facility to turn of the jeffing shutter noise, freaking use it you tossers!

Most compact cameras do have a function to turn off the "beep"when you take a picture, But with a DSLR it is the physical sound of the shutter moving,unfortunately it is not possible to turn this off.
Not that that makes it any less annoying.

 

[Monahawk]

My main issues in hides are children running up and down with clumping feet, people with no volume control on their voices and people who, having got their front row seat, spend their time eating sandwiches and talking instead of birding.

Oh, and intolerance.

John

Yep. Got to agree with that too.

The most annoying thing in a hide for me has to be people coming into the hide, be they birders or non birders, sitting down near you and then having a non birding chat. A group of middle aged women none with bins,came into a hide I was in last year and promptly started to bang on about work, TV and gossip about others not in their party. Then after a while one of them asked me if I had seen anything. When I blurted out " F*** All", they got up and left without further a do.
There are times occasionally when a little bit of intolerance towards your fellow human beings is acceptable, that moment was one of them.

Si.

 

[AlphaCentauri]

my major pet peeves are:

1. Tourists and other non-birders that come poking you in the back every 5 seconds asking you what you are looking at while you are staring in the scope, and when you say "A bird", they either give you a disappointed look or fire another hundred questions at you.

2. People that only care about taking a good shot of a bird and disregard the bird's well-being. And by that I mean individuals that purposely try and get the bird to come out in the open by using food, without caring that the paticular bird should not come out in the open for the fear of becoming someone else's dinner. And people that get in the bird's face to get a better shot without realizing and caring that they are disturbing a nest, giving away the bird's location to predators, etc.

 

[Simon Taylor]

I can't turn off the shutter noise on my camera. But then we don't have hides in Cambodia;-)

Brilliant, very funny.....

Ahh now - What annoys me in hides-

"Did you see xxx at xxx?" What does it matter?
"I went to see xxx at xxx" Who cares

As soon as some-one walks in they say "much about". You say no so they bog off somewhere else - Lazy gits.....

 

[John Cantelo]

What a miserable bunch you lot are!

i) - children in hides. Most children most of the time are pretty well behaved in my experience. If they're not it's because they're bored and usually an offer to show them the birds in your scope (made via their parents, of course) works a treat. Look on it as an opportunity to educate – and if we don't get kids interested ….....
ii) – eating in hides. OK I can find it annoying too when people take up space for lunch …... but isn't it something most of us have done now and again?
iii) - people asking about the birds – see i). Helpfully showing people birds or a polite 'I'll be with you in a minute' is certainly more effective than a brusque (and dare I say rude) 'birds!' Who knows when it might spur a casual interest into blossoming into a full blown passion?
iv) - over loud conversations on whatever topic can be annoying, but again I rarely find this a big problem. And if it's about some envy inducing trip then just get over it!
v) - use by non-birders – see iii)

I wouldn't claim to be 100% perfect – far from it - and some things do annoy me, but it's pretty much small beer compared to what else goes on in this world. However, just to prove I too have feet of clay …

i) – 'seat blocking' (often, but not exclusively,by photographers) in hides on busy reserves
ii) – people who on your arrival in a semi-deserted hide haven't the courtesy to at least give a nod of acknowledgement.
iii) - casual talk about the precise locality of rare breeding birds,

 

[merryslug]

"Wow you should have been here yesterday/and hour earlier/five minutes ago there were 40 (insert life bird here) sitting five feet away. I got the BEST PICTURES."


Okay, probably sour grapes so I should just suck it up, but not really fun to hear either.

 

[AlphaCentauri]

I wouldn't call this a "miserable bunch"

Everyone is human and is entitled to feelings and emotions which is completely natural. This is just an opportunity to "vent a bit" in a safe and friendly environment. I am sure nobody here gets overly rude in respect to other people in hides.

 

[Mike Crawley]

children in hides, hmm, doesn't take much to keep them occupied/quiet though does it - a bit of fore thought goes a long way.
Excuse me while I "big up" my daughter who knew she wasn't into birding and took colouring books, etc. in her bag when she knew hides were on the agenda and sat out of other birders way.

We did meet a very grupmy git once those.
She was on my shoulders (age 5ish) walkign along the footpath at Titchwell towards the sea and singing "four and twenty blackbirds" and other favourites.
Cue Mr Grumpychops - children should be seen and not heard.
We returned to the car park an hour or so later via the hides and found Mr Grumpychops seat blocking (well he wasn't looking out !). We took a place (she sat on my knee) and my daughter immediately said "what's that birdy Dad"
Mr Grumpychops hrumped until I announced the presence of a Water Rail on the reed/water edge.

I think almost any bird type conversation is OK, if it is in hushed tones. What I don't want is detail from last nights revelry at the pub or a spoken travelogue - save it for the car !

 

[Marmot]

The annoying ones are the stuck to seat...their backsides are glued to the spot even though they have seen everything they wanted to, this is often joined with they then start a conversation up with someone and it gradually begins with where they have birded in the World and then turns to what ailments they have.

But the most annoying is the ones that start talking and it gradually gets louder and louder whilst most are doing the whispering.....I just wish I had the guts to turn around and tell them to shut up.