Safe Birding (1 Viewer)

[Farnboro John]

Not sure we'd be able to get away with that in Norfolk!

You probably would in Norfolk as long as you leave actual burglars alone

John

 

[PYRTLE]

Burglars in Norfolk/Yobs

What was that farmer chap's name near King's Lynn (Tony Martin?)that emptied both barrels? He'd be the guy to go birding with....not politically correct but they leave him alone. We are fairly lucky up here, only occassional car break ins. When I lived in Berkshire it was a nightmare sometimes. Glad I didn't go to see the Great Knot, some mates of mine were mugged.

 

[matt green]

We are fairly lucky up here, only occassional car break ins. When I lived in Berkshire it was a nightmare sometimes. Glad I didn't go to see the Great Knot, some mates of mine were mugged.

Lucky indeed

But you still couldn't pay me to make my way through asda carpark (breydon water) alone at dusk!!

Perish the thought,but I wonder if there are areas where the presence of lone/vulnerable birders/photographers with expensive equipment are anticipated by would'be thieves?

Matt

 

[Mike Richardson]

As a fairly big bloke I've never been bothered by yobs while birding, although I do try to avoid rougher areas in the evening. I also try to be aware of my surroundings and hide my equipment when necessary.
However, I do tend to worry about leaving my car in remote or chav infested areas while I'm looking for birds. Obviously I don't leave any thing of value on display, but having had my car broken into twice (and several of my work vehicles stolen) I am pretty paranoid about such things.

Having said that, vehicle crime is always preferable to a mugging.

 

[talon_dfa]

i have had two run ins in the last three weeks with [yobs] whilst birding alone at my l.n.r. [ no i am not politically correct, nor will i ever be ] too many do - gooders about as it is. theft was to be the motive, how do you protect yourself when birding alone ?? .

Yob?

Never occurred to me to worry about being mugged while birding...

Here in US (most states), we still have options to defend ourselves that are not available in UK.

I have made two trips to UK and never had any idea that things were so rough, though I spent most time in rural areas of Scotland and Yorkshire. (I did survive a night in "the Diggers" in Edinburgh) B

Sounds like it is safer here in the wild wild west.

 

[Vectis Birder]

I have to say that on the Isle of Wight we're lucky in that we don't have quite the levels of anti-social behaviour found on the mainland. However, we do have our fare share of morons and feral little oiks. I do have ways of dealing with these as some once found to their cost in the past over in Hampshire when I was assaulted in Southampton city centre in early 2004. Let's just say that you don't f*** with me, especially if I'm not in the best of moods...

 

[KayD]

My urban Black Redstart adventures last summer along Birmingham canals were quite 'interesting' although I didn't find the birds yet. I am skeptical about going back next spring, but I think I'll risk it and just take my old cheapo pair of binos - even though they are rubbish, I'd rather do that than have my new bins taken for a bag of smack. I spoke to some people from West Midlands Bird Club about Black Redstarts in Brum and they said little research had been done in our area for these reasons.

Also a point that hasn't been raised yet, I do worry about these things as a female birder and suspect that I might be more vulnerable to this type of crime. Also I wouldn't feel comfortable going to quiet places on my own. Maybe I'm too much of a worrier but I like to feel relaxed and safe when birding and these anxieties could easily ruin a birding day out.

 

[The sniper]

i always get problems at my local patch in the summer evenings.Upto a couple of years ago it was just mickey taking because i had bins around my neck(which i didn't mind as i know i have more of an interesting life than the scumbags who just hang around smoking pot,smashing things up etc etc)
But last summer they came flying through the country park on their mopeds pretending to knock you over and pulling away at the last minute.
I was followed another time,from behind the blokes just thought i was a birder therefore probably old and defenceless.After about 2 minutes of them following me(which they definatley were as i went into some high grass which was off path)i turned round and asked them"why the **** are you following me".They looked shocked that i wasn't older and backed off claiming that they just wanted to ask me a question about birds(i actually recognised one of them,luckily he didn't recognise me) they went off and i felt guilty for being rude even though i was still suspicious.
About 20 minutes later i was walking back through the park to see a young boy sitting there crying,i asked him what was wrong and he said two older lads had knicked his bike,they were the same lads so i called the police and left it to them.
A few weeks later i saw the young lad and asked him if he got his bike back,he told me that the police caught the lads riding his bike just outside the park and arrested them both.
The only downside of this is i now worry when i go over there especially in the evenings or when they are likely to be around just in case they remember me.I now only really go over there in the mornings or the other side of the park which is too far for them to go to.
Sad really that you can't go to a local reserve without getting aggro but thats modern britain for you.

 

[Mickymouse]

There is another side to it, I was walking though my local cemetery carrying my bins scope etc, doing some Digiscoping when I saw this chav type coming along eating chips, he was chucking them up and catching them in his mouth, all the while doing the swagger that they do, well I starting thinking to myself there is no way you are having my scope, I will smack you over the head with it before I give it to you, I was really working myself up for some trouble when eventually we met and he said to me "'ere, you lookin' for them Woodpeckers mate, 'cause there's loads of 'em back there" I didn't know what say, I felt quite deflated as he wandered off still chucking chips into his mouth.

Mick

 

[dafi]

i started birding five years ago in kent and never had any bover at all. mind you some one did try to nick my bike at cliff pools once. but thats as bad as it ever got however if i was faced with loosing my scope or bins and i thought i stould half a chance i like to think id have a go....if thay take it off you once thay will do it again better to smash there faces in with your gear than see it on ebay this is just my opinion it aint any sort of good advice and you would probaly be in the wrong if you followed this course of action so best not do it . it just angers me to see pepole going about there hobby becomeing victims

 

[KorHaan]

I was never bothered about getting robbed, and I still don't, and fortunately it never happened, but one incident made me think. As I was out on my bicycle, birding in a fairly remote area of the Flevo polder ( some twenty miles from the city border of Amsterdam ) I encountered several police cars parked slovenly on the side of the road; I stopped and saw policemen standing amidst the bushes, examining something on the ground I couldn't see. I thought curiosity would not be welcomed, so I drove on and forgot about it.
That evening there was a news item on TV concerning the find of a dead body. I recognized the area, same bushes I saw the police gathering in that afternoon.
The dead man appeared to be a victim of get-even of a gangwar in Amsterdam, his body exposed of in this remote area in the polder.
Now, that made me think. Suppose I had been there earlier, and as an innocent passer by had witnessed the disposal of the body, carrying a scope that looks a lot like a gigantic camera lens, would I have come home safely that evening?

I'm more wary today, and if I witness strange goings-on I'm off in a wink.
Brrr, better not think about it.

Hope I haven't scared you off,

greetings, Ronald

 

[Ian Bell]

Girdleness

In Aberdeen,we have a well known "hot spot" for birding called Girdleness,which is good for migrants and Sea birds.There are just a few houses at the Lighthouse and the area is very open.After dark however,it becomes frequented by men in cars,with the "ladies of the night" and the Car Park areas,are also well known to be used as a place for exchanging drugs.Thankfully,all the local birders are home before dark or it could be scary.

 

[The sniper]

with the ladies of the night that brings a whole new meaning to the term "safe birding" !!

 

[Ant]

he said to me "'ere, you lookin' for them Woodpeckers mate, 'cause there's loads of 'em back there" I didn't know what say, I felt quite deflated as he wandered off still chucking chips into his mouth.

A lot of them seem to only act the way they do to look 'cool' I wouldn't be surprised if when they're not with there mates that some of them partake in a little birding.

 

[Ant]

I think we can safely say that we have the most high risk hobby possible.
From do-no-gooders like the ones in this thread, farmers when we accidentally stray from the path whilst crossing they're land. and the police when in more urban areas.

 

[The sniper]

out of every group you will always get some who don't really want to be there,they just go along with their mates to look cool or be respected by mates/girls.
God knows why your average chav dresses like they do,i can't think of anything worse looking than a spotty teenager dressed in a tracksuit with a hood over his head!!!

 

[Larry Sweetland]

You safe ?

On a lighter note

One recent Summer afternoon I was passing a spot in town I normally avoid, with a small group of friends, when I heard a vaguely familiar but unplaceable loud whistling call. A quickish search of a small leafy tree revealed a stunning Crimson Rosella (presumably escape ?!) which we all stopped to admire. At this spot people only generally hang around for one reason and it wasn't long before the inevitable shout came, "Yo ! White or brown", which for those unfamiliar with this terminology roughly translates as " Terribly sorry to bother you old chap , but would one be requiring crack cocaine or heroin ?"
We ignored the bloke on the mountain bike and continued to check out the brightly coloured little gem, which for a moment made me feel like I was in an Australian rainforset rather than a dodgy inner city park, and sure enough he rode up to join us and enquired "you safe ?", which at least round here means "Am I wasting my time because you've already scored?" I responded by saying "Check out this bright red and blue parrot mate ", pointing it out to him. We all stood there still for quite a while 'having' the rosella, until eventually we turned to continue on our way. Even though it was obvious that we had stopped only to to a spot of birding, he still couldn't resist one last try as we headed off.."You safe ?"

Perhaps another meaning to safe birding

 

[neilmc]

Yob?

Never occurred to me to worry about being mugged while birding...

Here in US (most states), we still have options to defend ourselves that are not available in UK.

I have made two trips to UK and never had any idea that things were so rough, though I spent most time in rural areas of Scotland and Yorkshire. (I did survive a night in "the Diggers" in Edinburgh) B

Sounds like it is safer here in the wild wild west.

I don't think Britain is that unsafe - except in very limited areas of inner cities guns are still not common and in places like Norfolk I worry far more about inbred idiots with shotguns and an unenlightened attitude to leisure pursuits, though so far I've never been more than glared at.

 

[JTweedie]

Yob?

Never occurred to me to worry about being mugged while birding...

Here in US (most states), we still have options to defend ourselves that are not available in UK.

I have made two trips to UK and never had any idea that things were so rough, though I spent most time in rural areas of Scotland and Yorkshire. (I did survive a night in "the Diggers" in Edinburgh) B

Sounds like it is safer here in the wild wild west.

Personally I think it's more positive here in the UK by not having so many people walking around with guns.

I don't think the problem's as bad as some people make out - there will always be someone somewhere who decides to have a go, but I think the threat is mainly perceived and not real. A lot of them are full of bravado and shout a lot, but wouldn't actually cause any harm.

I think people should be a bit more street-wise. Surely you can sense if someone is a threat to you e.g. if you're walking by a remote hide in a reserve you've never been and you hear a lot of teenagers shouting inside, then you don't go in. Or maybe that's just me having grown up in a poor area of Glasgow.

 

[teamsaint]

There is another side to it, I was walking though my local cemetery carrying my bins scope etc, doing some Digiscoping when I saw this chav type coming along eating chips, he was chucking them up and catching them in his mouth, all the while doing the swagger that they do, well I starting thinking to myself there is no way you are having my scope, I will smack you over the head with it before I give it to you, I was really working myself up for some trouble when eventually we met and he said to me "'ere, you lookin' for them Woodpeckers mate, 'cause there's loads of 'em back there" I didn't know what say, I felt quite deflated as he wandered off still chucking chips into his mouth.

Mick

I think this is a great example of how many people exaggerate the dangers that hoodies/chavs/yobs put us in - usually none! Whilst I am not one of them, I sometimes put my hood up, but I am not about to mug anyone. While there are some troublemarkers who mess with the law, most are not out to get us and can actually be quite nice. So next time you see a chav/yob/hoody don't immediately presume that he/she is going to come and mug you, just give them a chance! Britain's so called 'chav nation' is given a bad reputation by the minority, just like twitching which is given a bad reputation by the irresponsible few who put their needs before the bird's.