Joel and others,
I would prefer a 'big tent' definition of what is a birder. If you are
paying attention to seasonal occurrences of birds, habitat preferences of
birds, abundance of birds, nesting success of birds, etc. etc. you are a
birder. One does not have to be a chaser/twitcher to be a birder.
On a semi related note, I had a FOS RUBY-CROWNED Kinglet here in
Southeast Portland yesterday afternoon (9/22).
Jeff Hayes
On Sun, Sep 23, 2018, 10:55 AM Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks Mark but no, it's not even a hobby for me at this stage.
To me a hobby implies something that you're putting time into for its own
sake. "Avid" birders are hobbyists who happen to be highly focused on their
hobby.
To clarify, I still plan to volunteer on BBS routes as a long-term project
that seems worthwhile for monitoring birds and their conservation status.
I'll keep doing CBCs for the same reason, plus I like visiting those places
and seeing the people who show up as volunteers, year after year.
But as the years go by, I've found it harder and harder to identify with
hobbyists who can always find time to dash out to the local sewage ponds if
someone sees a bird that they "need" for their county year list, but never
seem to have time to help on habitat restoration. Or folks who can point
their scopes at birds right outside a prison fence without doing anything
to help those inside.
People are of course entitled to pursue their favorite hobby, whether it's
collecting stamps, building model railroads in your basement, or traveling
hundreds of miles to add one more species to your life list. To each their
own. This is a birding list and obviously there are a lot of people here
who are avid about birding, in varying degrees. I just wish there was
something similar for people who are avid about bird conservation.
On Sun, 2018-09-23 at 06:06 -0700, Braz wrote:
I would proffer that you are now a hobby birder, no longer an avid birder.
But I've been wrong before.
Mark Brazelton
Hobby Birder
Medford, Oregon
On Sat, Sep 22, 2018 at 10:00 PM Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Friends,
It's been a good ride for the past twenty years or so. I thank you for
the many things that I've learned along the way.
But I've reached the point where I no longer really care if someone
finds a Louisiana Waterthrush or whatever in Benton County. It's not
really meaningful even if it's real. It's just another stray bird that
doesn't represent real conservation issues.
So no, I'm not a birder anymore. Please forgive me for that.
If you want to talk about bird conservation, I'm still here, and I'm
listening.
