Alvaro Patricio Jaramillo, wrote

"My own personal experience is that it is incredibly difficult to be
a

birder/naturalist at a young age, it is ctually a strugle to keep
going.

First of all, it isn't cool. Big deal you say, well it was a huge
deal when
I was 15. Your coolness has direct impact on you social status and
your

overall happiness when you are a teenager. I remember me and a couple
of
friends going out birding and hiding our binoculars when anyone
approached,

a friend of mine ran home several kilometers rather than step onto a
bus where
he had a chance of running into schoolmates after a birding trip
(binos

plainly visible). "


All of the above apply. I have been stoned in the street for being a
birder - not in biblical proportions I hasten to add. I'm alright now
:-) This was a small town and not being into cars and heavy metal
music was definitely considered wayward.


" After staring at it for a while, I was convinced that the bird was
a Black-bellied Plover.
I mentioned this to Karl, who agreed. So I sheepishly pointed out
that there
were a few features that were inconsistent with a goldie, but
indicative of
a Black-bellied. Well I remember seeing this man almost explode in
anger, it
was like Krakatoa all over again. He went on about how long he had
been birding,
how dare we...... bla bla bla."


Older birders are definitely a major problem. My teenage birders and
I definitely fell foul of the Caithness birding establishment. Mainly
over things like Pallas's Warblers, Thrush Nightingales, etc, etc.
Better birds than they had ever seen - I'm not gloating here. But
getting taken seriously is a major problem. If I had been on my own
it would certainly have killed off any interest I had.


My teenage angst consisted of: "Was that a Dusky Warbler or a Raddes
Warbler ??"

I would have had it any other way


Stuart