Michael Price:
>After observing non-birders for the last couple decades, I'm forced to the
>conclusion that they use their eyes mainly to avoid walking into
>brightly-lit walls.

And their ears?

A few years ago I went backpacking in the Sawtooth Mountains of
Idaho for a seven-day trip with an old friend who's extremely
intolerant of activities she herself is not into (one reason
we're "just friends"). That would include birding. Perhaps
especially birding.

I didn't even bother bringing my binoculars.

After a few days, we were off on a long day hike and ran across
an older woman who was also on a long day hike from Redfish
Lake. She had binoculars, so we began talking. She asked
what I'd seen, and I rattled off a long list of species I'd
either heard or had seen while peeking innocently out of the
corners of my eyes.

My friend was amazed, she had absolutely no clue I'd been
birding the entire time...

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>