I've become a member of a friendly informal society which seems to have its own code of communication.
Wandering around the lakes I’ll pass lots of dog walkers, groups of women out for a stroll, families with young children in wellies and babies in buggies. plenty of joggers and numerous cyclists.
The joggers range from the serious to the seriously out of breath, many of the cyclists are the now (in)famous “MAMILs” – the middle-aged men in lycra.
Over the course of a walk, I’ll also generally meet half a dozen ‘twitchers’, some just with binoculars (“bino-s”) and some with seriously large and long lensed cameras, putting even my largest lens to shame.
The vast majority of them are men aged, if my guess can be trusted, between 50 and 70. There are some women, and they tend to be a bit younger maybe 40-60, and often from Eastern Europe. It makes we wonder if the profile of birdwatchers varies by country. There are a few couples, again mostly older, and it seems to me one is normally far more interested in the birds while the other is there for a walk and to keep their partner company.
When we come across each other, most stop for a suitably socially distanced chat and there is a friendly familiarity to most of these conversations.
“Seen much?” is the standard opening gambit, which invariably draws a response “Not too much”.
Then the slightly more probing “Anything unusual?” if the answer is “yes” the conversation moves on to where and when the bird or birds in question were seen. After listening for a while, it seems like the twitcher who has been asking the questions doesn’t want to be out done and will jump in to talk about something more unusual they have seen, and if they haven’t seen anything special on the day in question, they may well reach back a few days or a week. “Oh yes, I saw a couple of oystercatchers last Wednesday, you know, on the flooded field.”
It is a useful exchange as it tips me off about what birds are around and, as many birds are territorial, I get a starting point on where to look for them.
Talking about what they have seen in the past often leads to a discussion of what’s happening now, which birds are arriving, which are nesting and what you can expect to see at this time of year.
For the more experienced twitchers, which seems to be everyone but me, the conversation moves on to birds they have heard but not seen. “I could hear a reed warbler, but it wouldn’t pop up for long enough for me to get a clear shot”; normally a segue to talking about your camera, what you’ve shot recently and if you post your pictures anywhere.
Most seem to be incredibly knowledgeable, and I’ll generally tell them I’m a novice though I’m sure most have already guessed this by the time I tell them. This is taken in their stride and normally encourages them to give me a few more tips and pointers. From these discussion I've learnt a fair amount and been pointed in the direction to see more of the Kingfishers, a sparrow hawk, black caps, the arrival of the first swallows and plenty more
Soon it’s time for what appears to be the customary parting “Good luck and have a good day”, meaning hope you spot something interesting.
So, while my trips are for the most part about some time to myself and disconnecting from modern life, it has been lovely to have been welcomed into a friendly, informal ‘club’ who seem genuinely pleased to have a new ‘member’ and a little bit of social interaction goes a long way.
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