I pull into the parking lot of a forest preserve. Kill the motor, grab binoculars from the back seat and get ready to leave the car.
Nearby, a car is backing out of a space that’s marked with diagonal lines. An illegal space. Illegal, because it’s in front of a garbage can.
As the car pulls out, a guy with a digi-scope walks past. A serious birder. He notices that the space wasn’t legal and glowers at the driver. Then, looking down, shakes his head.
The guy in the car stops backing up. Suddenly. Through his open window, he says to digi-scope, “Got a problem, sport?” Digi-scope shakes his head again, as though to say, “what a jerk.”
The driver leaves his car now. Digi-scope turns and says, “Unless you want this scope up your ass, keep moving. And learn where to park.”
There was a bit more muttering, but digi-scope kept walking and the guy in the car drove away. That was a scene more suited to a barroom than a forest preserve. Since when do bird watchers behave like this?
Then a thought hit: Could it be the “two-fisted” image? Could it be the stuff we write about here? Could it be our attitude? Are we changing the way birders behave?
Ah, get real. Those guys probably never heard of the website. I left the parking lot, went into the woods and saw birds, but I always see birds. My real sighting of the day was a couple of bozos with fists ready to fly.
Later, on the trail I walked past digi-scope and we nodded. I thought I saw a two-fisted birdwatcher logo on the guy’s T-shirt, peeking out from under his vest. But maybe it was my imagination.
We all own public lands. And, we all agree on rules within those lands, including where to park. Digi-scope guy acted properly, showing his disgust with the breaking of these rules, then acting aggressively to save his, ah, scope.
Cheers to Digi-scope guy!
Here’s another rather pointless observation. History Channel runs a program called “mystery something” about very large birds seen in various parts of the states. Isn’t the Condor the largest in the U.S. with a 7 ft. wing span? Supposedly these creature are much larger and have been reported to pick up children like 7 years olds. Is just this a myth, or are the skies filled with an unknown species? New species of various creatures, thought to be extinct, are discovered every year. There is good circumstantial evidence for a bigfoot type creature out there. A book has been written lately on the subject. It is compelling. Maybe we should purchase a .38 when going bird watching. You never know who or what is lurking out there!
How did I get sidetracked? Must be the A.D.D.
Do you live in New York City by any chance? Just kidding. Was watching a commercial on Outdoor TV. The ad was for a pellet gun. One scenario had the camera focused on a backyard bird feeder with (of course) an accompanying squirrel trying to wreck the thing. The rodent was dispatched instantly via the new device. Thought to myself, how amusing, weapons marketed to bird watchers. Oh well, there was some point I was gonna make…