Something in the air

There is something disturbing in the early winter air. Something that makes birders angry, others confused and a few just plain sad. This has resulted in closed blogs, threats to close blogs and a great big dollop of confusion all round.

Me? I'm actually alright for once, a bemused spectator to all of this angst. But it does beg the question "Why do we do it then?" The 'it', in this case, meaning birding and blogging. I've been down this route before on quite a few posts, so I won't go there again. Is it the colder weather? The darkening afternoons? The thought of scraping ice off the car windscreen? Or the dreaming of hirundines and swifts on balmy evenings, hawking over insect-filled meadows with the summer stretching ahead of you like a great big comfort blanket?

And if your passion is moths, then let's face it, although there are a few species still on the wing, there are slim pickings for the next few months. Same with wild flowers.

Now is the time to sort all of those field notes out from 2013 (you do take notes, don't you?) and send them into the relevant recorders. Clean your optics. Make plans for 2014. And enjoy yourself... to borrow from The Specials - it's later than you think!

Comments

Stewart said…
Ha! See blog :)
3 December 2013 at 23:27
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