Birding health check-up

Birding is, without doubt, a physical activity - admittedly more so for some than others. But even if you are a 'drive to chosen destination and sit in a hide' advocate you will use your body in several different ways. And all of these 'ways' are at the mercy to deterioration with age. It is about time that I visited my ornithological doctor and have a health check...

Dr. Bird: "Come in Mr. Gale, take a seat. I will ask you a series of questions and ask you to be as honest as you possibly can. The last birder that I saw claimed to have walked from Cley coastguards to Blakeney Point in 45 minutes. Needless to say I dismissed the rest of his answers as nonsense. Now, according to my records you are 64 years old, a non-smoker and can see from looking at you that although not worryingly overweight you could do with losing a few pounds. A fair assessment I think you'd agree. Now, to start with, please tell me about your eyesight."

Me: "I've just had my eyes tested actually. Long distance vision is excellent, but short distance needs a bit of help. Reading glasses used for 10-years now, 1.5 to 2.0 strength. Cannot look at an identification guide or seriously go through a moth trap without them - to do so would totally miss the smaller micros! When birding I can pick up dots miles away, excellent for vis-mig. However, in low light I can lose the flight of a bird with ease. So, I'm happy with my eyesight although my hearing does leave a lot to be desired."

Dr. Bird: "Pardon?" (chuckles) "Sorry, I couldn't resist that... please carry on."

Me: "Very first time that I realised that my hearing wasn't what it used to be was maybe 10 years ago, when I couldn't hear the noise that the grasshoppers were making whilst I was picnicking in a Surrey meadow with my family. I started to notice it with birds in 2015. I was at Dungeness during the autumn and other birders kept hearing Tree Pipits calling as they flew, unseen, overhead. I just wasn't picking them up. Then, in the company of DBO warden David Walker, he was calling them out and I just stood there scratching my head as to why I couldn't. I could hear other species calling as they flew past, but not the Tree Pipits. If I did hear one it was very low and very close. Then it was Redwings. Those lovely calm October and November nights when they call in their hundreds, if not thousands. I would sit out to listen and not pick anything up - I knew they were there as birders nearby were hearing them. The next to go were Swifts. If there was a high flock chasing each other, not a scream to be heard, even though my wife could hear them. Some consolation was had in that both they, and Redwings, if low down, were registering with me - I hadn't entirely lost the ability to hear them. I went and had a hearing test, which confirmed that I had a much reduced range in a certain frequency band."

Dr. Bird: "Grasshopper Warblers? Crests?"

Me: "I heard a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in July, and can still pick up crests  - both Gold and Fire - singing. But I do worry about crest calls. I don't pick them up as I regularly as I expect to. Maybe they too are dropping out of range."

Dr. Bird: "What about your mind, your birding personality and make-up if you will?"

Me: "That's definitely changed. The youthful need to be dashing about, trying to find rarity and make an impression on those around me fizzled out years ago. However, a drive is still there, based more on sheer enjoyment and an intellectual battle with the habitat to try and read where best to find the birds -  plus trying to understand the weather's effect on the birding, even after all these years. Mental tiredness does creep in earlier. If I'm out at dawn in the late-spring or summer then I'm ready to have a nap by 10.00hrs. In fact, this year, on a very slow day I did just that, lying flat out on some chalk downland. Lovely snooze..."

Dr Bird: "Mobility?"

Me: "Good thanks. I don't have the need, or inclination, to run for birds any longer, but I can still manage a good speed just in case I need to - cows stampeding towards me across a field or having to get to a shelter from approaching heavy rain. I still manage 20-25 miles on foot in a day without any problem. One thing I have stopped doing is climbing fences - not that I should do anyway - but I don't trust myself any longer not to rip clothing on barbed wire or come tumbling down from the balancing act needed to successfully clear such an obstacle."

Dr. Bird: "Well Mr. Gale, I think that I can pass you fit to continue birding. I would suggest that you don't try and claim anything too remarkable in the half-light and certainly do not, under any circumstances, claim a fly-by Red-throated Pipit - it would be hard enough for you to get a Tree Pipit accepted nowadays."

Comments

Gavin Haig said…
How tiresome are the physical consequences of ageing! I've been on the varifocals for more than a decade now, and my hearing is way below par. And I'm not sure I could walk 20-25 miles without issues! Possibly the only upside to getting older has been the mental side of birding, finding contentment more easily. Well, most of the time. 😄
26 August 2023 at 15:27
Steve Gale said…
Yes Gav, our sagacity is a plus point, although some are more sage like than others!
27 August 2023 at 11:18
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goldfinches and Lavender

Image
We have three medium-sized Lavender bushes in our back garden. Throughout the summer the flowers (which last for several months) are a magnet for insects and give off a most restful aroma. As tempting as it is to cut the dead stems in the autumn, we always leave them, as we know that during the late winter we will get visitors to feed on the seed heads... This video was taken from the kitchen window this morning. We will normally see one or two birds over a few days, but have had up to 14 at once. We never tire of watching them. Lavender is a wonderful plant to have in the garden, with year round natural history benefits. So what are you waiting for? They are readily available at a garden centre close to you right now! There is an historic association with Lavender in this part of northern Surrey and south London. Lavender fields have been harvested for many years, with one particular field close to Woodmansterne being very popular with day trippers. A significant proportion o
Read more

To tell it like it is, or not...

Image
I am grateful to Gavin Haig (Not Quite Scilly) who drew my attention to an opinion piece, penned by Matt Phelps, which appeared in the November issue of 'Birdwatch' magazine, entitled 'Positive Approach', which I have now read. In it, he suggests that there is too much negativity being posted on social media regarding the state of our birding world, which is then acting as a deterrent towards a younger generation in adopting conservation and wildlife study. He also suggests that a lot of this negativity is being generated by older birders, and that these old timers keep banging on about the 'good old days' which isn't helpful in encouraging the youth to pick up a pair of binoculars and get out into the field. Does he have a point? Now, I am undeniably an older birder, and I am also guilty of having posted, blogged, written and spoken about the slump in bird and invertebrate numbers. I also like nothing better than to revisit my notebooks and share in the hi
Read more

Time to reflect

I normally come up with the title for a post after I have written it. If I'm feeling creative it will be some sort of play on words, or if I'm not then an all-encompassing word or two will do. As for this particular post, and with a few things to discuss, I've written the title first, inspired by having just read a feature about musicians who have used the title of an album as the starting point for their creative exercise. Here goes... Firstly, blogs - yes, this very medium that I am writing in and you are reading from. - what content they derive, the reason that the content exists and what the writer should (or should not) expect from any reader that visits the blog. This was brought into sharp focus by a series of posts to be found here, at Jono Lethbridge's excellent 'Wansted Birder'.   His blogging output has recently included detailed and entertaining reports on his recent overseas trips which have received a bit of flak from certain quarters. None of us b
Read more