Feeling Factor's pain
I don't know why some of us are prone to it, but occasional frustration (and dissatisfaction) with birding is something that I share with Neil Randon (aka Factor). Take a look at his latest post ( here ) and see if it rings any bells with you... I cannot speak for Neil, but I know that my birding downers are mostly caused by limited time in the field coupled with either 'poor return' or 'lack of joy'. I have always needed a focus for my pursuits, something to 'hang' my observations on, a reason for doing what I do beyond mindless wandering around with my optics. If you have limited time, chasing a year list (or any list come to that) is doomed from the start - you are going to miss out big time, particularly if others are chasing the same aim. So you need to find something that is of a more personal (and limited) scope. In an ideal world it should be enough to go out and bathe in the unbridled joy of watching whatever it is that comes your way, but I haven...