Farcical Birding

No news from me today but I just wanted to pass comment on how the local birding scene in my corner of the world has been reduced to a farce. Since the local bird club has instigated an annual competition called a 'Year List Challenge' you have to be very careful what information you put out as you might cause a local 'mass' twitch over a common migrant. Desperation has now set in over migrant records for Ring Ouzel and Pied Flycatcher, to name but a few. This has certainly made me think twice now about putting any records of scarce or even common birds out! This is a shame and an utter disgrace.

There are certain sites that I bird and ring at that I now feel that I won't be able to put any records out for a fear of the 'mass' descending on these sites. Permission at some of these sites has been hard won and it has taken time to gain the trust of the land owners, so there is no way that I would jeopardise this for the sake of providing a 'tick' for some idiot desperate to gain a place in the 'Yearlist Challenge'! When you try and reason with these people and point out what a farce it has become you receive the reply that "it's only a bit of fun".

There also seems to be a 'flock' mentality that has developed in birding where everyone has to go and see a certain species if it shows well. According to the local websites there is a juvenile Cuckoo locally that it showing well and is showing great site fidelity at present before it decides it is time to up-sticks and head south. Every bugger and his dog has been to see this bird and of course now everyone has to photograph it. I can't believe that a Cuckoo could generate so much interest. I know they have declined rapidly in recent years, but come on...!

I bumped into a mate of mine recently who told me that he had returned his pager because he was fed up with receiving insane updates such as the presence of a Green Woodpecker in a cemetery. Why on earth would you need or want to receive regular updates as to whether a Green Woodpecker was showing! As I said before the local birding scene is descending in to a farce.

Anyway rant over. If I find or ring anything good in the future you'll hear about it here first!

I haven't used any of my mate Nigel's pictures for a while, so I have included a couple below, for no reason really and to be honest I don't need a reason.

Indigo Bunting

White-throated Sparrow