Trouble in River City

I’ve talked about the Bird List before. It is a [usually] loverly email list where people can post sightings of birds in their own backyards or wherever.

When I was a kid bird watchers were often portrayed as the Epitome of Nerdosity. On TV at least, think the Beverly Hillbillies character Miss Jane [Hathaway], who occasionally dressed up in a boy scout-ish khaki outfit in hot pursuit of the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, which is an actual bird, if I am not mistaken.

Actually bird watchers or Birders in today’s lingo are all over the map including but not limited to nerdy people. I am a nerdy person but I am not a Birder. I identify as a Casual Nature Observer. And so although I have been on the Bird List since back in the Wild Wild West days of the intertubes, I have never contributed to it. I use it to learn about places to hike, etc. If an unusual species for our area is sighted, I am all about it. We once saw an ibis. We failed to see whooping cranes both times they were posted.

Usually the Bird List is extremely focused on BIRDS and very polite. Over the weekend someone got a bit incensed that disclosing the location of a nesting site incited many people to come out to see (and photograph) the birds. That caused the nest to fail. A list member who is very knowledgeable used an unfortunate choice of words that managed to pit “birders” against “photographers”. And it went from there.

Fortunately things calmed down and eventually someone with a lick of sense opined that pet CATS probably kill more birds than birders disturbing nests, not that anyone should disturb nesting birds. Except in my back yard. I mean, I OWN the property and if they decide to nest there – in one of our loverly birdhouses – they need to learn to put up with my comings and goings.

So the pic is my afternoon break beachwalk from telecommuting to Cubelandia. And wouldn’t you know, my new work laptop arrived this morning. Building Mom I/M’d me when I first faaaaared up my laptop in the Lyme Lounge. I told her where I was and thanked her for locking it up until I get back. Hopefully I won’t get a BLACK SCREEN OF DEATH (WITH CURSOR) that I can’t recover from while I am telecommuting this week.

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