Equipment and birds
As a birder said to me recently when I asked his advise on choosing a new scope, 'I don't do equipment, I only do birds.'
Well I think that I detect in these pages an underground subculture of people whose first love is not to birds at all.
Their shameful vice, their secret love, of which they dare not speak it's name, is the lust to own and possess expensive optics.
Yes, I admit 'I don't do birds, I only do equipment.' The birds are secondary; it is the fascination of optics, and birders opinions and comments on bins and scopes that consume me.
Not Arctic or Yellow Browed Warblers, but Leica and Zeiss and Swaros fill my waking moments and dreams.
There, I feel better after that embarrassing confession. I'd recommend that anyone with a similar addiction to come out of the hide immediately and get it off their chests. You know it makes sense.
Yes, but there are even more rewards in the field when you see or even photograph the birds. Dont stay home.
I'll have to go 50/50 with the "outside" factor dominating the interests.