I spent a long time
on the bridge today. There was quite a lot of dust outside
on the decks (blown over from Nambia) and the closed, air-conditioned
bridge was a more comfortable place to be, with excellent
views. It's not a good place to take photos from because
of the reflection from the glass, but it is certainly the
best vantage point for spotting life in the sea and in the
sky. It is also a relatively quiet place, mainly because
the avid photographers go elsewhere. A small group of what
I think of as "binocular birders" are always here
and I chatted to them, as well as learning a few things
from them about what we were seeing. I had come to realise
that there are three types of bird spotters. Listers, photographers
and binocular spotters. The listers are mainly interested
in ticking off the birds that they haven't yet seen, after
which they lose interest in the bird. The photographers
are mainly interested in getting the best photos of the
birds. The "binocular birders" are passionate
about seeing as many birds as possible purely for their
own satisfaction. They don't write anything down, are extremely
knowledgable and most don't even have a camera. |
