Birdwatching... No joke

I have a confession to make. I'm a city boy, and despite travelling the world, seeing some amazing aspects of nature, and being a lover of all things David Attenborough, I pretty much only knew a pigeon from a sparrow.

I had little interest in birdwatching.

Some point in the summer of 2007 my partner (Jo) picked out a bird (probably a Goldfinch we can't remember) whilst we were out walking over Walthamstow Marshes... to which I paid little attention to. After a few similar spotting I discovered as a child she had been taken on numerous birdwatching trips by her parents.

Then a number of events took place:

I was asked to contact the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) by a client of mine
Somehow I ended up becoming a member of the RSPB
I had a meeting with Time Out online, and there were running late. So I read the magazine and spotted an article about a birdwatching comedian
I tore out the article...

But there was still little interest in birdwatching.

We went to see the birdwatching comedian in question; Alex Horne, live in London's Soho Theatre.

Then something happened. The show is about how as a child he hated going birdwatching (similar to Jo) but decides as an adult to give it a go and do a "big year" (count how many bird species you can count in a year).

We both loved the show and ended up getting a signed book.

The next time we went to Walthamstow Marshes, I not only took notice but also began counting...

Hence in a rather long winded fashion this is why I love the RSPB website. From a technical point of view it has good linking and search functions, but also nice pictures, videos and sounds of birds!

My year starts from March 16th 2009... and the count stands at 100 (although I might have to remove a couple after reading Alex Horne's book "birdwatchingwatching").

Click here for the RSPB and here to learn more about Alex Horne