View From The Shed by Volunteer Shaun - IMPOTENT RAGE

IMPOTENT RAGE

I recently had yet another of my ‘I’m treating myself because I’m retired and I deserve it’ holidays. I had a fantastic time but, very foolishly, I set myself a birdwatching target. This was very unlike me. If you’ve ever seen me talking about what birds are currently at RSPB Old Moor, you’ll know that I usually end by saying, “They’re around but I guarantee nothing”. The birds are on the site but there’s no way to be sure that a visitor will see them. 

So how come I went to the South of France hoping - nay, expecting! - to see a Hoopoe, those exotic orange-crested relatives of African Hornbills that occasionally turn up in the UK, causing huge scrums as twitchers surge to see them? There was even one turned up near Wetherby while I was away. 

Naturally, I didn’t even get a sniff of one in France. 

People come to our Dearne Valley in full expectation of seeing our two star species, Bitterns and Bearded Reedlings. These uncommon birds are by far the most elusive on our reserve so the chances of actually seeing them are fairly remote, even for those of us that spend an unhealthy amount of time at the site. I try to tell visitors this when they arrive at the Welcome Shed but some people resolutely refuse to have their expectations managed. And it’s these folks who are inevitably disappointed. They’ve set themselves up for failure, just like I did in France.

Sometimes they get angry. They get angry at the birds, occasionally at me but mostly at themselves. There’s nothing they (or I) can do about the birds’ non-appearance so they just damage themselves by seething in vain. This anger is closely linked to disappointment. Really bad cases can lead to stress, anxiety and depression - all because they missed out on seeing one particular small animal somewhere in 220-acres of wetland.

I’ve lost count of the number of times when I’ve asked a visitor if they’ve seen anything interesting, only to be given the following surly response; “No. Just the usual. Bittern, Bearded Tit, Water Rail, Spoonbill, that sort of thing. Nothing that I wanted.”

I usually try to get them to listen to their own words here. They’ve seen the birds that most people come to see. They’ve been incredibly lucky. Just because they missed out on one specific bird, doesn’t mean it’s been a bad day. On the contrary, they’ve seen some incredibly beautiful creatures. 

Sometimes they’ll laugh and agree. Others miss my point and leave disappointed. This disappoints me also. After all, part of my volunteering role is to make sure that visitors to Old Moor have a good time.

There would be no point in me moaning about not seeing a Hoopoe if I never stepped away from my front door, let alone my island nation. We can only put ourselves in the best possible position to see the bird of our dreams and hope for the best. If it doesn’t show, it doesn’t show. We can’t control the bird’s appearance or even our legitimate reactions, but we can control how we express those reactions. Feeling angry is an automatic human response. Lashing out (verbally or even physically) is a choice.

And stress-avoidance is such an important part of a healthy life, especially as so many birders are, like me, firmly planted in what we laughable call “middle age”. There are direct links between being constantly angry and stressed out and diabetes, insomnia, heart disease, high blood pressure and other health problems. Is it really worth risking these issues over a bird that may or may not turn out to be (for example) a Yellow Browed Warbler? Many people have been searching for one of these recently at our sister site along the Dearne Valley at Adwick Washlands. Some are happy to have seen it. Some are downhearted that they haven’t. But the saddest group are those who aren’t sure, who have seen a “funny looking Chiffchaff” which could possibly be the bird in question. Maybe. Then again…  The not knowing can be even worse than missing out altogether. 

So what can we do in these situations? Well the first thing is to recognise the situation and our response to it. “I feel angry right now and there is a reason for that”. But is it a valid reason? Is it something that we can recognise as being a bit absurd and maybe even laugh at ourselves?

Try breathing too. Yes, I know you’ll do that automatically (or at least I hope so) but become conscious of it. Slow it down. Count your breaths, one to ten. Feel where it comes from and how the air moves around your body. 

Concentrating on the positives of your adventure helps as well. In France I saw a Black Woodpecker and several hundred Crag Martins, neither species of which I’d ever seen before. Look them up if you want, but not in a British bird guide. These are birds that live on the European mainland and I was delighted to see them, but this joy in no way made up for the disappointment of the fact that all the local Hoopoes had obviously heard of my desperate search and had set off on an early migration.

Do something to consciously help yourself relax too. Being out in greenery is a great calmer but perhaps try it without the binoculars or camera. Just enjoy the moment with the sights and sounds of nature. For most people bird watching is not a competitive venture; it is (and always should be) an appreciation of the natural world. Try to keep that at the forefront of your mind and you’ll have a much more enjoyable and stress-free time of it. 

All of these are proven techniques and they can really help reduce the anger, disappointment and stress. Remember, it’s only a bird. You not seeing it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. 

But I still really, really want to see a Hoopoe.