Callahan David - A history of birdwatching in 100 objects

This electronic edition published in 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Published 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc,
50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP

www.bloomsbury.com

Bloomsbury is a trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Copyright 2014 text by David Callahan and Dominic Mitchell

Copyright 2014 photographs is held by the individual photographers see credits on page 220

The right of David Callahan and Dominic Mitchell to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN (print) 978-1408-1-8618-3
ISBN (epub) 978-1408-1-8666-4
ISBN (epdf) 978-1408-1-8665-7

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Editors foreword

Much has been written about the history of birdwatching, from its early pioneers and famous sons to its centuries-long development and convoluted social history. Once the territory of explorers and colonels and the pastime of clergymen and Edwardian ladies, it now has a large army of devotees at all levels, from garden birdwatchers and keen local patchers to conservation fieldworkers and globe-trotting listers.

In the modern birding era, people from many different backgrounds, sometimes with little else in common, find themselves united by a shared interest in birds. For the keenest, it is integral to who they are, not just what they do. And the origins of their obsession can often be traced back not only by the conventional historical process, but also through critical events and objects which have had a profound and lasting impact.

I first mused over a selection of historically defining birding items back in 2010. My initial thoughts were improved through editorial discussion and debate at Birdwatch magazine, after which the idea came to life as a series of 25 objects through the authorship of David Callahan. Most were obvious choices, a few were more controversial, but all were significant in some way in the development of birdwatching.

Here, in a new and more expansive format, that selection has been refined, developed and extended to 100 objects. While its tempting to describe it as definitive, the reality is that there can be no absolute list. Many readers may find themselves in agreement with most of the items but not all, an inevitable outcome when the choices also reflect personal opinion, interpretation and individual significance. Whatever the shortlist, it has been an intriguing perspective to take on the history of this most absorbing of interests.

Dominic Mitchell

CONTENT S

Introduction

The practice of birdwatching or birding to use its more modern handle is a sensory occupation at its most basic; it entails using and exercising natural visual and aural capabilities to their very limits, to observe the appearance and activities of birds in the wild.

But human limitations become apparent very quickly even when youre in the zone, and it is obvious that some sort of aid will be needed to get you closer to the animal in question, to record its physical characteristics and sounds, and the time and place that you saw it.

To these ends humans have employed methods both simple and complex, and it is these technological advances that have driven the hobby almost from its very beginnings as observations of bird behaviour by hunters and farmers, often essential to their survival. This book aims to chronologically compile the essential innovations that have built the hobby into the gadget-heavy popular pastime we know today.

From the first daubings of megafaunal fowl that humans left on cave walls to the digital images we now text, email and post to our blogs, and from the first imitative whistle to the compressed blastings of an iPod in the field, birding has often been as much about the advantages given by its contemporary tools as it has the objects of our fascination.

If you find youre getting fear of the gear a little, then take heart. Despite all the gadgetry and paraphernalia, birding is a hobby in which you can start from scratch and teach yourself. The birds themselves have changed relatively little in the time span of the hobby you really can still just throw binoculars and a book in a bag, and go birding.

David Callahan

: Arnhemland rock painting

c. 45,000 BP