WHY I AM MOSTLY SILENT THESE DAYS
Several people have contacted me these last months, asking if I am OK, since
they did not find my regular 'bird and seasons' pieces on the bird lists
anymore. I just found out that my first mail to Birdchat was written in 1996,
16 years ago, and the other lists gradually followed in the years after that.
By far the most pieces have been about birds and seasons in Tromsø, N. Norway,
where I live--some have also been from my native Holland, or from my travels,
either job related, or during birding trips with professional tour companies.
I am now 75 years old, and during the last few years my ears have deteriorated
quite fast, only partly ameliorated by hearing aids. My eyes have never been
any good (my ophthalmologist told me when I complained: 'Well, Sir, with eyes
such as yours you can't expect anything better', wonderful bedside manners!).
The net result is that when I go to my old haunts---from where I have reported
many times by now---I see and hear less than I did before, although I still
enjoy my trips enormously. Also, I find that I to a certain degree 'escape' to
plant watching: they don't fly away, and don't have calls I can't hear anymore.
I do still go on birding trips abroad and make my annotated bird lists
afterwards; but nowadays the leaders of the trips themselves very often put an
illustrated report on the net, while I do not take pictures anymore. So I think
nowadays i have little news to contribute anymore.
All in all I think I should stop repeating myself with the same type of
reports, and rather confine myself to the occasional mail, when I have
something more special to convey, as e.g. in the present mail about our absent
summer. I'll stay a subscriber, though, and people can always contact me, esp.
when they have plans to come to or via Tromsø on a trip. This summer I had
guests from both Australia and South Africa and it gives me great pleasure to
show them around.
With my best greetings from a sunny, but chilly Tromsø.
Wim Vader,
Vesterliv. 23
9037 Tromsø,
Norway
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