It takes all types - Part 1

Earlier this spring I was birding the trails behind the Rocky River Nature Center and I was having a great day. The warblers were back and in good numbers, gnatcatchers were everywhere, and I had already booked 4 different vireo’s. I was in a good mood.

The same couldn’t be said for the angry hiker. First, a little background. I was on one of the hiking trails. The trails are packed gravel and they are 6-12’ wide, averaging about 8’. These are wide trails with lots of room to navigate. They are open to all users except bikes, horses, and motorized vehicles.

An Example of the Trail

A Group Able to Walk 3 Wide

While I was watching and photographing a particularly cooperative Hooded Warbler, I could hear the crunch of the walker's footsteps while he was still 100’ away. I moved all the way to edge of the trail which was about 10’ wide at this point. When the walker was 15’ away, I could hear the distorted roar of music from his iPod headphones. The next thing I know he was standing right next to me.

I’ve often have walkers stop to talk while I’ve been birding here. Most are just curious. As I turned toward this guy, I could tell he wasn’t curious about birding.

“Why the bleep do you birders have to be so selfish and bleep up the hiking trails?”

My response was “Huh?”

“You birders stand around and look at birds and block the bleeping trails for the proper users. This is a hiking trail, not a standing around trail. Get walking or go find a birdwatching trail. Dumbass!”

My response was “Huh?”

He then spun on his heel and stormed away.

The Angry Hiker Leaves

I was confused, perplexed, and a little angry. What was up with this guy? He’s lucky I wasn’t carrying my scope and tripod. Bogen makes a sturdy product and I once had to wield it in a threatening manner to scare off a doped up homeless guy. I felt like putting this dolt out of his misery. It probably wouldn’t have been hard to hide a body in that wooded area.

The funny part is that he really didn’t want a debate. He never turned off his iPod. He had it turned up so loud he wouldn’t have been able to hear anything I said. Maybe he’ll have “unfortunate” incident at a crosswalk. It’s the least we can hope for a guy who listens to Metallica while hiking in the woods.