Birding Pet Peeves - Number 1

I started working on a post of various pet peeves and decided to post them individually over time. I'm sure I'll catch some heat for some of these but that's the chance I take.

So on to pet peeve #1.....

Birders who don't pay attention to their electronic devices.

I don't mean birders who ignore their devices like unwanted junk mail. I'm talking about the noises their various devices make. Don't get me wrong, I think it is great that we have smart phones with all sorts of cool apps and cameras that make it easy to get really good shots, but the noise some of these devices make is frustrating.

I hate it when I'm on a group walk and suddenly you hear Sir Mix-A-Lot's "I Like Big Butts" blasting from someones pocket at maximum volume. Is it that hard to turn off the ringer before you start the walk? It's worse when the trip leader reminds people to set their phones to vibrate at the start of the walk and you are still greeted by the "Old-timey Phone" ring 45 minutes later. To complicate matters, most of these people take the call and then have to tell the caller that they "WILL CALL THEM BACK BECAUSE THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BIRD WALK".

The other part of this that irritates me is the noise from some of the cameras on the market. When you are birding alone, it is OK to have the camera beep at maximum volume and to set the shutter sound effect to something about as loud as a 12-gauge shotgun slamming the next shell into the chamber. If you're on a group walk, turn it down. Or turn the sounds off.

OK, that sounds petty and whiney, but I feel better.