hipster bird-watching?

[cutout]

I've only been to Brooklyn a handful of times in the last few years and each time I saw, in spades, all the stuff mentioned here:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

One of the reasons I got into the Best Show was hearing him make fun of Tall Bikes.

Anyway, a friend who recently visited Brooklyn said he'd noticed another emerging trend: hipster bird watching. Like, in the park, with a field guide, listening to bird calls and identifying birds by color, in all sincerity. Dressed in standard-issue hipster garb, but suddenly 'really into birds'.

Anyone heard of this?

[AaronC]

I'm guessing they must be nerd hipsters who are not athletic enough for kickball.

[Laurie]

I'm by no means a "hipster," but I did go on a bird walk last month. I saw a couple of manatees in the bay, several White-crowned Pigeons, a couple of Sandhill Cranes, a Little Blue Heron, a Cormorant, and a Gray Catbird. I saw more butterflies that day than birds, but it was still fun. I mean, I was surrounded by newly hatched Atalas, which are a threatened species. It was amazing. I also saw a Julia, a bunch of Ruddy Daggerwings, and some HUUUUGE Swallowtails. Madness.

I'll tell you this much. I wore chucks, and I regretted it. A lot. Walking on uneven limestone terrain is not easy! Ouch.

I really love birds and tend to spend a good two to three hours in the aviary at Miami Metro Zoo. During my last trip, there were three Magpie Robin hatchlings! I saw the mother feeding her babies, and it was so cute. There were also more Bleeding Heart Doves running around! Ooh, and a pair of hornbills have their own separate section, and I got to witness their feeding time. The male fed the grubs and fruit to his special ladyfriend. I also saw a bower, which is exciting for me.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GPbWJPsBPdA

I love bowerbirds. I also love crows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0

Birds are cool. I'm happy more young people are out there checking them out!

[Stupornaut]

I have no idea who irritates me more: hipsters, or people who spend way too much time concerning themselves with how goofy hipsters are. I mean, if you actually have to deal with hipsters on a regular basis and they're condescending assholes who makes fun of your sunglasses, fine, give 'em hell, but I think it's some weird sort of NYC-centric self-obsessed anxiety that makes the Williamsburg kids out to be a bigger plague than they really are. What, is going after trust fund crust punks too played out?

(Sorry if I sound too cranky. I'm kind of tired of people thinking I'm some sort of self-absorbed rich kid asshole because I buy threadless t-shirts and listen to Justice.)

[TremblingEagle]

The Vampire Finch pecks holes in other birds



http://www.abc.net.au/nature/vampire/finches.htm

[Sploops]

sorry

[TL]

Give it until 0:42...

[youtube]qaKRHH6YgTY[/youtube]

[yesno]

Maybe I'm nuts, and I think Saxondale is one of the funniest shows ever, and pretty much everything else he's ever done is great, but I just don't get Alan Partridge.  I've tried!

[Matt]

Give it until 0:42...

[youtube]qaKRHH6YgTY[/youtube]

TL, you're on an Alan Partridge video posting tear! I love it!

[cutout]

but I think it's some weird sort of NYC-centric self-obsessed anxiety that makes the Williamsburg kids out to be a bigger plague than they really are. What, is going after trust fund crust punks too played out?

If I lived anywhere near NYC/Brooklyn, I would probably be long since tired of even acknowledging the hipsters in question. As it is, I'm visiting Brooklyn from a small town in Virginia, so the peculiarities are far stranger (and often comical) to me. I wouldn't say I spend a vast amount of time 'concerning myself with how goofy hipsters are', though. I'm just fascinated by the things that come in and out of vogue. Hell, even in my little town, there are ironic kickball and dodgeball leagues cropping up.

[Sarah]

I love bowerbirds.

Oh oh, now I know what I'll give you if I get your name come Christmas!

[TL]

TL, you're on an Alan Partridge video posting tear! I love it!

Yeah - sorry - I'm going through a major AP renaissance right now.  I finally saw The Day Today stuff a few weeks ago, and that set me back on the obsessive path...

[Beth]

There are these birds called grackles that have completely taken over my backyard (in upstate NY, near southern VT). They're beautiful, but big and loud and mean. They bully all the other birds away from the feeder, and apparently the eat small birds as well as the food. They're the assholes of birds, I think. They get HUGE when they puff up to squawk (see below video)

[youtube]gTicoX3uO9U[/youtube]


One actually flew into my woodstove accidentally in the beginning of spring (thank goodness it was not on) and I had to wrap the little fellow in a towel and take him outside. It was really cool to see him up close like that, but judging from the way they treat other birds, I was surprised he let me do it with so little protest.

[Sarah]

Grackles are indeed assholes.  Beautiful, beautiful assholes.

[samir]

Yeah - sorry - I'm going through a major AP renaissance right now.  I finally saw The Day Today stuff a few weeks ago, and that set me back on the obsessive path...

Ted have you heard the Knowing Me Knowing You radio show? It's ace, got it if you want it.