This past Saturday, June 13th, I had the distinct pleasure of leading a field trip of Birders who Blog, Tweet, and Chirp to Plum Island in Massachusetts plus a few locations in southern New Hampshire.
The birds that we saw were not the most interesting part of the day.
Whoa - did I just say that?
I did.
With all the social networking media that is available these days, I often feel I know people well without ever having met them in person. It was cool to meet all these individuals face-to-face, and see how close my impression of each one matched the reality.
The original idea came from Dawn of Dawn’s Bloggy Blog, who has been RVing with her husband for several years. We had been chatting via Twitter about going birding together when they next visited New England. Dawn mentioned that it might be fun to meet other birders who blog or use Twitter or Chirptracker. We started posting the idea on our blogs, Twitter, and Chirptracker as well as on Facebook. We had many positive responses, with participants coming not only from Massachusetts, but also from New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
All the participants got along wonderfully well. Throughout the day, people were talking about birds, blogs, user names, and avatars. People compared cameras and shared tricks and tips. I heard discussions about bird identification and places that people had traveled, as well as gardening plans and recipe exchanges. Everybody was genuinely interested in getting to know one another, and that was my favorite part of the day.
Based on my experience, I would encourage others to do this as well. It’s easy. Blog posts, Twitter & Chirptracker feeds, and Facebook status updates make it simple to connect with others having like interests. I’m sure you’ll find it fun and worthwhile!
Participants (NBN Members in bold):
Dawn & Jeff: Dawn’s Bloggy Blog ; Twitter & Chirptracker: DawnFine
Bev: Behind the Bins ; Twitter & Chirptracker: birdingbev
Lauren: The Worn Field Guide ; Chirptracker: lakras
Catie: Birdinggirl ; Twitter & Chirptracker: birdinggirl
Sharon: A New England Life ; Twitter: ANewEnglandLife
Janet: The Plover Warden Diaries ; Twitter: hammerchick
John & Sharon: Birding Maine ; Twitter: MaineBirder
Laura: The Interstitial Spaces ; Twitter: beeebzzz
Mark: Strack16 ; Twitter: strack16
Dan: Nature Observances - by Forestal ; Twitter: docforestal
Steve: Shooting My Universe
Amanda: The Fledgling Birder
Andy: Nature Potpourri
(And of course, me (Picusblog ; Twitter & Chirptracker: picusblog) and my ever patient wife, Pamela)
3 Comments
What a wonderful event!.. I was so pleased with the outcome. Christopher was a great trip leader. Lowie added another NH birding experience.
We all had so much to share with one another! I encourage others to do this same type of thing.
Jeff and I travel full time and plan on setting up more events as we travel.
We will be in Ct. for the next month and hope to add an event then.
From there we are starting to plan an event with Birdchick and Hastybrook from MN in august.
Then Montana end of August…Oregon..October
maybe a few in between.
Sheri Williamson, of SABO is keen on planning an outing in Arizona in Jan. or Feb.
So please contact me via my blog.. if any of those places work for any of you.
I look forward to meeting more of my fellow Birders who Blog, tweet and Chirp!
I must second that Christopher done an excellent job of leading our group! No one was lost, stolen or injured. A great time was had by all! I am already thinking of another outing this fall during shorebird migration.
Dawn, I hope you and Jeff get the opportunity to meet other birders, bloggers, tweeters and chirpers in your journeys. Be safe and we hope we see you the next time you are in New England!
MaineBirder and Dawn - I hear nothing but positive reports about the trip. And I’m sure you told the 10 bird bloggers who aren’t yet part of the NBN how wonderful it is to be a member!
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