Re: silly question
Warblerick@aol.com
Sun, 27 Sep 1998 17:37:29 EDT
Dona,
Certainly not a silly question; more like a valid concern. A number of years
back, I was in my very small townhouse backyard watching the hummingbird
activity at my feeder on the fence. Directly behind the feeder was (obviously)
another townhouse, whose backyard abuts ours. Apparently, the neighbors (whom
I did not know) thought I was "spying" on them and began yelling across to us
(my wife was with me) things like "hey what are you doing" etc. When we told
them we were watching hummingbirds, they must not have believed us. After dark
when I had gone back intoi the house, I was downstairs doing computer work,
when I heard my wife answer the front door. It was a Montgomery County police
officer, investigating a complaint from our neighbors! Anyway, my wife
explained the situation, and the cop told her, basically, not to do it again,
but since using binoculars in ones own yard is not against the law there was
nothing he could do. Use better discretion in the future, he said. Later my
wife went over to the neighbors house and explained the situation, and they
were fine with it. Seems the one who instigated the whole thing was the
neighbors brother, who may or may not have been living there too, and was
probably feelling guilty of something anyway!
So, use discretion when birding your own yard, but realize that no matter
what your neighbors may think, it is still your yard, and you are doing
nothing against the law. Tell them to get a life, not to flatter themselves
(thinking you'd waste your time spying on them) or whatever, but don't give up
your yard/neighborhood birding. I've been walking my dog and birding the
"common grounds" here for so many years, that by now I have become a fixture
in the neighborhood with my bins around my neck, and I'm sure most neighbors
think I'm nuts. After they meet and talk with me, it only confirms their
suspicions!
Rick Sussman
Ashton, MD
Warblerick@aol.com