When I was growing up, Jane Hathaway on the Beverly Hillbillies was the quintessential birder. Not the persona most want to portray to the world. Although I haven't seen a birder parody on TV for some time, people who are not birders often have stereotypes of what birders are like. My husband went with me to look for the whooping crane on New Year's Eve for a little while and was amazed that there were male birders--in fact, men were the only other birders we saw that day. I don't know where he got the impression that only women watch birds. The North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club is about an equal mix.
Non-birders just don't get the hobby. Case in point is an article that came out in Slate magazine last week, The Birder: The Ominous Rise of Amateur Ornithology. I may not agree with everything he says, but it's always interesting to get the perceptions of others.
Good birding!
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