Annoying times

[Dogghound]

This is abit of a rant so click off if your not interested, but basically im really struggling with IDs its so frustraiting as im repetatively getting IDs wrong (on insects) and dont seem to be learning apart from on this site but getting to the point where i want to give it up. hence not being on for a wile, fine not to bad you say, but at 22 especially in my area there are few people that care about wildlife my mates dont care for a start (my parents arnt bothered so much & my girlfriend),It annoys me that people still mess up wildlife, badger baiting etc. BUT to make it worse i join my local wildlife group and there is no1 anywhere near my age and no1 that respects what ive learned or what i know (im sure i know enough), they just look down on me, its annoying. Then go face to face with people throwing stones at geese so i put them in their place risking getting a beating, then even worse have an aggresive confontation with people smashing a nest box (can you believe it? yes a tit box) total losers in my eyes, then i have a conversation with a cattle farmer who casually says hes killed 5 foxes including a cub in the last 2 months. Hes a cattle farmer why the need to do that? I just feel like giving up. I know this thread has been posted late but i assure you drink isnt involved. I just have reached breaking point and find it very hard especially in my area for a young naturalist/conservationistto to get a grip.

[Dan Salter]

Hey matey,

I totally understand your frustration and your feeling of being out there "all alone"...trust me...im 35 next month and most wildlifey things i get involved with i feel like the wee baby....its definately a silver haired majority in this wildlife world...BUT there ARE youngsters out there trust me...(i was one once).
ID's are frustrating....im normally way off (although i have had a good run of them on here these last few weeks proving that WAB (probably more so than my degree and questionable college/tutors) has taught me loads over the last couple of years.

Smashing up a tit box?...why oh why?...dog poo everywhere...tied to trees in bags....throwing stones at geese....killing fox on a cattle farm, these are just a tiny amount of the stupidity that is out there, being a wildlife/naturalist its hard to bite your lip, to be honest in this violent age we are going through i tend to do just that, but i can understand you for having a rant at people, just be very careful as we would like to have you around on wab a bit longer so we can all watch you learn and improve and get some of those insect id's right ( of which im rubbish unless its pretty and has butterfly wings)

Cheer up mate....
oh and NOTHING wrong with having a rant and letting off steam on here in my book...we are probably a motley crew of strange and normal, old and young...ugly and of course speaking for myself ...extremely good looking
(and cocky...cheeky...funny...irritating....blah blah blah) but we are all linked (scarily) in some way and are one big ole family.

Oh and the sexy 20's/30's naturlist/ecologist/walking camping/wildlife loving pretty, sexy girls into all this stuff only exist on tv land....im sure of it?...but if you happen to find one (or two preferably) pass one onto me wont you?...

Dan 'your friendly shrink'.

[oxycera]

Dear Dogghound

Are you a member of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union? I'm sure your knowledge and enthusiasm would be appreciated, it's crying out for a youth injection.
Everyone gets ids wrong now and again, its really no big deal.

John

[Wild-Woman]

See my pm Dogghound.

[mrs fish]

I wouldn't worry about getting ID's wrong, I do it all the time

You will have to try to get to a WAB meet that will cheer you up and make you realise you are not alone

[shei111]

Hello doghound Dont give up boy, Theres loads out there I cant identify probaly never will but theres folks on here always willing to help you out, dont be too hard on yourself ,youve got years a head of you. No I also dont understand why people break bird boxes, kill foxes etc, you have to try to put it at the back your head otherwise you cant go forward. We are all animals lovers here thats why we are on a wildlife web site , and we all have to let off steam sometime, keep your chin up. sheila

[badgerwatcher]

I've spent my life feeling I must have dropped from another planet, Doghound, and unable to understand why so many other people don't seem to care what atrosities are happening in nature. Don't let it change you, you obviously won't. You will raise awareness among some of them by your determination to do the right thing.
Don't put yourself in danger. I've broken up ugly situations simply by the suprise element of being a small furious middle aged woman, but even in doing that, I'm taking risks.
Don't be disheartened with IDs. I know I will never know a fraction of what most of the people on here do, but I'm learning, very slowly. Fungi defeat me completely! You've got your life ahead of you to learn, and all the joys of wildlife to explore.

[LoveT]

Dogghound - don't you give up mate! I'm always getting things like IDs wrong (especially on here ), but it doesn't stop me having a go!

The more I get to know about wildlife (particularly from this site), the more I realise I don't know if you follow me. You've got 25 years head start on me too, so just you hang in there - and keep posting!

You are a rare and beautiful thing - a youngster who really cares about wildlife, and I'm sure there's wildlife groups up where you live who would love to have that injection of youth and passion in their membership, so don't despair.

I'm glad you've 'had a rant' - I think you can see by the responses that you are most definitely not alone .

Thea

[demicav]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

This is abit of a rant so click off if your not interested, but basically im really struggling with IDs its so frustraiting as im repetatively getting IDs wrong (on insects) and dont seem to be learning apart from on this site but getting to the point where i want to give it up. hence not being on for a wile, fine not to bad you say, but at 22 especially in my area there are few people that care about wildlife my mates dont care for a start (my parents arnt bothered so much & my girlfriend),It annoys me that people still mess up wildlife, badger baiting etc. BUT to make it worse i join my local wildlife group and there is no1 anywhere near my age and no1 that respects what ive learned or what i know (im sure i know enough), they just look down on me, its annoying. Then go face to face with people throwing stones at geese so i put them in their place risking getting a beating, then even worse have an aggresive confontation with people smashing a nest box (can you believe it? yes a tit box) total losers in my eyes, then i have a conversation with a cattle farmer who casually says hes killed 5 foxes including a cub in the last 2 months. Hes a cattle farmer why the need to do that? I just feel like giving up. I know this thread has been posted late but i assure you drink isnt involved. I just have reached breaking point and find it very hard especially in my area for a young naturalist/conservationistto to get a grip.

Sorry things are getting you down. Believe me you're not on your own, I know of other people your age and younger that struggle to be taken seriously. You sound like a great person, someone who is willing to put himself on the front line to protect our wildlife. We need more of you around. I can honestly say that you are an asset to this site and I myself have learnt so much from you.

[badgerwatcher]

As I sit here, there is an item on the news where an organization who are trying to make people more aware of nature has taken very small children to a farm and allowing them to hold one day old chicks. Maybe one or two out of all those children will carry that wonder through their lives, but they will carry the message to others.
I still remember the first fledgling I held and the wonder I felt. And I remember the look of awe on a group of children's faces, when years ago I stopped them following their mother's example in running around screaming and trying to swat a dragon fly, and made them stop and look into its eyes.