hidden world

walking along the road, looking in the hedge, i spotted a little nest, beatifully crafted to house the next generation of birds through their infancy. this sight sparked a thought in me, winter birding has many benefits, including bare hedges, giving rise to nosey-parkers like me to spy on the hidden world of the birds.
it also reminded me of the other benefits of birding in general, specifically birding make one more observant. it makes you look more closely at the world you live in . it also gives you the knowledge to help protect that world.
i thought long and hard about what to call this post, secret world or hidden world? in the end i setttled on hidden world as it is secret only to those who do not understand it or do not wish to understand it. it is hidden within it's self you have to hold the key to unlock it's charms to be able to tempt it out. i am proud to be a birder, proud to have been chosen to be one of the select few who hold the key to these hidden worlds. i am proud to have been given the grit around which i can build the pearl of my knowledge of the hidden world. however i know that others would not understand this, so when i'm at school i generally hide my delight in the hidden world because many would 'skit' it. more fool them, i say. they ought to pay more atttention to their surroundings, it's their generation who is going to have the challenge of hauling the world out of the evironmantal mess it's slipping into. how can they do that if they do not understand their world?
i am sad to see how few young birders there are, i think this is due largely to the perception that birding is 'uncool' and 'nerdy', but also due to the exceptional amount of technology around the youth of today, they think being sat infront of a screen for hours on end is more productive than getting out there and learning about our world.
so what are you doing there reading this - get out there!!!!