User:JERIDGE

== 48 years old now & I don't even know how or why I am still here - I should be dead 100 times over - I have been birding, (or at least trying) since 1981. My first half decent find was a Black Redstart in 1984. Other good birds followed & include Great Grey Shrke, Ortolan Bunting, Pectoral Sandpiper, Red-backed Shrike & Wryneck...not too bad for an idiot : } - My local patch is Pinner Park Farm, which I have covered for 21 long years. I love walking for my birds, as it is environmentally friendly : ) - my longest walk was for a Grey Phalarope at Tring Reserviors (which is not even in London!) in 2003 (54.12 miles there & back) - other idiotic walks include a Dusky Warbler at Walthamstow in 2010. My best total on foot  from home in one year in London (& bear in mind that  I live in Pinner & not Rainham,, is 142 species). My total of chats in Pinner is 1,120 which by most standards is okay - I have also seen four species of Shrike in London on foot (Red-backed, Great Grey, Woodchat & Brown Shrike) ~ (Nobody else has achieved this, or ever will ) B irding, (or at least listing), has nothing much to do with being any good, it is simply about being in the right place at the right time. My best London session was in Oct 2003 when I recorded 2 Ortolan Buntings, Barred Warbler, Leach's Petrel & Red-necked Phalarope in the space of 17 hours - that might take some beating. My best London birds are Collared Pratincole, Rustic Bunting & Squacco Heron. A Little Bittern on foot was my most recent rare bird here. My best UK birds are Cream-coloured-Courser, Roller & Lesser Sand Plover (pamirensis) - My best UK birding day involved Oriental Pratincole, Bluethroat, 2 Golden Oriole, Temminck's Stint & a Wood Sandpiper on May 17th 2010 & prior to that, additionally; Radde's Warbler & Red-breasted Flycatcher simutaneously in adjacent trees in Norfolk. London birders are considered to be amongst the best birders in the world & we should attempt to live up to this acolade  : ) Favourite birds? - Snipe, Swallow & Shore Lark. Birding seems to rule my life & I love it - the thought of making a mistake horrifies me - I just hope I am doing okay : ) The photograph in the avatar (until I change it), is of a first-winter Red-backed Shrike at Pinner Park Farm. Pagers & fancy cameras don't exactly appeal to me, but they can be very handy. A paper on Red Kites in north-west London is being prepared as I am attempting to record this species on as many days as possible over the garden this year - but no one will ever read it - it's as boring as my dad's sermons. Life is rather strange. Just keep trying & never give up. It was a privilege to be friends with the late Peter Naylor & Mark Hardwick - I learnt a lot from them both : ) I will probably never be London's best birder, but some of my efforts & antics could raise a few eyebrows - I have been rubbish for the last eight years now & it is time to try & break the curse (Jon Ridge). (18/09/16). == I may have lost my strength, but I have not lost my spirit.

''Is life meaningless? - I am getting worried here.''

Dedicated to the memory of my fiance Gabrielle 10/10/65 - 19/10/15 - I love you X

I have a fairly extensive music collection & listen to everything from Big Black to Abba.....Favourite bands: Joy Division, Killing Joke, The Smiths & Black Sabbath (one of the very best) - favourite singers, Elvis Aaron Presley, Roy Kelton Orbison & Amy Jade Winehouse - a dear North London friend of mine <3 x == I don't get out as much as I used to due to rubbish health, but I've pretty much seen it all - well, you can laugh, but not as much as me : ) That is all you need to know after 35 years in the game. We probably only get ONE shot at this life & I am trying my best not to waste it. ==

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