Birding differently -Virginia Rose (photo: Mike Fernandez/Audubon)
THE challenges of birding from a wheelchair were described by Virginia Rose in an entertaining Zoom presentation last night to a mostly American audience.
Following a riding accident as a 14-year-old, Virginia has has had no feeling or muscle capacity from the waist down, but she gets out in the field so often that she scarcely considers herself disabled - and, indeed, dislikes the term.
It is seldom that conditions are ever perfect, but the ideal terrain is flat, dry, clean and straight. However, if she encounters ruts or tree roots, she has become adept at surmounting them by means of wheelies. Meeting new challenges is what she relishes.
Having suffered more than her share of flat tyres from thorns, the retired English teacher now rides on tubeless tyres.
For a wheelchair-user, space is a "very valuable commodity", says Virginia, not just immediately around but also when it comes to using binoculars. For this reason, she has had the arms rests removed.
It always used to disappoint her not to be able to take her place in the 'scope line' but now her wheelchair has been adapted to allow a tripod and scope to be attached.
Over the years, she has many time been asked tactless, intrusive questions about her disability and how she has adapted to it, but she invariably handles them with humour and good nature.
Along the way, plenty of amusing incidents have occurred (and still occur) - for instance, when she brakes suddenly to identify a bird, and the able-bodied walkers behind her are forced to "stack up" suddenly.
There are advantages, too, to birding from a wheelchair - for instance, the lower perspective can be a boon when it comes to detecting and watching low-feeding warblers or other birds.
"Birding in a wheelchair is just birding differently,"she says.
* Virginia is the founder of Birdability - https://www.birdability.org
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