According to my favorite German birding guide, Great Britain is the “motherland of birding.” In fact, the authors advise that if you really want to know about the birds in any particular region of the world (including Germany), you had better hope that a Brit has already been there, because if so, he certainly has written a book about it.
So I wasn’t at all surprised to overhear no less than three conversations about birding in my jaunts around town (including one overheard from a bathroom stall in the National Gallery), nor to find that I had competition when attempting to browse the incredible birding section at Foyles. I also noticed that no one raised an eyebrow when I was standing in the street looking at trees through my binoculars. Here in Berlin I always get suspicious stares when I’m out observing.
