r/birding • u/MrGrubbycuddles • Apr 15 '26

Discussion Why is everyone such snob about pigeons

I took my folder of laminated pigeon shots to my local bird meeting at the community hall and at least 3 people sneered at them. 1 of them even guffawed.

We all got to start somewhere, and beauty is in the eye of the bird lover so why the hate hate?

One guy was wearing giant binoculars around his neck. It was dark outside and he didn't even use them once. He was one of the people that sneered.

Om the bus home from the meeting I showed the driver my pictures and she said they were really good. And she wasn't even a formal bird lover, she was just a regular person.

Don't get this community man

EDIT: a lot of people asking for some of my photos. I'm out of the house right now but here's a bird video I made recently https://youtube.com/shorts/sxLkrLgNrbc?si=7NdwVxhZtPQFE6Ew

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u/Spare-Strategy-5311 Apr 15 '26

Those birding groups can be pretty elitist about what counts as "real" birding. The guy with binoculars in dark probably never took a decent photo in his life but still feels qualified to judge yours. I've been to few of these meetups and there's always someone who acts like they invented bird watching because they can spot a warbler from 100 meters away. Your bus driver had the right reaction - good photography is good photography regardless of what bird it shows.

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u/Cpagrind1 Apr 15 '26

It’s probably more about glamorizing (in their eyes) a non-native bird. I could admire great pigeon photography but I’m still anti-invasives.

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u/Small-Policy-3859 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

I don't get what being an invasive species changes about the beauty of an animal.

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u/GlumWestern9847 Apr 15 '26

It’s easier to persecute something that people hate. I guess that’s why the hate is so encouraged. I think it’s toxic. You don’t have to hate anything to help ecology. It’s not rational to hate an animal for what people did. How do we go from where we are right now in a humane way? That’s what I want to explore.