Although I lived in England for 3 years in the late 70s and early 80s, I was only just beginning to become interested in birds back then. In fact, that's probably what sparked me (but, it was a slow ignition). I didn't do much birding in those years (the most that I ever did was try to work out the ID of a bird that happened to cross my path). Nor did I spend much time (nor have much time) on looking at birds during some work-related visits in the subsequent decades.
My first serious birdwatching opportunity was during a visit to Cumbria in August 2016. However, it was only 4 days there and it wasn't a particularly bird-rich area, plus I had family commitments for doing general sightseeing. In May 2018 my wife and I spent a week in southern Scotland including the southern part of the Cairngorms, followed by a week in the Shetland islands. I was able to fit in several days of birding during that two weeks.
Below are some of the better photos I was able to take. I'm still not very good at bird photography!
