How we began

Socialising, getting to know each other.
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Jo UK
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How we began

Post by Jo UK »

It is (about) ten years since this forum started.
To get us in the mood, both Urmas and Looduskalender have written their thoughts and shared some photographs from back then.
http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/index.php/en/node/2803
I think it was in 2007 when we first met at the Hancock forum which was showing the Estonian Black Stork camera. Friendships formed ; we met in Estonia ; and this forum was born! Thank you, Mr. Looduskalender.
Some of these people are still here. Others, not, for a variety of reason. Life brings change and we change with it.
Birthday1.JPG
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Jo UK
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Post by Jo UK »

In Estonia, we first met on what Urmas describes as a "blind date" - yes, it was that! We were all meeting in real life, for the first time. We felt as though we had known each other for a long time, but this was the real world. In Estonia, in August, that real world was incredibly wet! It was tropical, the "wet season"
Here, Urmas tells us of his impressions at that time, and includes more photographs. Thank you, Urmas.
http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/index.php/en/node/2806
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Jo UK
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Post by Jo UK »

We would like any members from earlier years to post your memories, impressions or images of special times.
We are not sure when, exactly, our birthday is. Webmaster and I joined the memberlist on September 19, 2008, but that was not really the beginning of the forum. Maybe it was about two or three weeks later, when we had decided on fonts, colours, spacing - all those important things! If anyone can find the first post ,back in the past, please tell us!
Perhaps it was on the Wild Boar feeding ground? Who knows, now.

So, old timers and less old members, please join in here. Tell us what you remember of our shared history.
This topic will be open for about a month, or however long it takes to have a ten-year birthday.
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Post by Jo UK »

Reserved
Jo UK
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Post by Jo UK »

Reserved
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Felis silvestris
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Post by Felis silvestris »

For a presentation introducing the forum last year, I made an overview of from where forum members do come from. the numbers were provided by webmaster (and are from last year summer), and to add, not every country marked in a colour really presents an actively writing forum member.

Image

At this particular time for instance we had:

619 members from Estonia
453 members from Germany
353 members from USA
275 members from Finland
185 members from Russian Federation

(list not comprehensive as well)
“One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals” (Mahatma Gandhi)
"You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals" (Paul McCartney)



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Felis silvestris
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Post by Felis silvestris »

I myself are no forum member from day one, but by now I have had 7 interesting and educative years here. It changed my life to a certain extend as well.
Maybe it would be interesting to hear how people have found the way to this forum, how they have profited from it, how it changed their life maybe.

Speaking for myself, I have been watching a camera making a still photo somewhere in Scotland, where the excitement was sheeps wandering into the picture. Then I read somewhere about a "camera put up in a wood where one can see wild boar" and I was wondering why would somebody do this, and is it interesting. And yes, it was, I soon discovered a second boar cam, one showing an eagle feeding place and one pointing to an ice covered sea with seals coming and going. And sure, searching more, the forum turned up.

It soon became a major part of my daily life, watching the cameras, exchanging what I have seen with the people here, searching for more information about what was seen, why it was seen. It led to becoming a part of the team here and to my first visit in 2013 in Estonia.
Nine more visits have followed until now. Highlights have been being allowed to join Urmas and Dr. Madis in a rescue mission for an injured WtE, spending a night in the bear hide, going to a concert in Käsmu, and seeing the wonderful nature and wildlife in Estonia.
“One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals” (Mahatma Gandhi)
"You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals" (Paul McCartney)



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juta
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Post by juta »

Ten years alredy? Unbeliveable. This forum has been succesful thanks to all members who have been here at the beginning or later, dedicated more or less, posted observations as much as who could. This forum is alive and even more because of all of you!

BIG THANK YOU!
Proud member of SHoW (StorkaHolics of the World)
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Anne7
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Post by Anne7 »

First of all:
Happy birthday to the Looduskalender forum!

That first 'blind date', in 2008, looks very cosy and joyful! :D

Well, how did I get here?
In 2015, a friend of mine - who knows that I love animals, birds and nature - recommended the webcams.
I liked these cams a lot and started observing birds.
It was only months later that I discovered that there's also the forum! :mrgreen:
Since I never had been on whatever forum, I didn't join you immediately.
I became a "silent guest reader".
But in 2016, while watching the lovely WTE couple Anna and Uku, I decided to participate.
I really fell in love with those eagles and their chicks! :loveshower:
They surprised me each day again. What clever and splendid birds!

And then, of course, there is that other wonderful couple that stole my heart: Karl and Kati.
Black storks are very beautiful and fascinating birds. And their migration brings us to many interesting places in many countries.
It almost feels as if you are travelling with them.

There is so much to explore, to learn, to enjoy and to share on Looduskalender.
Thank you all, for making this possible!
This forum is a good place to be.
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
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Post by leonia »

Happy Birthday Looduskalender Forum!

In advance I should say that I already belonged to the observers of Estonian nest webcams at times when the Looduskalender forum did not exist yet. It was the time when we talked about it on the Hancock Wildlife Channel forum. I was very happy when one day in November 2008 I got an enquiry to take part in the newly founded Looduskalender forum. Of course I took part there and though I rarely take part in the many different discussions there, I take part in the translations of main page articles for all those mostly elder German ornithologists who are not able even to read English articles.
During all the years the webcams were a great pleasure for us every year too, specially because we are most interested in birds of prey like LSE and GSE and in black stork, our most favoured bird. We have learned so much from those cams we would never have known without them!
And of course I was curious to go to Estonia myself and so we visited the country two years ago for a long ornithologist trip for more than three weeks. We circled the whole country and also were happy to meet some of the friends there personally we until then knew only via Looduskalender.
Already in spring I asked myself if anything would be planned for the 10th anniversary. So I was curious to read the two articles that have been published on behalf of this special date. And therefore many thanks to Urmas for his very interesting article! :wave:
...
About the second article which appeared on the subject however I could only wonder. Well, it is true when Epp Harmon writes that those who exchange in the forum "live all over the world: Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia, United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary, France, USA, Turkey, Canada, Australia. Quite certainly there are forum watchers elsewhere too". The forum is alive with all these people taking part of it and its a very good feeling being part of this community.
Honestly, not only me, but certainly also those admins and moderators of the forum might quite stumble that the numerically probably second strongest Looduskalender community in Germany is mentioned with no syllable. It seemes to have failed the author's notice completely how many people from Germany continously are actively involved in the success of the Looduskalender Forum? :puzzled:
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Post by pica »

happy birthday looduskalender :loveshower:

probably I am one of the youngest forum users and I came along because as birdwatcher I've got the information for the black storks first. then later I discovered the forum and I'm very grateful for it. and moore nests came to my spear time...

the work done by the members here ist incredible. the patience of ornithos too.

can I simply thank all from the bottom of my hard for the fantastic job you all do!

hopefully we join again during the next ten years and until then, we know the exact data of foundation of the club :wave:
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Post by Brit »

As I see in the User Control Panel it was November 28th 2008, that I joined LK forum, so to say quite from the very beginning…. so many years past and the LK forum is still the most interesting and lively forum I know. There were quite a few forums at that time – many didn’t survive, maybe due to Facebook, twitter and all the media - , but none could even reach the quality of the LK forum. So many real nature-lovers found their way to the LK forum, first around the Blackstork-Webcam. But Blackstorks are leaving for the winter season to other grounds, far away.
The people ‚behind‘ Looduskalender were aware of that and didn’t leave its members out in the rain, they improved and improved by number and quality of the cameras. But also with the postings about their animals and nature, history, interesting happenings etc., so people around the whole world could even learn about Estonia. The articles are to some extend translated into English language and from there into German language (and I am proud to say, that I was helping to translate into German language from the first hour); also Russian and even Spanish translations are there on the Homepage.

A great experience! And all I can say is „THANK YOU“ to the ‚people behind the scene‘ of LK, who take the effort to make that all possible, to all the experts who share their knowledge and experience with us. To all the admins, mods who care about the wellbeing of the forum and last not least to all the members who keep everybody updated not only about the happenings infront of the webcams, but also posting links to other interesting places, etc. etc. .

Great peoples, great forum: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!
Have a nice day!
Brit
http://www.worldofanimals.eu/
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Post by Jo UK »

It is right that this forum should offer an apology to our German members who have been omitted from the LK article by Epp Harmon. When she wrote it in 2010 (I don't know where it was published. Not here) no-one saw the mistake in omitting a large group of active members in Germany. For that, you are owed an apology.
We know that there are a large number of German members who have given strength to this forum. If numbers from each country could be a factor, then UK should have been omitted! There are not many of us Brits here.

How many German members are there? Does anyone know?
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Post by Fleur »

Oh I have been here for almost 10 years now.
I watched the webcams in the Netherlands for a while, Beleef de Lente, and also made movies there, especially with the owls.

I know very well the first time, I started at the Seals, and still that is my favorite webcam. I really hope that this webcam comes online again.

I have a lot of fun in listening, watching and making moment recordings.

I do not participate in discussions.

I hope that Looduskalender many years will let us enjoy all the beauty of nature.
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Brit
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Post by Brit »

@Jo UK: Felis silvestris put a map and a list there (above, entry October 6th, 2018, 8:40 am) and that reads like that:

At this particular time for instance we had:

619 members from Estonia
453 members from Germany
353 members from USA
275 members from Finland
185 members from Russian Federation

(list not comprehensive as well)


When I translated the article yesterday I tripped up over the countries but thought it's not my thing to extend the given text ....
Have a nice day!
Brit
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Post by Jo UK »

Thank you, Brit.
I wish we had known about this "mistake" earlier. Maybe we could have put in a correction, before it caused this upset.
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Biker
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Post by Biker »

I want to add my congratulations for the 10th anniversary of LK forum.

Thanks to the team that allows here the sharing of observations, experience and knowledge.
Thanks to all members for their contributes of any kind.


Surfing the internet had to guide me to animal watching via webcam. actually contradictory, because animal watching outside in the nature, thats what i do almost always since i remember, always if there is leisure time to do it.

But because there can be times when this is not possible, it is great do watch at home.

And most importantly, in this way i can see things that are, usually, "invisible" for me, presumably to most of us.

In a nutshell: these really great cameras of the Looduskalender and of those who make all this web cam-animal-bird-nature watching possible led me quickly to this forum. In 2011 i decided to join. Because of some really tough exams of life at that time, a few years passed, it become 2015, when I signed up and i started to participate, with a lot of interest, fun, and a lot of difficuties, language caused (:mrgreen:) .
the siga wild boar cam, Small Bird Feeder camera and the LSE nest cam with Tuuli and Remo were the first i watched, therefore i preferred the corresponding topics of the forum in the beginning.
Because one can never learn/know too much, other themes , automatically resulted for me later, which i follow in this forum, which are also very interesting.


whoever had the great idea to start this "How we began" topic: Many thanks :thumbs:

while writing here, i always digress curious again and again, clicking links, learn about the old days, when i didn't know yet this forum.
*Please don't feed the trolls!*
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Post by leonia »

Jo UK wrote: October 6th, 2018, 5:50 pm Thank you, Brit.
I wish we had known about this "mistake" earlier. Maybe we could have put in a correction, before it caused this upset.
Dear Jo,
we have talked about it and I think its o.k. now. :nod:
Best wishes
Leonia :wave:
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Post by Jo UK »

Yes, it is open and transparent now. All is clear.
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Lusciniole
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Post by Lusciniole »

:loveshower: Nice job! Very successful. Thank you all! :2thumbsup:
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