Bird watchers or young ornithologists - amateurs in the seaside area

In the mid and late 1980s, we were a small group of like-minded people watching birds. At that time, this activity was not yet called "modern" - we were just young ornithologists - amateurs. Of course, the most attractive part was the part of the coast that was closed and inaccessible to a "normal" person. At that time we received a letter of recommendation from the Latvian Ornithological Society, which went to the Ministry of Forestry (?), Where a short interview took place - who we are, what we will do, etc. As a result, we got a special pass (Propusk). in the border regime zone from Mērsrags to the Lithuanian border. However, young people "armed" with binoculars, notebooks and cameras were more than an unusual (also - undesirable) phenomenon on the seashore, so sometimes they had to explain the reasons for their arrival. Sometimes we hid bird-watching equipment behind windbreakers or in bags and dragged them out only when needed. The sharpest exchange of words, as far as I remember, took place in the Pape area, where the border guards threatened to light up the films. This was bird watching with a certain dose of adrenaline. So now - go out with a telescope to the sea shore and see how far you go!