The oriental turtle dove that turned up in a garden in Chipping Norton back in February is still being seen. This is a very rare bird in the UK and February seems a pretty odd time for one to turn up.
But hundreds of twitchers have paid £5 to get the chance to see the bird and got a thrill out of it. The home owners, the Akers family, have been brilliantly tolerant and welcoming to all those birders who have queued up to see this rare bird from their kitchen window. It's all a bit odd in a way but it's all a bit inspiring in other ways.
And bird conservation on Malta and in the UK is benefitting from this lost bird and the enthusiasm of all those twitchers.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
RedKite- Yes great points, but I feel you may be surprised just how inovative and advanced eco-tourism practice has become in recent years. Of course the RSPB has an element of eco-tourism in its reserves, but what Im talking about is something much more social than just a gift shop or an entry fee. Too much for one post.
I think we all find the idea of twitching a little intrusive, untill Bob's post i hadn't really made a differentiation between bird watching and twitching, but I think I now understand. I think Im a bird see'er!
All the best :)