Twitchers: A very British Obsession

Wendy S said:

I didn't see the proramme last night as we had a bird club meeting but if it was a repeat of the earlier programme it did not do the image of bird watching or birding any good,it made most of us look like fools.Many of the Twitchers I have known over the years have been very good bird watchers and local patch workers but the image from the T.V. show did not depict this.

you're correct in that statement.. it didn't. it made most who appeared on the programme look like they were only interested in ticking something, anything, off their list

however.. most people won't take what they see on TV with a pinch of salt

Hi Chris

Yes, there are some serious bird addicts out there

I would not say they are lacking somewhere - just keen on their subject and nothing and no-one will get in their way of their quest to go out birding.

In the programme I felt a little sorry for the young girl being brought out on endless trips.  I felt she was not too keen in watching the birds all of the time - she needs other things to entertain and add to her interests.

The man who was near retirement - well he is more in the situation of having to enjoy his retirement and that means using time in a constructive way as much as possible - he has not enough money to carry on his interest now.  Still he may have to revert back to going out with his local group of bird watchers where he needs to join in with other people a lot more rather than being his own man

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Hi Seaman

I think the same way that the programme did not put the 'Twitching' community in the best light and that means all bird communities in the UK.

To me what i did see on the programme was people with bleepers telling each other where the rare birds where in an area. The bird was under continual scutiny trying to be what species it is without standing out in the crowd.  Some of the peoples names mentioned are people from my local group and I have met a few of them now individually or as a group and I could not imagine them being on the programme at all due to the flimsy content of the programme.

It was not based on talking about birds, it was an all out competition of getting that tick for the yearly competition.  Why did the programme not expand on bird species themselves and get away form all of the human element shown to the viewers.

Why not produce another programme in the same series for further discussion and interest for many bird lovers of all levels.

I have bird lists at home and prefer to them to myself,  They are not for public consumption at all so that is a non twitchers point of view

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Wendy S said:

I didn't see the proramme last night as we had a bird club meeting but if it was a repeat of the earlier programme it did not do the image of bird watching or birding any good,it made most of us look like fools.Many of the Twitchers I have known over the years have been very good bird watchers and local patch workers but the image from the T.V. show did not depict this.

Hi guy

Exactly - take the programme with a pinch of salt - unless there are other parts to the programme to watch in the future.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

kerry g said:

you're correct in that statement.. it didn't. it made most who appeared on the programme look like they were only interested in ticking something, anything, off their list

however.. most people won't take what they see on TV with a pinch of salt

I remember going into our local pub for a swift pint just after the programme was first shown and had to take a lot of stick.Not sure where some of them get the money from as the travelling costs must be high.Nowadays we tend to do most of our birding fairly local as we have some great spots and trips away (like this coming weekend in Northumberland) are special treats,I think I get just as much pleasure from it.

Hi-

sorry guys, this is where this thread gets banned by the Mods :)

I have seen Lee Evans around for about 27 years and he's a good patient observer and knows his stuff in the field . HOWEVER I wouldn't kow tow to his opinion on whether I've seen a bird a not :) Having said that he's accepted my opinion and info on where occasional rare birds were ( I have found a few in my time )

S

Hi-

the best way to check a Birders real ability isnt the size of his / her list. It's the number of spp they have found themselves.

The 250 club does this-  you tot up how many spp YOU found :)

I'm on 266. My British list is over 400 but the 266 gives me more satisfaction.

S

hi Seymours

Call me daaahh here but what does spp mean?

Maybe it will dawn on me soon enough

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Hi-

bottom line guys :))

Twitchers depend on local patch watching guys like you and me ( and GFs finding Desert Wheatears)  to find the birds they come to see. Listers probably only go out when they want to add to their life, annual, county or whatever list. Many twitchers watch  a local patch every week and enjoy their birds :)

The law of diminishing returns applies- if your list is over 400 then you can probably expect to only add 3 or 4 birds to your life list in  a year.

:)

S