Twitching by numbers: A birder's account of his hectic life as he chases rare species across Britain and Ireland

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Insert joke about tits here, but seriously this is why women still feel so unwelcome in the birding community. You would have been at the top of the list in 1987, aside Ron Johns, if you had seen a paltry (I jest! For some twitchers, travelling many miles to see a rare bird seems to lift their spirits to new levels of exhilaration. It would still be possible to be offended by some parts of this book as rare birds are, one could say, objectified as mere numbers to be added to the author’s list, and the carbon emissions from chasing around these isles are pretty high and yes, there are some comments on some (unnamed) womens’ appearance.

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Driving an unnecessarily large and heavier car to keep up with the Jones’s isn’t just an added burden re inflated air pollution it means any accident involving them will be more serious than it would have been – especially for cyclists and pedestrians and obviously children – a bad situation being made even worse.

Luckily at Leighton Moss no charge for permits for members, but member had for admission at lots of reserves. The book details what happens during my twitch, credits finder and categorises each rarity (1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year, 10-year, 20-year and lifetime).The one where pictures of raptors in flight away from the camera in the near dark at the edges of tracks and forests allows their identification from memory of a two-second sighting when you weren’t expecting it so you didn’t have a pair of night-vision binoculars handy. And who cares that Garry Bagnell has seen 553 bird species in Britain and Ireland (which puts him way behind Steve Gantlett on an estimated 590 species)?

I didn't see a copy to read, no idea if any other "unknowns" did, but I do know that he paid a considerable sum to someone who "edited it". No doubt some twitchers who started birdwatching long after me will have seen more different birds than myself and of course I’ve noticed the boasting by some and it’s not just me that’s noticed. Also there is the problem of disturbance of rare birds often with twitchers in there hundreds at least. Re the rare birds themselves it can’t be much fun if you’re an absolutely knackered off course migrant and hundreds of people descend creating a bit of a commotion.

I offered him some advice and in fact had a long conversation with him about the pitfalls of getting a publisher and self publishing (I have done both). Any author who deviates from what is considered decorous and appropriate enjoys no licence - he (or she) risks being singled out and pilloried with opprobrium. Permits where needed for lots of RSPB reserves of which where only open a few days a week and not all year and even those RSPB reserves that didn't need advance permits, some of thos RSPB reserves onluy open a few days a week. That takes a lot of bottle, but he has been rewarded with the satisfaction of standing, unsupported, on his own two feet.