Do you Twitch, Tick, or Watch? (1 Viewer)

[MiddleRiver]

I came to birding from a lifetime of interest in all things natural - not just birds. Armchair naturalist?

Watching others bird I realize that I'm more interested in watching behavior and developing the ability to find birds - much like stalking or hunting. And I can sit long periods just watching wildlife do their thing. That's not to say that I don't keep a list - and I do get a thrill from finding new (to me) birds. But birding with others that are just quickly tallying as many species/individuals as possible so they can post to eBird, just doesn't appeal to me. I do post checklists, but I bird very slowly and with emphasis on enjoying seeing birds, rather than ticking them.

There is a saying about the stages hunters go through which IIRC goes roughly something like:
hunting to achieve thrill of first kill
hunting for trophies
hunting for food
hunting with a camera

I'm not trying to assign value to one or the other, just curious how you bird, and whether it has changed with time/age?

 

[Farnboro John]

All of the above, and it can change during the course of a day let alone over time. The other day I went out for a day's birding, had a stroll round Pennington Marsh taking pictures of common wildfowl and waders, spent the latter part of the morning watching mostly distant raptors while sitting in the sun on a folding chair, then had a great photo session with Mandarin ducks and Marsh Tits before deciding that given I was on 81 species for the day, I would race round and try to get to a hundred. Which I did.

Why would anyone limit their hobby to one mode when they could have it all?

John

 

[Mkevenson]

Being new to Birding in the tradition sense, and not knowing the differences of Twitch, Tick or watch, well….. , watching is pretty self describing! I hunt with a scope and camera. I too can spend hours watching the small movements of my prey, just to identify the moment they will leave their perch and take flight. I want to capture that flight with my camera , mounted to my scope, and , admit honestly, the birds are usually quicker than I. I get impatient with Raptors who sit on there perch for so long , I begin to fidget, checking my settings, making sure that I am ready, and then…. I miss the flight! Oh well, the beauty is in the hunt. The adventure in the finding and the joy of seeing that great bird of prey, even at rest, but always, looking for his next meal.

 

[Mono]

I am much more of a watcher. I generally find fascination in most things and love watching nature and wildlife in general, not just birds. I don't keep British lists and life lists, if I am going on a special trip I may make a list of what I have seen, more as an aide memoire than a catalogue. I don't take photos, I find it distracts from the moment, from the immersion.

 

[KenM]

For me hunting and “finding” is everything (then imaging if possible), all other auxiliary modes run a poor second.
Patience is the key, it goes hand in hand with effort (no gain wi’out pain).

Happy Hunting

 

[delia todd]

I set out with the intention of recording what I see, then sort of well.... I've forgotten to bring a pen! So I end up enjoying just watching and taking photographs of what's around.

So I'm a watcher/photographer who forgets to tick. But I do try and list what I've seen when I get home.

 

[qwerty5]

Most of the time I find myself tending more towards ticking off as many species as I can find, but I often wish I could forget about my lists and just watch and identify birds. I think part of it is due to me not having a lot of time to go birding, so when I do I feel pressure to find them all. That said, I am very interested in identification, so a half-hour hour spent watching an Empid is time well spent!

 

[MiddleRiver]

All great comments... was not sure if I'd get much response. I also find it interesting that, at least so far, there are not many admitted type-A twitchers, lol. I also like the response about not limiting oneself - truth.

My question came about mostly because although I like the social aspect of birding (fellowship of birders, if you will), I find that group walkabouts are totally distracting and with anything other than one or maybe two others, they don't allow for much of the 'watching' part. I've never done a guided trip, and this has me wondering whether I would hate it. It'd be nice to tick off a bunch of lifers, but...

Also interesting the comments about photographing. I'll admit I'm on a photo kick (have always been a shooter but until recently didn't have right gear for birds). And I agree that sometimes I think 'put the crap down and just enjoy the view'. It started so I could ID birds back home, but it's taken on a life of it's own (addiction to posting good photos here and around :-}

 

[Farnboro John]

I set out with the intention of recording what I see, then sort of well.... I've forgotten to bring a pen! So I end up enjoying just watching and taking photographs of what's around.

So I'm a watcher/photographer who forgets to tick. But I do try and list what I've seen when I get home.

Sounds like excellent recall training to me!

John

 

[Jos Stratford]

Sounds like excellent recall training to me!

John

Hopefully not impared by senior moments 🙂

 

[Prestdj]

All of the above, and it can change during the course of a day let alone over time. The other day I went out for a day's birding, had a stroll round Pennington Marsh taking pictures of common wildfowl and waders, spent the latter part of the morning watching mostly distant raptors while sitting in the sun on a folding chair, then had a great photo session with Mandarin ducks and Marsh Tits before deciding that given I was on 81 species for the day, I would race round and try to get to a hundred. Which I did.

Why would anyone limit their hobby to one mode when they could have it all?

John

summed up me perfectly

 

[Richard D]

I used to keep a list, but lost the life list several years back after I stupidly transferred it to Excel on an unbacked up laptop...

I haven't listed in years, although I have started submitting sightings to the county Ornithological Group since they created an easy to use web portal. Probably much more useful, but maybe next year I'll get round to doing a year list.

I've never been a real twitcher - got a lift to one back in the late 80's and haven't bothered since, although if something crops up within 5 miles I'll generally pop out if I can spare the time. I popped out to see a Green Winged Teal at Oare a few weeks back, and whilst it was good to see it, I probably enjoyed watching a flock of Greenfinch feeding around a puddle more.

 

[Mysticete]

I'm like Farnboro John: I wouldn't consider myself exclusively a twitcher, ticker, or watcher. It can vary with my plans for the day, time of year, interests, etc. I honestly think this is true of nearly every birder.

Sometimes I just like to get out into nature and see what I can, with no real goals. Sometimes a rare bird shows up, or a potential lifer is near by, and then I will twitch. And sometimes I like to try to max out my day lists, especially during migration.

 

[Pinewood]

Hello,

I watch, write my sightings on my shopping list and then put my daily sightings in a notebook for reference. Each new species of the season gets an asterisk. I am a little obsessed in that I use a fountain pen to write in a Clairefontaine notebook, which has extraordinary paper: it does not bleed and makes for smooth writing.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[KC Foggin]

Like Arthur, I'm a watcher. List all new birds I come across but only if I've gotten a photo of them and I have a list on my computer.

 

[Farnboro John]

Like Arthur, I'm a watcher. List all new birds I come across but only if I've gotten a photo of them and I have a list on my computer.

Do you have any poor photos taken just to get a bird on the list?

John

 

[stuartvine]

I rarely twitch, but if there's a species I'm interested in seeing reported nearby, then I'm off. ;-) I keep a single world list to remember what I've seen. I always keep an eye out for birds (and anything else of interest) and will happily sit/stand/lie down and watch birds and other wildlife. So. like most people, all three.

 

[ManxShearwater]

I came to birding from a lifetime of interest in all things natural - not just birds. Armchair naturalist?

Watching others bird I realize that I'm more interested in watching behavior and developing the ability to find birds - much like stalking or hunting. And I can sit long periods just watching wildlife do their thing. That's not to say that I don't keep a list - and I do get a thrill from finding new (to me) birds. But birding with others that are just quickly tallying as many species/individuals as possible so they can post to eBird, just doesn't appeal to me. I do post checklists, but I bird very slowly and with emphasis on enjoying seeing birds, rather than ticking them.

There is a saying about the stages hunters go through which IIRC goes roughly something like:
hunting to achieve thrill of first kill
hunting for trophies
hunting for food
hunting with a camera

I'm not trying to assign value to one or the other, just curious how you bird, and whether it has changed with time/age?

I'm fairly new to birding and got into it in lockdown. I take terrible photos if something sits still long enough, or try and memorize a new species through bins. I live on a small Island so will "go all the way to Ramsey" for a rarity if I have time, the island is only 36 miles long though
I use ebird so that keeps my lists for me,.I tend to stick to a peninsula as my patch, and love to watch behaviour and see the seasons and species change. Am I even a birder if I don't keep lists? I wouldn't know where to start!
One other thing i do a.lot of, is listening and IDing by call/song. I am a.musician and found training my ear quite hard initially, but now in my 2nd Sprung I can separate them far better. We have some lovely little reserves here, and in the Summer you will barely see a bird through the foliage, but there will be plenty singing and calling. Calls and behaviour also give clues to look up if a BOP is passing by!
It's all just a long day in the classroom

 

[MiddleRiver]

I'm fairly new to birding and got into it in lockdown. I take terrible photos if something sits still long enough, or try and memorize a new species through bins. I live on a small Island so will "go all the way to Ramsey" for a rarity if I have time, the island is only 36 miles long though
I use ebird so that keeps my lists for me,.I tend to stick to a peninsula as my patch, and love to watch behaviour and see the seasons and species change. Am I even a birder if I don't keep lists? I wouldn't know where to start!
One other thing i do a.lot of, is listening and IDing by call/song. I am a.musician and found training my ear quite hard initially, but now in my 2nd Sprung I can separate them far better. We have some lovely little reserves here, and in the Summer you will barely see a bird through the foliage, but there will be plenty singing and calling. Calls and behaviour also give clues to look up if a BOP is passing by!
It's all just a long day in the classroom

Interesting... I've recently committed to becoming a better 'ear' birder. It really does open up a whole'nother world.

 

[KC Foggin]

Do you have any poor photos taken just to get a bird on the list?

John

Poor photos that can't be identified? No