Michaeljames
New member
Just want to say hi! Am new to serious birding, and I wanted a few tips. I've been thinking about it for a while, but watching "Twitchers, A very British Obsession" it confirmed it for me that this is something I'd like to do. Does anyone have any tips on mid-range (expense wise) lenses, or binoculars etc? I've got the basic equipment, and wondered what else I would need? I have one concern though- The self-styled policeman of the birding world in the UK. Lee Evans? What if I see a bird, that he decides I did not see? Does that count on my list? What if, by sheer stroke of luck, that I start to approach him on the life list and he decides to dismiss most of what I've seen because he does not want to lose his place at the top? I'm a bit confused, because from the tone of the programme HE decides what you've seen and what you've not (even though he's not going to be there). And as he is basically in charge of the list, and can ruin people in the birding community, how is it fair that he has decided he is in charge, is TOP of the list, and decides people haven't seen something; when they really have? I've seen with my own eyes what he's like, and I've seen how people are expected to report to him when they see something, only for him to decide that they haven't; just because he didn't see it. Before I start this journey in life, I want to make sure that I am not going to be told I've not seen something when I have. If he decides he doesn't trust you, then you've had it. But who's policing him? Who checks the birds he has seen? Ive seen the way he treats, and talks about people, (twit, is probably the mildest word I can use) and I don't want that in whats supposed to be a hobby. I don't want to spend many hundreds of pounds, and maybe thousands, over the years, to take this seriously, when someone who takes the hump can decide my whole list for me. Any advice?
