Hi all,
regarding the life list totals that astound not only John Harris but most
others as well, it has to be noted that most of these people as well as
having access to lots of time as well as pots of cash, have been travelling
to see birds around the world since before many of us were aware of
birdwatching as a hobby.
I spent some time with John Hornbuckle (3rd in the all time list) in
Cambodia this year, that was his 100th country visited and he's been back to
some of them many times so imagine how many trips that amounts to?
As has also been stated, lots of them are professional guides and it is
amazing what a difference this makes. A friend of mine has doubled his
world list from 2000 to 4000 in less than a year since he got a job guiding
in South America.
I suppose most of you will have heard of Phoebe Snetzinger who for a long
time was the worlds leading lister. She was a wealthy American lady who
discovered she had cancer and was looking for something to do with the rest
of what she thought would be her short life. She remains at number two
despite the fact that she was killed in a bus crash in Madagascar about
three years ago and she was the first person past 8000 species. She was a
remarkable lady who survived gang rape by tribesmen in PNG amongst other
things and anyone interested can read an account of her birding life in a
book called 'Birding on borrowed time'.
All the best, Andy Adcock.
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