Tony,
It just sounds like you have become a birdwatcher, rather than a twitcher. No
great harm in that. Welcome to the club.
Carl Clifford
On 09/05/2013, at 10:55, "Tony Russel" <> wrote:
>
>
> Hi All, I've been twitching since the early nineties, feverishly chasing
> after vagrants new and rare to Australia. My Oz total now stands at 753
> given my last twitch for the Eyebrowed Thrush near Atherton. I have in the
> past spent what must be thousands of dollars on fuel, airfares,
> accommodation, site fees, food, etc., and many hundreds of hours going for
> the latest vagrant arrivals before they disappear or die or get predated.
> Great fun.
>
>
>
> However, things seem to be changing. In recent years I've thought about
> going for the latest vagrants in Broome and Perth, like the Semi-palmated
> Plover in Broome and the Northern Pintail in Perth,, and even the Princess
> Parrot in the Centre, but somehow have lost the compulsion to go for them.
> Money and time are not the determining factors. I just seem to have lost
> steam.
>
> The recent Widgeon in WA and the current Wagtail in Alice have of course
> caught my attention, but I find I just can't be bothered going for them.
> What for? Just another tick in my list? I was hoping to catch up with a
> Black-headed Gull in Darwin sometime, but having just been to the UK
> (without my bins) I saw hundreds of them. And widgeons. So what?
>
>
>
> Surely this sort of thinking is sacrilege to the true twitcher I thought I
> was. Now the thinking is "so what if I don't see them?"
>
>
>
> I used to think that lifting my total towards 800 was important to me, now
> it seems entirely immaterial. So what if other people get a bigger list than
> me? It doesn't affect anything does it . I collect beautiful pictures of
> rare birds on the internet. Not the same as seeing them in the flesh ? Of
> course not. So?
>
>
>
> In the past I've had many a heated discussion with some of our more academic
> birdos over the value of twitching, which they of course consider
> contributes very little to the important issues of habitat and species
> conservation. I have to agree with them. What possible useful impact can a
> single vagrant achieve before it dies or gets eaten?
>
>
>
> Of course a group of vagrants, like the Canada Geese of a few years ago, if
> left to establish and form ever growing numbers, can have effects on habitat
> usage, nest sites, food supplies etc, which upsets the natural ecological
> balance and often affect indigenous species adversely. Moreover, many of
> these feral groups are now too well established over time to be eradicated,
> and isn't it better to learn to live with them than get all upset about
> them. Feral colonies are only good for twitchers but only of nuisance value
> for conservationists.
>
>
>
> I don't understand how my drop off in zeal has come about. Those disdainful
> of twitching might suggest that "Aha, at last he's come to his senses", but
> I don't accept that. The thought of seeing a new bird is still interesting
> , even exciting, but I just can't be bothered going after them anymore. I
> Googled the creek where the Widgeon was seen in WA, and I thought about
> asking Chris Watson precisely which garden in Alice has the Wagtail. But to
> what avail? I know I'm not going.
>
>
>
> Is there anybody out there suffering from a similar malaise ?
>
>
>
> Tony
>
>
>
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