birdwatching language

[becky.t]

in another artcile someone gave a reply incluidng the words dudes. hardened Twitchers. ringers. patchworkers and birders

> sorry ?

> i had asked what a Dude is so now i know that one. i can hazard a guess at the meaning fo birders. the othres are a mystery tho , can anoyne explian them to me please

[seb_seb]

Id like to know what a hardened twitcher is???

[alan_rymer]

You want concrete evidence?.

[seb_seb]

De dum shhh

[pduxon]

Originally posted by alan_rymer
You want concrete evidence?.

3:-)

Ok I'm sure someone will tell me I've got these wrong

Twitcher - someone who travels to see a bird (usually rare).
Ringer - often at reserve a local ornithological group ring birds (little bits of metal round the legs). That way if a bird is "caught" somewhere else you know how far its travelled amongst other things.

patchworker - someone who looks for birds in the same area.

birder - uhm well some will say this is a more dynamic word for birdwatcher. You could argue that a birder is a very good birdwatcher. I'm not that good!

stringer - you didn't ask but... someone who misidentfies a common bird as a rare one. Sometimes this is genuine incompetence (mea culpa) sometimes its deliberate.

What I like about this site is that everyone is welcome and made to feel at home

[Andrew]

The term twitcher was explained by Mark Cocker in his book. There used to be two fellas who used to travel to see rare birds in a motorbike and side car. The one in the side car used to get so cold he 'twitched'

Is this generally agreed?

[seb_seb]

I dunno but its strangely hilarious...i always though it was something to do with the reaction of the twitcher when finding a bird?

[alan_rymer]

Originally posted by Andrew
The term twitcher was explained by Mark Cocker in his book. There used to be two fellas who used to travel to see rare birds in a motorbike and side car. The one in the side car used to get so cold he 'twitched'

Is this generally agreed?

Andrew

I agree, not sure where I heard the story ( Not read the book ), but its possibly on one of the threads within the BF archives. But yes, they used to stop for a coffee and a fag and the guy in the sidecar was so cold he couldn't stop the coffee spilling or light the cigarette.

Ringing, banding in USA.
Dipping or Dipped, missed seeing the bird whilst on a twitch.

[Tony_InDevon]

Originally posted by pduxon
stringer - you didn't ask but... someone who misidentfies a common bird as a rare one. Sometimes this is genuine incompetence (mea culpa) sometimes its deliberate.

Thats strange, I call myself by a much shorter term when I call a bird wrong.3:-)

[becky.t]

ok i am sure that your articles will amke more sens eto me now
thankyou

[phyllosc]

It was I who used the phrase 'hardened twitcher', I used it to distinguish between those who 'bird' and occaisionally 'twitch' and those who only ever 'twitch', hence 'hardened twitchers'.

I don't if there are many of these guys around these days but back in the height of it's popularlity - c1989? - it wasn't unusual to meet people who each weekend would just go for the headline bird on the information services.

Dave

[logos]

Re: Twitcher

"i always though it was something to do with the reaction of the twitcher when finding a bird?"

This is somewhat ironic seb seb as the term twitcher is used pejoritively also because it suggests someone who only goes to look at birds found and identified by others. The implication being that the twitcher is a bit like a stamp collector or train spotter and has none of the skills of the finders and identifiers of rare birds.

Spud

[Adey Baker]

'Twitcher'

I thought that the origin of twitcher came from the time before there was any kind of info on what was 'about.'

Most people didn't have a phone in those days, anyway, so there was no-one to contact - you just had to head for the coast if the weather seemed right at the appropriate time. Some birders, apparently, got very 'twitchy' if the wind was coming from an easterly direction at the height of the Autumn, for instance.

[Tony_InDevon]

Might be a silly question, but can anyone think of other words us learners will find useful?

[walwyn]

Jizz (http://www.birdforum.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2371).

Perhaps a glossary page of terms would be useful on the site.

[Tony_InDevon]

Sounds like a great idea to me, hey walwyn we agree for once LOL :t:

[smeltmill]

Dear all,

I have missed out (dipped?) somewhere.
What is a Dude?

As for twitcher. I thought it was due to the incompetence/lunacy of the motorcyclist.

Thanks for the thread Rebecca.

Regards.
Gordon Boreham-Styffe.

[Michael Frankis]

A list of birder's bird name shorthand, and popular alternative names & nicknames?

Most are pretty obvious, but not all; here's a selection of mainly UK ones for starters:
Barwit - Bar-tailed Godwit
BHG - Black-headed Gull
Bimac - Bimaculated Lark
Blackwit - Black-tailed Gotwit
Bonxie - Great Skua
Butterbutt - Yellow-rumped Warbler (US)
Canarycrest - Canary Islands Goldcrest
Curly Sand - Curlew Sandpiper
Dartboard Warbler - Dartford Warbler (because that's what most spellcheckers turn it into!)
Dickypit - Richard's Pipit
Elsie ('LC') - Lesser Crested Tern
Fudge Duck - Ferruginous Duck
GBB - Great Black-backed Gull
Great Spot! - Great Spotted Woodpecker
Gropper - Grasshopper Warbler
Guillie - Common Guillemot (Common Murre, US)
Hoodie - Hooded Crow
Hudwit - Hudsonian Godwit
Icky - Icterine Warbler
Lancy - Lanceolated Warbler
LEO - Long-eared Owl
Lesserpecker - Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
LBB - Lesser Black-backed Gull
Mipit - Meadow Pipit
Oyk - Oystercatcher
Pec - Pectoral Sandpiper
P G Tips - Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler
Phal - Phalarope
Pie, (greek letter) pi - Magpie
Pied Wag - Pied Wagtail
Pom - Pomarine Skua
Purps - Purple Sandpiper
R B Flicker - Red-breasted Flycatcher (flicks its tail a lot)
R B Merg - Red-breasted Merganser
Ropit - Rock Pipit
Sharpie - Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (UK, OZ), Sharp-shinned Hawk (US)
Sibe - any species, rare in Britain, from Siberia
Sibechat - Siberian Stonechat
Skemmy - feral Rock Dove / street pigeon
Spotshank - Spotted Redshank
Spotty Fly - Spotted Flycatcher
Spuggie - (House) Sparrow
Tripit - Tree Pipit
Tufty - Tufted Duck (UK), Tufted Titmouse (US)
TV - Turkey Vulture (US)
Tystie - Black Guillemot
Wapit - Water Pipit
Yank - any species, rare in Britain, from North America

Michael

[walwyn]

Originally posted by Tony_InDevon
Sounds like a great idea to me, hey walwyn we agree for once LOL


Damn I knew I should have said 'wildlife'.

[Tony_InDevon]

Wow thanks Michael !!

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by smeltmill
What is a Dude?

Someone, usually wealthy and well-dressed, who goes out bird-watching (NOT birding!), but can't identify any other than a handful of very common species, and tends not to see many birds despite having top-of-the-range optics.

Not a very nice term to use of people!

Michael

[smeltmill]

Oh dear.

G B-S.

[Michael Frankis]

Another unkind one - 'tart's tick'

Used of rare birds, that most ('all') birders 'should' have seen, because there was an individual which stayed a long time somewhere and was very easy to see.

Very unflattering derivation of the term - because even a tart (an unintelligent flirtatious female, or in twitchers' viewpoint . . . any female) will have seen it, i.e., even someone who (by twitchers' standards) is very incompetent at seeing birds, has seen it.

Typical example - White-winged Tern in UK, because one has stayed 2½ months at East Chevington, so if you've not seen it, 'it's your own bl**dy fault'

Sorry ladies . . . but it is one you'll hear used

Michael

[James Armstrong]

Hi Becky,

Think Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory (SBBO) have got a very good glossary on their website: www.sbbo.co.uk. Worth a visit anyway - especially their sightings and pics. See you're in Norwich -
visited Titchwell RSPB last year but missed Sammy the Stilt. Is he still there?

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by James Armstrong
visited Titchwell RSPB last year but missed Sammy the Stilt. Is he still there?

Last reported yesterday, so I'd assume yes

Michael

[James Armstrong]

Cheers Michael. Must get up there this year and try to see him. Also want to see the cranes (grus grus not winch winch) in Norfolk.
Anyone seen them? Just about to start a new thread on local well-known birds so recognisable they've been given nicknames.

[Grousemore]

Just happen to have a picture of him taken yesterday at Titchwell.

[James Armstrong]

Hi Grousemore,
Thanks very much for posting the pic. Wonderful! Did you take it? Had Sammy been drinking? He looks a bit unsteady on his pins.
B (: :t:

[Grousemore]

Yes I took it,only hand-holding the camera against the scope though.
He was half asleep and kept sinking to his "Knees" which was very entertaining to all in the hide !

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by Grousemore
He was half asleep and kept sinking to his "Knees" which was very entertaining to all in the hide !

Do remember the poor chap is 11 years old now, he's entitled to an afternoon nap and a few 'senior' moments :cat:

Michael

[samuel walker]

Might be a silly question, but can anyone think of other words us learners will find useful?
I could guess twitcher was obviously British having almost a Monty Python flavor to it. I immediatly translated it to our ticker. That being a birder who is out to tick off species to pad a life list. An actual twitcher over here would be the birdglass holder near a marsh in Summer when the Mosquitos (not RAF) are buzzing.
respectfully submitted,
Sam Walker
yankee

[Ruby]

I could add a couple of definitions to Michael's list.

PIPIT - Completely unidentifiable bird.
GULL - See Pipit.

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Ruby,
If in doubt with a pipit,wait until it calls!They almost all have nice distinctive flight calls:it can be quite easy to ID one flying over at a height solely based on this!
Gulls:small gulls are okay when you've gained experience,and most individual large gulls aren't too bad,but some individuals(particularly ones that are suspected of being a rarer subspecies of a common species)can be tough,indeed some are best left unidentified....
Harry H

[Ruby]

oh-oh.... I need to install the bird-call CDs in my car....

[SimonC]

RE: Twitcher

I've always thought this was to do with an adrenalin overload!? The affected person literally "twitches" with nervous energy
(it could also describe the movement of a persons shoulders as he/she cries into their beverage of choice after dipping out and/or being Gripped ;) )

Simon

[william j clive]

Albert Ross - Albatross, usually refers, affectionately to the Black-browed Albatross that was around Hermaness, Unst, Shetland for several years. This bird attracted many twitchers, including the hardened type, to Britain's most northerly point.

Sprawk - Sparrow Hawk

Ripit - Rock Pipit

Wipit - Water Pipit

[Michael Frankis]

Ripit - Rock Pipit

Wipit - Water Pipit
Hi William,

They're usually Ropit and Wapit!

Michael

[christineredgate]

Andrew

I agree, not sure where I heard the story ( Not read the book ), but its possibly on one of the threads within the BF archives. But yes, they used to stop for a coffee and a fag and the guy in the sidecar was so cold he couldn't stop the coffee spilling or light the cigarette.

Ringing, banding in USA.
Dipping or Dipped, missed seeing the bird whilst on a twitch. About time we had something interesting on the forum,bikes and sidecars!!.Must pass this info onto hubby who used to race sidecars on the Island.Have you ever been a passenger Alan,not the most pleasant of experiences!!.
Christine.

[christineredgate]

Dear all,

I have missed out (dipped?) somewhere.
What is a Dude?

As for twitcher. I thought it was due to the incompetence/lunacy of the motorcyclist.

Thanks for the thread Rebecca.

Regards.
Gordon Boreham-Styffe. Gordon,how dare you say that motorcylists are incompetent lunatics:eek!: Actually you may be quite correct in your assumptions!!.
Christine

[Bluetail]

They're usually Ropit and Wapit!
The birders I know usually say "Rockit".

Jason

[Bluetail]

I've also heard "Arctic Roll" for Arctic Redpoll.

Jason

[Arwen]

I've heard the term 'jizz' used a few times now, and even referenced once on this thread (but left perplexedly unexplained). I daren't try and google for it, knowing how such a word would be interpreted by search engines. ;)

Also, I would be interested to know how the Brits define 'patch'. Is it just your local area (county), is it a particular spot you frequent, is it a splotch of land immediately next to your home.. ?

[Bluetail]

Hi Arwen
Jizz. I think I've got this right... (o)< The origins of the word jizz are a bit obscure, but it's generally reckoned to be a corruption of the acronym "GISS", used by the RAF in World War 2 to mean "general impression of shape and size" - which is precisely how birders use it.

Patch is short for "local patch" and just means a site that you visit as regularly as you can. A local patch is thus basically a birder's own territory and he feels just as possessive about it as any avian songster when he sees an interloper - except that, as a rule of thumb, he doesn't go to the extent of duffing him up. ;)

Jason

[david kelly]

Michael,

I've a few to add to that list

Barnie - either a Barnacle Goose or a Barn Owl
Blackie - A Blackbird
Coal and Candle Light - Long-tailed Duck (not widespread even in Sco but i like it)
Cushat or Cushie Doo - A woodpigeon (Sco)
Doo - A domestic or feral pigeon (Sco)
Dunnock - Hedge Accentor (UK)
Goldie or Gowdie (Sco) - A Goldfinch
Gos - A Goshawk
Perg - Peregrine Falcon
Pinkie - Pink-footed Goose
Spughawk - Sparrowhawk
Stuckie - A Starling

David

[Bluetail]

Coal and Candle Light - Long-tailed Duck (not widespread even in Sco but i like it) I've never understood why Spycatcher didn't catch on for Spot Fly.

Jason

[egret3]

;) Hi everyone: I am new here
from Canada.. ... yes.. with a sense of humour
as I see you all have here..

then.. please how about a Lifer?

Egret

[Bluetail]

Hi Egret.

A "lifer" is the term used when you see a new species for the first time in your life.

[egret3]

Thank you...
can't wait.. there will be several of those

Egret

[g8ina]

Thanks again for this entire thread. As a blatant beginner it has been most elucidating ! I needed to know what "dipper" and "gripped" were, now I know :-)

[London Birder]

Robin stroker ..

one who's idea of a good day in the field comprises standing around the interior of an RSPB visitor centre wearing binoculars and awaiting the arrival of friends from the local nature group before collectively watching a Great Tit (or Robin) live action webcam feed and deciding on whether purchasing the 'the Puffin oven gloves' or the 'owls of the British Isles tea-tray' should conclude proceedings till next spring ..

a horrid term ...

[JohnnyH]

Robin stroker ..

one who's idea of a good day in the field comprises standing around the interior of an RSPB visitor centre wearing binoculars and awaiting the arrival of friends from the local nature group before collectively watching a Great Tit (or Robin) live action webcam feed and deciding on whether purchasing the 'the Puffin oven gloves' or the 'owls of the British Isles tea-tray' should conclude proceedings till next spring ..

a horrid term ...

Horrid perhaps LB, but f***in funny all the same!!

:clap:

[scary-canary]

I've never understood why Spycatcher didn't catch on for Spot Fly.

Jason
mipit=meadow pipit
tripit=tree pipit
ollybipit=...work it out!

[54rogan43]

'Twitcher' one who walks up to the quite normal dude, asks,
seen the Pec Sand, or Curly Sand? gets a blank look, then walks
of in disgust, 'Hardened Twitcher' one who walks up to dude, says nothing
looks through bins, mutters Pec and Curly had them!! Walks off.

[John Dixon]

More shorthand names for birds:

Spaccie or plastic spastic (sorry, not very PC!) - Feral Pigeon
Whopper - Whooper Swan
alba wags - usually used on Scilly - sum total of Pied and White Wagtails
Surf Scrot - Surf Scoter

[Pariah]

Another unkind one - 'tart's tick'

Used of rare birds, that most ('all') birders 'should' have seen, because there was an individual which stayed a long time somewhere and was very easy to see.

Sorry ladies . . . but it is one you'll hear used



Ive also heard it used simply in the derogatory manner of "you Tart"...i.e. Simply for not having seen something which I should have seen long ago...e.g. Tree pipit, Common RoseFinch, Lapland bunting.....jaysus I hate to keep going...its depressing!

Pariah

[Pariah]

I could add a couple of definitions to Michael's list.

PIPIT - Completely unidentifiable bird.
GULL - See Pipit.

GULL - Winged Rat...See also Feral Pigeon.

Pariah

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

bill oddie = bearded tit

[Evanji Axu]

What's LBJ mean?

[robinm]

What's LBJ mean?
Little Brown Job. Mainly used to describe warblers and similar that you can't see properly because they're half-hidden in a bush. ;)

[Evanji Axu]

Oh. Too familiar. Blasted sparrows.

[CBB]

Very handy that I stumbled in here. Nice one Michael. The other thing that sometimes confuses me is the abbreviations of organisations. The only one I ever get is RSPB!

Chris

[Hotspur]

BTO British Trust for Ornithology
WWT Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust