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BIRDERS by Mark Cocker. (1 Viewer)

Andrew

Andrew

wibble wibble
I have just finished reading this 250ish page book and it is a brilliant read with many wonderful birding stories all interesting, funny and intense. I read it every spare moment I had which is saying something as if it is not a good one I will read it if I am bored. I suggest this book as one on t your list if you have not read it yet. An examplary story is the shortest one in brief. . .

A fella heard of a Roller on a small islet just off the shore. The shore is accessible by wading up to your thigh at low tide. He did this and got the Roller only to find the tide had come right in so he strapped his bins to the top of his head with his belt and swam back. Narrowly missed a speedboat. Picture a family on the beach having a fun picnic. What did they make of a fully clothed fella coming out of the sea with bins strapped to his head!!!

3:)
 
I agree with Andrew it is a very good read. I was caught between not wanting to put the book down and not wanting it to finish too quickly!

I wonder if Mark will be tempted to write a sequel?

Dave
 
andrew it was a very good read and re read, i still chuckle at the
satyr tragopan story. when trying to persuade a group of birders
the himalayan trip was no harder than a days shopping, ho yea!!
hope theres a follow up bert.
 
I concur its a good read. I believe the best birding read is 'The Feather Quest' by Pete Dunn. I would encourage everyone to read it. Pete's love of birds come across on every page and he has a masterful descriptive prose. I have read it a number of times and always I want to be there with him. Its American (Pete is the boss of the Cape May Bird Observatory) so UK birders will probably have to resort to Amazon to find a copy but take my word its brilliant.
 
TrevorC, Thanks for the tip off. Is it an out of print book as I had trouble getting a hold of 'A Season at the Point' off an internet site who have failed to deliver after about four months. Some American books are hard to get. If it is a new book then I can go to the local book shop with the ISBN number.

As for Birders, what about the brilliant stories about Richard Richardson. Makes me wish I knew him.
 
ISBN Number is 0-395-92790-0. The surname is Dunne not Dunn as I first said. Published in the US by Mariner Books, available from Amazon in the UK for £9.59 usually despatched in seven days.
 
Brilliant, I shall attempt to get it at the local bookshop first. I like to support this independent local shop as the owner is good to me. Once again thanks.

At the moment I am starting Russel Boyman's 'Around the World With a Thousand Birds'. The reviews were not good but I like to see for myself, apparently he moans too much about his private life.
 
Hope you are enjoying it so far! That is odd you are starting a book I have just finished and vice versa!

I have Kingbird Highway on standby when I finish Russell Boyman's book. Got quite a few other books to be read too!
 
Yes I am finding the book interesting. As I have only been birding for about 10 years its interesting hearing about the "good" old days with their brass telescopes and black and white pictures in the guides.
 
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I enjoyed "Birders" a lot as well and recognised a lot of myself in Mark Cocker (we're from a similar neck of the woods as it happens), especially his lengthy Steller's Eider twitch, although I think mine was even further!

Some reviews complained of a Norfolk bias but I've never even been to Norfolk and it didn't bother me in the slightest. He may have to revise the Black Lark stringing setion now in a second edition!!

There was one thing I did disagree with, i.e. no respectable birder would ever be caught dead with a field guide. What rubbish! I wouldn't dream of going birding without Collins, just in case!

E
 
Me neither, though I have started to leave it in the car occassionally. I rely on taking notes and returning to the book to check it up. It improves my identification skills but many times I rue leaving it in the car!

The inclusion of Norfolk did not bother me at all, in fact it made the book better. It had to be included as it is one of the birthplaces of modern birding.
 
I guess I just don't understand the 'logic' behind leaving your field guide behind.

I DO understand how not using it could sharpen your observation skills, but going afield without all that information close at hand just seems pointless to me. What better way to make sure you are seeing what you think you're seeing, that the habitat and range is right, etc.

Not to mention the increasing help a middle-aged menopausal memory requires. :)
 
If I am going somewhere where there is a hide or 'sit down' view point I will take my field guide but for a stroll on the canal I will not take it as I want to have a nice simple walk with just bins round my neck (and some clothes too!)
 
Finished the book last night and can recommend it. I did feel that for a book published in 2001 all the birding stories seemed to stop in the 80's. It appears that the book was written a few years back with the last chapter (1993) added later to bring it up to date.
 
Andrew said:
Brilliant, I shall attempt to get it at the local bookshop first. I like to support this independent local shop as the owner is good to me. Once again thanks.

At the moment I am starting Russel Boyman's 'Around the World With a Thousand Birds'. The reviews were not good but I like to see for myself, apparently he moans too much about his private life.
Click to expand...


The birding was excellent in Russel Boyman's book but he did go on a bit too much about his personal problems which detracted from it a bit but it was worth reading

Mark
 
Yeah-the Boyman book was absolutely awful.....................usually I reread non-fiction but I found the author so irritating I don't think I'll ever read it again.....what a waste of money.

I enjoyed Mark Cocker's book except for one thing. I can't remember his exact wording but he said something along the lines of ( I'm paraphrasing ) "if you don't know where the tertial feathers are on a bird then you're not in my tribe". Kinda snobby I thought-like football fans saying you're not a "real" fan unless you go to all the away games!!!

Otherwise it's a great read. It's on a different plane ( or plain!?!- god knows ) to the Boyman book
 
Birders... is a fabulous book. I read it every so often as it is exactly the sort of book I never tire of reading. I love reading about other birders almost as much as about birds themselves. I am not worried about the perceived "Norfolk-bias" either, as although I have not been there (yet), it is the spiritual home of UK birding in a lot of ways.

I would like to read Boyman's book at some point, and there is also one out about some Americans travelling the world in search of birds and almost killing themselves in the process (the title escapes me at the moment, as does the author's name).
 
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