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Bill Oddie In America (1 Viewer)

I think the style of this latest programme fairly horrific but the last one I saw I found the Hummingbird section amazing. How one man has over fifty years even changed the migratory habits of some hummingbirds with his feeders in his garden.Over half a million hummingbirds passing through his garden in a migration period.
 
robert burgess said:
my opinion has not changed,bill oddie is probably not for your average twitcher/birder/lister etc etc.
There is probably not much he could teach alot of the people on here.
But for the average person at home who has an outside interest in wildife/birds etc etc the programmes he does are very informative.I have spoken to various people over my local rspb reserve at rainham who have only started going over there because they have watched his programmes and realised that there is wildlife outside their windows not just tower blocks and shops.
I can understand your hardened birder not being too impressed by him but in all honesty the programme is probably aimed more towards your fairweather birders or your average person on the street.
It is on mainstream tv so by that admission it is probably aimed at the masses rather than your selected birders.I mean what do some people want,no programmes and to have all the wildlife to theirselves????
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Well said Robert. I saw him in action a few months ago preparing for Autumnwatch. Whilst Kate Humble was like her TV persona Bill came across as a hardened TV Pro who definitely didn't suffer fools gladly. Being brought up on the Goodies I was surprised just how serious he was however fair play to the bloke. It was clear to see that he takes birdwatching very seriously and is passionate about promoting it to the average TV viewer. Whilst he's an easy target for the hardened birder there's very few other people around who have done as much as he has to get the general public to take an interest in their environment.
 
ghostrider said:
I like him but the Roadrunner impressions in the last episode where cringeworthy.
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Agreed. I think he still thinks he's on the Goodies.

Poor quality film speeded up running around a quarry etc= funny.

Grown up, (slightly?) rotund fella running around in a strange manner in glorious modern technicolour= not funny.

But mesmerising in a scary kinda way. And of course some of the birds are pretty cool.
 
Bill Oddie can do a very much more informative and interesting (to birdwatchers) film if he wants to. I have the Bird Images VHS tapes of "The Waders of Britain" and "The Gulls of Britain" and they are very good - loads of information, and tips from practical experience on the effects of different light, and of mud discolouring birds. That's why I originally wondered why he was giving his trip to America the treatment he was. But of course the chances of the BBC giving air time to "The Gulls of Britain" is pretty small, and I doubt if it has converted many non-birdwatchers to birdwatching.
 
mcdowella said:
Bill Oddie can do a very much more informative and interesting (to birdwatchers) film if he wants to. I have the Bird Images VHS tapes of "The Waders of Britain" and "The Gulls of Britain" and they are very good - loads of information, and tips from practical experience on the effects of different light, and of mud discolouring birds. That's why I originally wondered why he was giving his trip to America the treatment he was. But of course the chances of the BBC giving air time to "The Gulls of Britain" is pretty small, and I doubt if it has converted many non-birdwatchers to birdwatching.
Click to expand...

How very true. And, the bottom line is that he is in it to make a living whether that be flaunting his Leica optics, modelling Country Innovations clothing or behaving like a giggling little pillock in front of the camera.

He has brought a greater awareness of birdwatching/birding/twitching to the general public, and that is a good and commendable thing, but whether he has actually drawn a significant number of people into the hobby I doubt it.

I have always found his on-screen manner irritating, to say the least. I have mentioned elsewhere on another thread that I always thought that he was to The Goodies what Harry Secombe was to The Goons (two programmes that I loved) - a total waste of space. Of course, it is almost certainly an "act" and there is a completely different side to the "real Bill Oddie", but your average Joe Public pays to watch an act not a real (and possibly boring) person.

Colin
 
have met bill once and i can tell you he is far from a boring person,he seemed the same enthusiastic person he comes across on screen.Saying that he has not drawn a significant amount of people into the hobby is poppycock in my humble opinion.People like him do get people out in the open and encourage them to look at not just birds but all parts of wildlife.Granted he is no Sir David Attenborough or Sir Peter Scott but in his own way he gets people motivated.I know this for a fact as my girlfriend has joined the RSPB and become interested in Birds not because of my involvment but because she watched autumnwatch and then wanted to see all my tapes of bill,now she has started coming out with me and sometimes on her own.
He may not have bought millions of people into nature but you can guarantee that there a few thousand people at least who have benefited from his programmes.
 
His first "Birding with Bill Oddie" TV series was responsible for me becoming a birdwatcher.

Dave
 
robert burgess said:
have met bill once and i can tell you he is far from a boring person,he seemed the same enthusiastic person he comes across on screen.Saying that he has not drawn a significant amount of people into the hobby is poppycock in my humble opinion.People like him do get people out in the open and encourage them to look at not just birds but all parts of wildlife.Granted he is no Sir David Attenborough or Sir Peter Scott but in his own way he gets people motivated.I know this for a fact as my girlfriend has joined the RSPB and become interested in Birds not because of my involvment but because she watched autumnwatch and then wanted to see all my tapes of bill,now she has started coming out with me and sometimes on her own.
He may not have bought millions of people into nature but you can guarantee that there a few thousand people at least who have benefited from his programmes.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one Robert. He does not do TV programmes to appeal to serious birders (although they are still of interest to birders) but to appeal to the masses. If he converts a few thousand it is well worth while, and how many of us could hope to achieve anything like that?
 
I have always found his on-screen manner irritating, to say the least.
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Ah, like all entertainers. Well, maybe not Taj Mahal, but most of them. Taj Mahal is a singer, performer who can pretty much grab any audience.
 
Pluvius said:
.....I found the Hummingbird section amazing. How one man has over fifty years even changed the migratory habits of some hummingbirds with his feeders in his garden.Over half a million hummingbirds passing through his garden in a migration period.
Click to expand...


Amazing indeed, but I found myself wondering what would happen when that fine gentleman popped his clogs.....

I have visions of half a million himmingbirds flying around saying 'OK.Where's dinner?'

Didn't appear to be any keen young apprentices ready to take over....
 
I know the show is not aimed at birders but I do find it very irritating when he shows a short clip of an interesting bird and doesn't bother putting a name to it. For example, we get to see him settling down at a watering-hole in the desert with loads of little birds snotting about, then a nano-second close-up of a couple (was it a Dickcissel or a Lark sparrow in the background?), and that's that! And I'm sure one of his Gila Woodpeckers was a Red-shafted Flicker but we don't get the chance to find out.
Apart from that, it's not a bad progamme.
Phil
 
Ruby said:
Amazing indeed, but I found myself wondering what would happen when that fine gentleman popped his clogs.....

I have visions of half a million himmingbirds flying around saying 'OK.Where's dinner?'

Didn't appear to be any keen young apprentices ready to take over....
Click to expand...

I was wondering the exact same thing. Hopefully there is someone lined up to take over when the inevitable happens.
 
Ruby said:
Amazing indeed, but I found myself wondering what would happen when that fine gentleman popped his clogs.....

I have visions of half a million himmingbirds flying around saying 'OK.Where's dinner?'

Didn't appear to be any keen young apprentices ready to take over....
Click to expand...

this sounds really interesting; are there any online details re this chap or a youtube of the show?
 
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