First Twitch (1 Viewer)

Edward · Dec 9, 2003

Dare I admit that I saw Spotted Crake well before Water Rail? And Laughing Kookaburra and Blue-winged Kookaburra before Common Kingfisher? The list goes on, Fan-tailed Cuckoo before Common Cuckoo and I've seen White-throated Nightjar but never European Nightjar. Pretty poor for a European birder. I'm going to stop before a lynch mob with blazing torches beats down my door.

Funny thing happened this autumn. We were out birding in south-west Iceland when one of the birders in the south-east rings up and says he's got an Actitis sandpiper but he can't get good views of it and wasn't sure if it was Spotted Sandpiper or Common Sandpiper. "Let it be Spotted," I prayed, but my colleagues in the car unanimously agreed that they'd twitch it if it was Common but not Spotted, as they'd all seen Spotted Sandpiper in Iceland but never Common Sandpiper! It was never seen again so we didn't have to make the choice but I thought it a bizarre situation.

E

Jane Turner · Dec 9, 2003

There is a strong possibility I saw Great Reed Warbler before Reed warbler....

Bluetail · Dec 9, 2003

James said:
I saw Snowy Owl as my first British owl and American Bittern before our Bittern!

I saw Little Bittern before Bittern. And I've still never seen Bee-eater in this country, though I saw the Cowden Blue-cheeked. Not that I think it matters in the slightest. Now rarities are so easily available such things are quite to be expected.

Jason

Edward woodwood · Dec 9, 2003

you're all having me on right?

Blue-cheeked before 'Common' Bee eater is perfectly understandable though.

Bluetail · Dec 9, 2003

Nope. I've just checked and Bittern was my - wait for it - 361st tick! Only 8 years ago.

Jason

Edward woodwood · Dec 9, 2003

not many round your way though Jason and a hard bird at that......

Bluetail · Dec 9, 2003

Tim Allwood said:
not many round your way though Jason and a hard bird at that......

All too true, Tim. Hardly any reedbeds in Devon unfortunately. :-C Yet the second one I saw was at Swanpool in Falmouth where the reeds are hardly more than a fringe. It still managed to be damned elusive, though! Then, when it did appear, I was gobsmacked to see it perched halfway up the reeds. Until then I'd always thought of them as really heavy birds.

Jason

tf1044x · Dec 9, 2003

Ah Jason,
I remember Falmouth with affection, having seen my first Forster's Tern there 1980. I thought I had read somewhere some time ago that there had been more records of American Bittern in Cornwall than Great. Don't know if that is still true today.

Bluetail · Dec 9, 2003

Hi Trev

I wouldn't think so. I don't keep tabs, but I get the impression Bittern is more or less annual in winter now. There's one at Marazion at the moment. Maybe our Cornish contingent could comment?

Jason

sparrowbirder · Dec 10, 2003

Jason, Ive also only seen Blue cheeked in Britain, amazingly I still need Cirl Bunting,just never been bothered going for them (its a bit of a hike from here) sure ill catch up one day though!!

Kiki · Dec 10, 2003

My first twitch...CJW and I had not long been going out and I was on nights at the local hospital so hadn't seen much of him. I was due to finish my nights and he phoned to ask if I wanted to go out for the day, which I did - to another hospital to see Laughing Gull!
He has taken me to some nicer places since (Frodsham, sewage farms.....)

Edward · Dec 10, 2003

trev said:
I thought I had read somewhere some time ago that there had been more records of American Bittern in Cornwall than Great. Don't know if that is still true today.

Don't know about Cornwall but it's certainly true for Iceland with American Bittern (6 records) comfortably ahead of Great Bittern (2 records). Little and Least Bitterns are neck and neck on one record each.

E

Andrew Whitehouse · Dec 10, 2003

Like Edward I also saw Spotted Crake before Water Rail but saw my first of each in exactly the same place - from the hide on the East Bank at Cley. My favourite 'seen one before the other' from my own list is a global one rather than a British. I actually managed to see Caucasian Black Grouse about three years before my first Black Grouse.

Michael Frankis · Dec 10, 2003

Fifebirder said:
My favourite 'seen one before the other' from my own list is a global one rather than a British. I actually managed to see Caucasian Black Grouse about three years before my first Black Grouse.

Hi Fifey,

I got Black-necked Grebe before Little Grebe, Black Woodpecker before Green Woodpecker, and Thrush Nightingale before Rufous Nightingale (in Denmark, in each case)

Michael

sparrowbirder · Dec 10, 2003

Michael, Rufous nightingale is that a new species then!!

Michael Frankis · Dec 10, 2003

sparrowbirder said:
Michael, Rufous nightingale is that a new species then!!

Hi Andy,

Rufous Nightingale is the BOU/BB/etc precise name for Nightingale, a bit like Barn Swallow for Swallow, and so on, to distinguish it from the generic use of the name.

Michael

Gerry Hooper · Dec 10, 2003

I'm not really a twitcher, honest,
so this doesn't apply to me.
Waxwings in Surrey near the College I was at-'88 was the first time I went anywhere to see anything specific.
Great Spotted Cuckoo and Elegant tern since then, only a few miles away so I don't know if that counts as a twitch or not.
I did find a Great Grey Shrike on Dartmoor in August years ago but didn't understand the significance of it at the time so didn't tell anybody.That's not a twitch either is it?

sparrowbirder · Dec 10, 2003

Oh yes,ive heard about all these name changes,never use em though!

Jane Turner · Dec 11, 2003

I saw Green Heron before Purple heron...mind you I still havent seen Purple and I refuse to go and see someone elses! I think if there is a Cheshire one I might carck!

Lawman · Mar 12, 2004

Killdeer, Eyebrook Res 1974 or 75, can't remember, although we knew the White-tailed Plover was in the UK, but didn't know whereabouts, shortly earlier. We phoned Billy Bishop at home, but as usual he was uncooperative.

First Twitch (1 Viewer)

Umimmak

Well-known member

Senior Moment

Member

Senior Moment

Member

Senior Moment

Well-known member

Senior Moment

Well-known member

Well-known member

Umimmak

Professor of Listening

conehead

Well-known member

conehead

Certified User

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread