birdwatching language (1 Viewer)

becky.t · Aug 19, 2003

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 · Aug 19, 2003

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

alan_rymer · Aug 19, 2003

You want concrete evidence?.

seb_seb · Aug 19, 2003

De dum shhh

pduxon · Aug 19, 2003

alan_rymer said:
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 · Aug 19, 2003

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 · Aug 20, 2003

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 · Aug 20, 2003

Andrew said:
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 · Aug 20, 2003

pduxon said:
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 · Aug 21, 2003

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

phyllosc · Aug 22, 2003

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 · Aug 22, 2003

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 · Aug 22, 2003

'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 · Aug 22, 2003

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

walwyn · Aug 22, 2003

Jizz.

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

Tony_InDevon · Aug 22, 2003

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

smeltmill · Aug 22, 2003

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 · Aug 22, 2003

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 · Aug 22, 2003

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

Damn I knew I should have said 'wildlife'.

Tony_InDevon · Aug 22, 2003

Wow thanks Michael !!

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