Iceberg slim
You ent sin me roit.....
my first observation,who T F still wears white socks,shocking
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BBC Twitching Documentary (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Garry Bagnell
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black kite 1964
Well-known member
Managed to get through the whole hour!! Once again the BBC have done a good job.
Mr Bagnall's ticket for using a mobile phone should arrive shortly!
Brett's shot gun is in the post, so that I he can shoot himself when he can no longer go twiching!
The "Craigs" will be visited shortly by Social Services to discuss the emotional impact of taking Mya off birding every weekend!!
As for LGRE, "Im a bit like George Michael --- Im the prime minister of birding --- " etc etc. Interesting!!!!
well done BBC. A true reflection of Uk twitching at its best and worst!!!
Mr Bagnall's ticket for using a mobile phone should arrive shortly!
Brett's shot gun is in the post, so that I he can shoot himself when he can no longer go twiching!
The "Craigs" will be visited shortly by Social Services to discuss the emotional impact of taking Mya off birding every weekend!!
As for LGRE, "Im a bit like George Michael --- Im the prime minister of birding --- " etc etc. Interesting!!!!
well done BBC. A true reflection of Uk twitching at its best and worst!!!
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I don't think the programme was necessarily pitched for a twitching or birding audience, even though we all watched.
It was to illustrate to non-birders the lengths that birders go to, what it means to birders to see/miss birds, the effort involved, the cost involved, the potential impact on home life, and the obsessive traits of birders. It achieved all those things.
I found myself wanting my non-birding colleagues to have watched it so I could say, "now do you understand why I've just flown to Cork?" If you couldn't relate to what Gary was saying about not sleeping, forgetting normality etc. then you aren't a twitcher, and that's fine. I do relate to it, but as I say I wasn't the intended audience.
Not sure what people expect - one or two of the lines might have been withdrawn I'm sure in hindsight, but a mic. and a camera were probably thrust at them when they'd done a lot of miles.
It delivered what I'm sure we all expected it to do. A bit "samey" to the one a few years back, but I'd rather it be made and shown than not.
It was to illustrate to non-birders the lengths that birders go to, what it means to birders to see/miss birds, the effort involved, the cost involved, the potential impact on home life, and the obsessive traits of birders. It achieved all those things.
I found myself wanting my non-birding colleagues to have watched it so I could say, "now do you understand why I've just flown to Cork?" If you couldn't relate to what Gary was saying about not sleeping, forgetting normality etc. then you aren't a twitcher, and that's fine. I do relate to it, but as I say I wasn't the intended audience.
Not sure what people expect - one or two of the lines might have been withdrawn I'm sure in hindsight, but a mic. and a camera were probably thrust at them when they'd done a lot of miles.
It delivered what I'm sure we all expected it to do. A bit "samey" to the one a few years back, but I'd rather it be made and shown than not.
Wendy Morris
Well-known member
I found out about it from another wildlife site and have to say that I was amazed throughout! Never having had the time or the inclination (or the money) to do anything similar myself, I found it eye-opening.
rokermartin
Well-known member
The programme was RUBBISH it will have convinced the general public even more that birders are a bunch of strange idiots.
Phil Carter
Well-known member
black kite 1964
Well-known member
Strange - most definately!! Idiots - on balance no!! RUBBISH - definately not!!!
naturistbird
Well-known member
I SO enjoyed the programme, every minute!
You couldn't have made the characters up if you'd have tried.
A fascinating glimpse of individual psychology and motivation.
I wonder what the main culprits made of themselves???
I thought the BBC gave a very sympathetic approach to the whole subject.
You couldn't have made the characters up if you'd have tried.
A fascinating glimpse of individual psychology and motivation.
I wonder what the main culprits made of themselves???
I thought the BBC gave a very sympathetic approach to the whole subject.
Chris Galvin
Well-known member
Toe-curlingly embarrassing...
But don't worry it was on BBC4 so nobody will have seen it.
Mya-Rose said you have to have both patience and good eyesight to be a good twitcher. Garry Bagnell was portrayed to have shown neither of these traits...
But don't worry it was on BBC4 so nobody will have seen it.
Mya-Rose said you have to have both patience and good eyesight to be a good twitcher. Garry Bagnell was portrayed to have shown neither of these traits...
rokermartin
Well-known member
I think Gary has come across very badly on the programme also Lee. Also the little girl looked bored at times.I think she would be more happy playing with her friends instead of going twitching every weekend.
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gazpic
Well-known member
Jaff
Registered Member
Yeah and a headful of dodgy wiring by the look of it.
I myself was somewhat 'eye-opened' even though I had a rough idea what the world of hardcore twitchers is like. In my personal view and what the programme put across to me is this, these people have no genuine interest in nature and are more concerned with one-upmanship and the need to feed their addiction just as sure as any druggie. Indeed that's exactly what I'd compare them too in the way they behave as they're searching for bigger and bigger 'highs' by ticking off birds that only increase their lists and the fact that one's they've already seen didn't seem to give them the sufficient buzz that they so obviously crave (Brett looking for the Radde's springs to mind) made this impression even stronger.
I hate with a passion this notion that birds are just 'things' for certain folk to reduce to numbers on a list and ultimately say 'Well that's another lifer'. My most hated line which for me typifies this kind of mentality is when I meet some birders who come back off holiday and simply say 'Yeah I clocked up over 400 species'. It demeans the intrinsic value that birdwatching is supposed to give us. Being out in nature, enjoying it's sights and sounds and feeling that occasional thrill when we do all come across something unusual.
I fully appreciate that for some this is what they choose to do and I'm not going to say they shouldn't do it becasue that's not my place but could the BBC please now do a programme about the rest of the birder's in this country that find this behaviour as strange and disturbing as surely as any member of the public would.
And for the record I don't blame the BBC for any wrong with the way they it was presented. The chief antagonists managed to stain the image of bird-watching up and down this country all by themselves. Because the net result of this will undoubtedly now be anyone with a pair of binos and a telescope seen by any member of the public will be a certified nutcase. I can only hope Chris is right and hardly anyone watched it!
The sniper
Well-known member
child cruelty sprang to mind for that poor little girl.
Can't say she looked too interested in the bittern yday morning either....!!
Fozzybear
Ich bin ein Vogelbeobachter
'Twitcher' is already ingrained in people's minds anyway from newspaper and tv news articles - whenever I tell someone I watch birds or they see me out with binoculars I get asked if I'm a twitcher.
I did enjoy the programme though. I don't know the reality of what it's like twitching and how accurate it was but I thought it seemed as though they were pretty even-handed and was certainly interesting to watch. The Lee bloke definitely didn't come out of it looking good though and although fair play to those that want to do that kind of thing it makes me feel even more strongly that I wouldn't want to get involved in that aspect of bird watching!
Can't believe how much travelling some are prepared to undertake on the slight possibility of seeing 'one' bird!
I did enjoy the programme though. I don't know the reality of what it's like twitching and how accurate it was but I thought it seemed as though they were pretty even-handed and was certainly interesting to watch. The Lee bloke definitely didn't come out of it looking good though and although fair play to those that want to do that kind of thing it makes me feel even more strongly that I wouldn't want to get involved in that aspect of bird watching!
Can't believe how much travelling some are prepared to undertake on the slight possibility of seeing 'one' bird!
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Rob Hutchinson
Soft Lad
Any idea where I can get to see the show? No access to i-player in Malaysia....
Chris Galvin
Well-known member
Worse was still to come on the programme after 'Cuckoo'. There was a guy sat in his under crackers in a hotel room being filmed making strange Ooh & aah noises. All under the guise that they were creating a human visual art piece and in fact he was a Song Thrush. I'd have liked to have seen that hotel managers face when they were asking for permission to film there.
The whole evening should have been entitled British Birders: A very Strange Breed
The whole evening should have been entitled British Birders: A very Strange Breed
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