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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steve west" data-source="post: 1235229" data-attributes="member: 23426">COuld I be right in suggesting that the "gripping off" jargon-related debate is mainly due to linguistic differences on different sides of the Atlantic? Most active birders (birdwatchers, bird spotters, ornithologists) in the UK have no doubts as to its meaning. Coming back to the original question: I was gripped off by a non-birder friend who came with 3 of us (all birders) on a winter tour around Scotland, just for the fun of it. We clubbed together and bought a cranky third hand car and off we went! Anyway, we were in the forest in Speyside all looking for a Crested Tit, and guess who the only one who saw it was? "Is a Crested Tit a small bird with a crest?" Not a bird, but a butterfly this one: I visited my friend's farm in Devon one summer in the early 1980s. Turned out that he was in Scotland picking raspberries at the time, so I made the most of my visit by strolling around the farm. In the space of a couple of hours I saw at least 3 Clouded Yellow Butterflies, which he had never seen before in his life. Another bird one: I was in Lleida, Spain, with my first ever tour group. I slept at home one night into the tour and my wife had just driven with the mother-in-law from her village to Lleida. They both saw a huge owl (Eagle Owl) perched on a metal railing by the side of the road on the way. All you need is patience, and an extra life...Steve <a href="http://www.BirdingInSpain.com" target="_blank">http://www.BirdingInSpain.com</a></blockquote>

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