Twitching, Birding and the meaning of ‘tally-hunter’
Twitching is a British term, meaning "the observation of a previously located rare bird". In North America, this is often called chasing.
The goal of twitching is to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition with one another to accumulate the longest species list. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a "twitch" or a "chase". A rare bird that stays put long enough for people to see it is called "twitchable" or "chaseable". Twitching is highly developed among birders in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Finland and Sweden. The smaller regional size of these countries make it possible to quickly travel inside their borders with relative ease. The most popular twitches in the UK have drawn large crowds, such as a group of approximately 5,000 people who came to view a Golden-winged Warbler in Kent.
In the United Kingdom, twitchers have developed their own vocabulary. For example, a twitcher who fails to see a rare bird has dipped out; if other twitchers do see the bird, he may feel gripped off. Suppression is the act of concealing news of a rare bird from other twitchers. Similar vocabularies have developed in other countries where twitching is popular.
The term ‘twitcher’ is reserved for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird
Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more readily detected and identified by ear than by eye. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity mainly for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using more formal scientific methods.
The term birdwatching was first used in 1901 while "bird" was introduced as a verb in 1918. The term "birding" was also used for the practice of "fowling" or hunting with firearms as in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602) She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding. The terms 'birding' and 'birdwatching' are today used interchangeably, although 'birding' is preferred by many since this includes the auditory component involved in spotting birds.
The term 'twitcher', sometimes misapplied as a synonym for birder, is reserved for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be "ticked" off on a "list". The usage of the term twitcher began in the 1950’s originating from a phrase used to describe the nervous behavior of Howard Medhurst, a British birdwatcher. Prior to that the term used for those who chased rarities was "pot-hunter", "tally-hunter", or "tick-hunter". The practice of travelling long distances to spot rarities was aided by the rising popularity of cars.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Dressing for the season is essential. You may find yourself lost in the hunt and nothing is more disappointing then having to stop because you’re too cold.
- A good, high powered compact set of binoculars.
- A book to track your findings and a field guide to identify what you’re looking at. Good Luck!
