Twitching by numbers: A birder's account of his hectic life as he chases rare species across Britain and Ireland

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No doubt some twitchers who started birdwatching long after me will have seen more different birds than myself and of course I’ve noticed the boasting by some and it’s not just me that’s noticed. The book details what happens during my twitch, credits finder and categorises each rarity (1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year, 10-year, 20-year and lifetime).

He talks about things that people might not see as important and makes a point of what he thinks is important. They are mostly very readable and highly worthy in their own ways, but there are so many of them that a certain staleness has set in. Any author who deviates from what is considered decorous and appropriate enjoys no licence - he (or she) risks being singled out and pilloried with opprobrium.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Driving an unnecessarily large and heavier car to keep up with the Jones’s isn’t just an added burden re inflated air pollution it means any accident involving them will be more serious than it would have been – especially for cyclists and pedestrians and obviously children – a bad situation being made even worse. If you ever wanted to understand what twitching is, then this detailed account would be a good place to start. Somehow in that quarter-of-a-century, he has managed to catch up with more than 550 bird species in Britain and Ireland while simultaneously holding down a happy family life, a full-time job in finance with a series of bluechip employers plus a range of sporting interests including playing chess (to county standard) and darts, not to mention following the fortunes of Arsenal FC. And who cares that Garry Bagnell has seen 553 bird species in Britain and Ireland (which puts him way behind Steve Gantlett on an estimated 590 species)? Found this blog from the year Leighton had a big anniversary year And this blog shows how you had to apply for permits.

Perhaps he ought to publish two editions - the revised sanitised version and the original, the latter to contain a warning on the cover that some of its content may cause offence to certain readers. Not deeply, but I am certainly interested in this book because it is a very clear description of the fieldsport of twitching from the viewpoint of a keen exponent. Encountering rare birds is amazing, I’ll never forget coming across a grounded little auk in a public park and if I ever look out at my mum’s bird table and see a rose coloured starling I’d probably be at serious risk of cardiac arrest from excitement. The author has a lot of anger in him and some people might find it offensive, but I thought it was great.

How refreshing, therefore, to come across Twitching By Numbers - a birder's account of his hectic life as he chases rare species across Britain and Ireland.He comes across as a laddish character with flaws (we all have flaws) and perhaps his openness was what got him criticism for some of his remarks, and perhaps that criticism was well deserved. It would still be possible to be offended by some parts of this book as rare birds are, one could say, objectified as mere numbers to be added to the author’s list, and the carbon emissions from chasing around these isles are pretty high and yes, there are some comments on some (unnamed) womens’ appearance. Innuendo and/or explicit images were also a mainstay of the Carry On and Confessions of movies that were popular in the 1980s and before.