Twitching In The Slow Lane

Tuesday, 5 March 2024

BBC One North West broadcast 5th March 2024.

Neil Simpson: I started birdwatching in 1969. By the mid-1970s I was birding all over the UK looking for rare birds. Throughout the late-1970s & into the mid-1980s (this period also included birding trips abroad to Europe, North Africa, The Middle East, South America & Asia) I continued to twitch, but to a lesser extent in the 1990s. However, from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s I completely phased & didn't really do any birding at all. Since 2008 I've been adding one or two new UK birds a year with a couple of them being lifers. Around September 2014 I started to think about increasing my UK list past 400. There are many species I've seen abroad, but not in the UK which are regular visitors. After a bit of research I concluded I could achieve this & more with a dedicated period of twitching over a spring & an autumn. I requested a career break from work for seven months, which was granted. From 1st April until 31st October 2015 I'll be chasing anything I need! The journey continues beyond 2015...

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