My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time-A True Story about Birdwatching
by
Sean Dooley
As a self-proclaimed twitcherpart travelogue for both bird nerds and the general population follows the author as he works out what it means to be normal despite his unusually avid compulsion toward twitching.
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
August 1st 2006
by Allen & Unwin
(first published October 1st 2005)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
46)
The record for a "Big Year" in Australia was 633 birds. That was before Sean Dooley decided to spend his year breaking it. Not only did he want to break it, he wanted to annihilate it. He set himself the goal of seeing and identifying 700 birds from January 1 to December 31, 2002.
It helped that he didn't have much of a personal life at the time - no family, no significant other, no one to slow him down. No 9:00 to 5:00 job either. He was a comedy writer in real life, b...more
It helped that he didn't have much of a personal life at the time - no family, no significant other, no one to slow him down. No 9:00 to 5:00 job either. He was a comedy writer in real life, b...more
I love birds and birdwatching. I enjoyed reading about Sean Dooley's quest to become the first birder to see more than 700 birds in one year in Australia. The Big Twitch also reads like a good travel novel and gives the readers an idea of what it is like to travel throughout Australia. Dooley travels around Australia more than once from the middle of the outback to Australia's various islands. I admire his dedication and his skill as a birder. Non birders may be frustrated by the lists of all th...more
This book is a fascinating, funny, and moving account of Sean Dooley's attempt to break the record for the number of bird species seen in Australia in one year. Part travelogue, part celebration of the birds and the Country, and part love story - this was a fantastic book to read as both a birder and as someone planning a move to Australia. It is also responsible for the fact that I am now an avid lister myself - life list, year list, patch list, garden list..........
Paul Dodd
added it
A must read for all birders! Sean has a self-deprecating sense of humour that makes this book a joy to read (and re-read!)
Paul Hackett
added it
A funny, informative read of one mans quest to see as many Australian birds as possible in one year.
best entertaining book i read for a while. thanks doodley...eh dooley. :-)
Aaah, the geeky bird watcher in me comes out. I really enjoyed this book. I thought this was a fun read, even though I wasn't familiar with most of the Australian birds or locations. Reading this made me want to go out and get obsessive about my bird watching. He has a good sense of humor about his obsessive birding.
Dooley's a very funny guy and definitely has plenty of bizarre and heartwarming stories to tell about his adventure and fellow birders. Now where can I find that Zitting Cisticola again...
Top read, even if you aren't into birdwatching. Sean is a great comic writer and makes a subject which isn't mainstream easily accessable.
A fun light-hearted story of a young man spending a year birding in Australia. It is easy and fun to read.
Brilliant...I would kill to be able to do what he did.
Fun read for birders or non-birders.
Gio
added it
Sharon Kersten
added it
Joanne
marked it as to-read
Jeffrey Dannaldson
marked it as to-read
Kerry
added it
Lauren
is currently reading it
Lonnie
marked it as to-read
Amanda Markham
added it
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
