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Twitching by numbers: A birder's account of his hectic life as he chases rare species across Britain and Ireland
REVISED EDITION
There are 640 different bird species that been recorded in a wild state in Britain and Ireland. I've categorised these species into rarity value and my book describes the adventures of seeing 218 of them. 57 of these are so rare that it would take anywhere from 10 years to eternity to repeat.
My main claim to fame during the story was getting selected for a BBC documentary called " A very British Obsession"
I'm blown away with how popular my book is and I've had over 50 people sending me private/public messages of how much they have enjoyed the book so far. Here are some of public messages.
Merganser "I enjoyed this fast-paced and engaging romp through his years of birding by author Garry Bagnell
From the first page, I found it entertaining, authoritative and refreshingly detailed.
He hasn’t wasted a second of his life because he is also an authority on aircraft and a county standard chess player
Hats off to him, too, for self-publishing (and marketing) the book at his own expense rather than hawking it around mainstream publishers.The icing on the cake is that he is also a talented artist whose delicate and charismatic illustrations (notably the exquisite ovenbird on the front cover) enhance the book no end".
Peter Allard Just read the book, from hard birding to personnel life, quite exceptional. Thoroughly enjoyed every page!!
David "Essential read for anyone interested in the British & Irish twitching scene". I enjoyed every page, not just the ones that mentioned the twitches I'd been on, but also the ones I could only dream of going on. I've met Garry several times in the field and always found him very friendly. My name even got a mention in this book which was a complete surprise as I wouldn't have even recognised Garry at the time (before the BBC film). OK, this book has a few typos, but who cares, it just adds to the charm.
Peter Just finished reading. This book provides a fascinating detailed insight into the life of one the UK's top Twitchers covering the years from 1999 upto the present date covering over 200 twitches over this period and the stories behind each one. The passion that Garry has for his love of his family and twitching are second to none. It also contains some fantastic illustrations all done by the author. An easy reading style that is hard to put down. A top read for anyone interestedin birds , and will certainly help to motivate aspiring list keepers. Fantastic.
Birdspotter This author has written a brutally honest and in-depth account of his life and hobby. This version, dubbed the '18+ edition' in some quarters, is compulsive reading from the start.
I'd rather a little more detail on the birds over the costings of each trip.
Fundamentally this is a book about the hero in us all .
Alan Stewart The best book about Twitching in Britain I have ever read.
Garry's description of every Twitch he has done in the last 24 years and his illustrations of the best rare birds
he has seen are excellent.
Every Birder & Twitcher in Britain should buy a copy of this Book.
Really pleased to get a review form one of the most influential individuals in the birding world. Here is an extract of what Mark Avery wrote
There are 640 different bird species that been recorded in a wild state in Britain and Ireland. I've categorised these species into rarity value and my book describes the adventures of seeing 218 of them. 57 of these are so rare that it would take anywhere from 10 years to eternity to repeat.
My main claim to fame during the story was getting selected for a BBC documentary called " A very British Obsession"
I'm blown away with how popular my book is and I've had over 50 people sending me private/public messages of how much they have enjoyed the book so far. Here are some of public messages.
Merganser "I enjoyed this fast-paced and engaging romp through his years of birding by author Garry Bagnell
From the first page, I found it entertaining, authoritative and refreshingly detailed.
He hasn’t wasted a second of his life because he is also an authority on aircraft and a county standard chess player
Hats off to him, too, for self-publishing (and marketing) the book at his own expense rather than hawking it around mainstream publishers.The icing on the cake is that he is also a talented artist whose delicate and charismatic illustrations (notably the exquisite ovenbird on the front cover) enhance the book no end".
Peter Allard Just read the book, from hard birding to personnel life, quite exceptional. Thoroughly enjoyed every page!!
David "Essential read for anyone interested in the British & Irish twitching scene". I enjoyed every page, not just the ones that mentioned the twitches I'd been on, but also the ones I could only dream of going on. I've met Garry several times in the field and always found him very friendly. My name even got a mention in this book which was a complete surprise as I wouldn't have even recognised Garry at the time (before the BBC film). OK, this book has a few typos, but who cares, it just adds to the charm.
Peter Just finished reading. This book provides a fascinating detailed insight into the life of one the UK's top Twitchers covering the years from 1999 upto the present date covering over 200 twitches over this period and the stories behind each one. The passion that Garry has for his love of his family and twitching are second to none. It also contains some fantastic illustrations all done by the author. An easy reading style that is hard to put down. A top read for anyone interestedin birds , and will certainly help to motivate aspiring list keepers. Fantastic.
Birdspotter This author has written a brutally honest and in-depth account of his life and hobby. This version, dubbed the '18+ edition' in some quarters, is compulsive reading from the start.
I'd rather a little more detail on the birds over the costings of each trip.
Fundamentally this is a book about the hero in us all .
Alan Stewart The best book about Twitching in Britain I have ever read.
Garry's description of every Twitch he has done in the last 24 years and his illustrations of the best rare birds
he has seen are excellent.
Every Birder & Twitcher in Britain should buy a copy of this Book.
Really pleased to get a review form one of the most influential individuals in the birding world. Here is an extract of what Mark Avery wrote
264 pages, Paperback
Published January 4, 2023
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