I don't know if this will interest the members of this forum but I am what you can call a bit of a Twitcher in the birding world. For those that don't know what that means the term Twitcher covers the type of Birdwatcher that will usually have a pager announcing the sighting of a rare bird somewhere in the country, which he (or she) will then proceed to probably drive the length of Britain to try and see it. I have attached a photo of what a message on a pager looks like (taken from a message on my pager today).
I don't chase all the time as I am usually a bit more selective. The benefits of this type of birding is
A) seeing a rare bird that under normal circumstances you wouldn't ever see.
B) Visiting new areas of Britain and finding new reserves and areas to birdwatch in.
C) meeting other birders and making new aquaintances.
Another benefit for me, and anyone else that likes to photograph birds, is the chance to get images of rare birds. Something you wouldn't have much chance of doing if you didn't chase after them.
If you have read this so far you might be interested in seeing some of the photos of these birds I have taken. Some photos are taken here in Britain and some are from abroad. I have posted a few photos in the gallery and have included those taken abroad only because they can also be found in Britain from time to time.
I have added links to those photos so if any of you are interested just click the links to see what these birds look like.
As I said earlier, I don't know what the interest will be in this subject but if there is interest I will obviously continue this thread and I will add more photos to the gallery then place links to them in this thread.
Here are the links of the photos I have so far.
Squacco Heron.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...php?i=3168&c=5
Black-Winged Stilt.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Hoopoe.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Great-Grey Shrike.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Red-Backed Shrike.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Waxwing.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Smew.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Baird's Sandpiper.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Bonaparte's Gull.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Broad-Billed Sandpiper.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Cattle Egret.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Little Crake.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Temmink's Stint.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Now for a couple of Birds that you do not find in England only in Certain parts of Scotland.
Ptarmigan.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
Crested Tit.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...&imageuser=240
That will do for now.
If you want me to add more photos and links I will be happy to do so.