What creatures do "twitchers" follow with special interest?

Answer 1

Birds.

Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds (the science proper is termed ornithology). The term "birding" is of American origin; "birdwatching" is the more commonly used word in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"Twitching" is a British term used to mean "the pursuit of a previously-located rare bird." In North America it is more often called "chasing", though the British usage is starting to catch on in N. Am., especially among younger birders. The British term is said to come from the frenzy that descends on some when they receive news of a rare bird. The term may derive from one of its first proponents, who used to arrive on his motorbike in freezing weather in the early 1960s, still "twitching" from the cold. The end goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition with one another to accumulate the biggest species lists. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a "twitch" or a "chase". A rare bird that stays put long enough for people to come see it is called "twitchable" or "chaseable".

Twitching is probably most highly developed in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Ireland because their small sizes make it possible to travel within their borders quickly with relative ease. The most popular twitches in the UK have drawn crowds of up to 5,000 people at any one time (Golden-Winged Warbler in Kent). Twitching is also highly popular in Finland and Sweden. In the United Kingdom there exists a particular twitchers' vocabulary which is surprisingly well-developed and potentially confusing for the uninitiated. In the UK for example, "dipping" is the act of missing the rare bird you tried to see, "gripped off" is how you feel if other twitchers see the bird but you didn't, "supression" is the act of concealing news of a rare bird from twitchers, and a "dude" is someone who doesn't know much about rare birds at least. Similar vocabularies have developed in all countries where twitching is popular. Twitchers often have mobile phones and (especially in Europe) pagers in order to keep constantly informed of rare bird sightings and weather. The latter is important, since the right winds can lead to drift migration from the east or "Yankees" caught up in the tail end of hurricanes from the west.


Some birdwatchers are keen rarity seekers and will travel long distances to see a new species to add to one of their "lists", e.g., life list, national list, state list, county list, etc. These fanatical birders are commonly known by the light-hearted slang term twitchers, particularly in the United Kingdom (though non-birders often mistakenly use twitcher as a synonym for birder or birdwatcher).

Answer 2

"Twitchers" follow rare birds (such as robins and many others) with special interest.

Llight-hearted slang term Twitchers is a common term use( particularly in the United Kingdom) to refer to fanatical birders or birdwatchers who are keen rarity seekers and will travel long distances to see a new species to add to one of their "lists", e.g., life list, national list, state list, county list, etc. of birds. Non-birders often mistakenly use twitcher as a synonym for birder or birdwatcher.

A whole subculture of the twitcher, has grown up around rare birds appearances. There are a few thousand twitchers in Britain. Alerted by pagers or e-mail, they will travel long distances to see a rare bird. Like all successful subcultures, twitching has its own rules, language and demi-gods. A “dip” is a failed “twitch”, meaning that the bird flew off before the twitcher arrived, preventing him from “ticking”, or recording, it. A UTV (untickable view) refers to a sighting too fleeting or hazy to be counted. “Suppression”, which is when news of a rare bird's arrival is kept quiet until after it has left, is a sin. Those who dedicate themselves to twitching can hope to join the 400 Club, whose members have all seen at least that number of species in Britain and Ireland.

The reasons why twitching appeals to white British males (there are few female or ethnic-minority twitchers) are not clear. Popular explanations include the Protestant work ethic (people feel guilty about lying around doing nothing, and so fill their leisure time with pseudo-useful things), Freudian psychology (a repressed male sexual urge leads to compulsive behaviour) and neuro psychology (type-S brains, more common among men, like making lists and cataloguing things; type-E brains, more common among women, don't). If the Freudians are right, perhaps twitching is just trainspotting for the post-industrial age.

Among the twitchers in Australia, they hold a spring racing carnival - the "Twitchathon", a fiercely competitive annual event involving teams racing around the state trying to "twitch" (identify through sight or sound) as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Twitchathon is an event which raises money for ornithology research.

>>TMLeaf Fan made a quick move and there is no need for me to complete seeking more resources. I will just rather think of being a birdwatcher in this hour.♥

Answer 3

Birds, I believe..."twitchers" is slang for birdwatchers, if I'm not mistaken.

Answer 4

birds

Answer 5

birds

Answer 6

rare birds.

Answer 7

mice