The Biggest Twitch

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

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check this out The Biggest Twitch : To see more bird species in a calendar year than anyone has ever done before!

two UK birders are spending 2008 trying to beat the record for the most number of wild bird species seen in a calendar year (3662 species). As of 27 Feb they were up to 1613 species.

There's a diary on the site keeping people up to date on their progress. Unfortunately there isn't an actual itinerary posted even though the whole route is already plotted out (there's only a world map showing where they've been so far). There's no list of the species they've seen yet either, but that's understandable given that all their time is taken up with birding.
 
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I've seen a common pheasant, robins, starlings, blackbirds, Muscovy ducks, Canada geese and house sparrows. I've got a bit of catching up to do.
 
when are you going? Around August some time? You English and your backwards seasons!
 
Hehe....

Yes, we leave at the very end of July, and we get back on the 10th of August. I then have 20 hours resting etc. and then I'm off to Chester zoo for their summer school!

Great summer holiday!!!
 
I completely understand that you look forward to your Asian trip Jonathan, Borneo is amazing:D

Aim off to Papua New Guinea for 3 weeks in August, its 5 VERY long months left before I will set off! and my eagerness is nearly killing me already.
 
Do you go on your own? I would be interested in first-hand experiences of naturalist. I wanted to visit PNG on my own but was put off by insecurity.
 
Jurek7 said:
Do you go on your own? I would be interested in first-hand experiences of naturalist. I wanted to visit PNG on my own but was put off by insecurity.
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I will go together with two friends, but we havent bocked through any tour company, have organised everything ourself. We will spend most time (at least 2 weeks) in the Huon Peninsula. I have been to New Guinea plenty of times in the past and I would say I know some parts of the country very well by now. One of my friends (Henk Van der Pool from Netherlands) knows Huon Peninsula quite well as he has studied honeyeaters here for many years.

I wouldent recommend anyone that havent been to New Guinea before to organize things on your own, not becuase its dangerous but becuase you need to visit places and make your own contacts (quite many of these) if you want to travel around with some comfort and easyness, internet connection is none existent in large parts of New Guinea and its in the field you make the connections with the local people that will assist you when you feel ready to organize your own trip. Best way is to go with organized tours the first 3-4 times.

I wouldent say that New Guinea is dangerous to visit as a destenation, but you should stay away from larger cities such as Port Moresby, Lae, Jayapura etc. Criminal elements is very common and its quite common than foreign people get robbed, and even killed, and its just getting worse for each year it seems.

Foreign people living in Port Moresby for ex often give you the impression that "their city" is not that dangerous, but fact is that most of them lock themselfes up in their houses most of the days, and when the go out, they only do it in groups.

So, stay away from larger cities and you will find out that New Guinea people are among the freindliest in the world, they are very friendly, happy, helpful and loves to have visitors in their houses, there is of course exceptions even away from the larger cities but I have encounterd very few of these.

Huon Peninsula is probably among the least safe areas away from the larger cities, and probably the reason why I have never even been thinking of travelling here until now. Plenty of strange tribes still exist here and several cases of canabalism and beheadings have been documumented here in just the last few years apparently, it sure will be a true adventure. :p
 
Writhedhornbill said:
Hehe....

Yes, we leave at the very end of July, and we get back on the 10th of August. I then have 20 hours resting etc. and then I'm off to Chester zoo for their summer school!

Great summer holiday!!!
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then when you're walking round the zoo you can be like, "oh yeah, last week when I was in Borneo I was watching these Storm's storks/ orangutans/ rhinoceros hornbills, and...."
 
Hehe, yes!

We're looking for the best tour at the moment, so any recommendations would be appreciated. We have roughly eight days...
 
@sebbe67
Thank you very much! I thought about going on my own to most common places (Varirata, Kiunga/Tabubil area, Tari) and hire a guide in Kiunga/Tabubil. I appreciate that this country is worth many trips but I don't have time for long learning the country trips.

You made me really jealous talking of Huon peninsula! This is a place I wanted to visit for three endemic birds of paradise, but no commercial tour goes there. I wonder if it is possible to join your party for some time, or maybe you know people who work or visit this area multiple times in future, to contact and visit/join?
 
world listers totals for this year are here: Surfbirds.com - 2008 World Year List

and life lists: Surfbirds.com - World Life List Rankings

I've only been out a few times looking for stuff and I'm not heading out of the country till around August some time, so my year list is only on 77 species (NZ's not exactly renowned for its huge number of bird species!), although there are some nice birds on there that may be of interest to overseas people, like takahe, stitchbird, saddleback, kea, four species of albatross, and little blue penguin. Also the backside of a little spotted kiwi but that didn't make it onto the list because it wasn't a good enough sighting. Latest bird is a glossy ibis, which are common overseas but there are only one or two per year in NZ wandering over from Australia. Good non-birds for the year so far have been common dolphins and both species of tuatara.
 
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Chlidonias said:
world listers totals for this year are here: Surfbirds.com - 2008 World Year List

and life lists: Surfbirds.com - World Life List Rankings

I've only been out a few times looking for stuff and I'm not heading out of the country till around August some time, so my year list is only on 77 species (NZ's not exactly renowned for its huge number of bird species!), although there are some nice birds on there that may be of interest to overseas people, like takahe, stitchbird, saddleback, kea, four species of albatross, and little blue penguin. Also the backside of a little spotted kiwi but that didn't make it onto the list because it wasn't a good enough sighting. Latest bird is a glossy ibis, which are common overseas but there are only one or two per year in NZ wandering over from Australia. Good non-birds for the year so far have been common dolphins and both species of tuatara.
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Sounds fantastic, i reckon it'll be a while before i get any species of penguin on mine!
 
Jurek7 said:
@sebbe67
Thank you very much! I thought about going on my own to most common places (Varirata, Kiunga/Tabubil area, Tari) and hire a guide in Kiunga/Tabubil. I appreciate that this country is worth many trips but I don't have time for long learning the country trips.

You made me really jealous talking of Huon peninsula! This is a place I wanted to visit for three endemic birds of paradise, but no commercial tour goes there. I wonder if it is possible to join your party for some time, or maybe you know people who work or visit this area multiple times in future, to contact and visit/join?
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Hello,

The Varirata NP and Kiunga is good starting points for anyone interested in going to New Guinea, as is the Pacific university and Moitaka ponds, both located just outside Port Moresby and prime spots on New Guinea for rare waders and birds of prey, many first records for New Guinea has been made here.

To get to Varirata should be easy, plenty of local guides in Port Moresby and Pacific university should be able to help you out, Ekame Lodge is the most popular and well known lodge in the Kiunga area, but very expensive unfortunely, also here it is easy to hire your own guides.

Other sites which is good for beginers is Tari Gap, Madang, Alotau and Samarai Island, not best birding spots on New Guinea but easy to get to these and also easy to hire guides on yourself, and with some days in each of these spots you should get a ver decent list, especially in the Tari Gap.

Yes, the tree endemic BOPs will be our main targets and will focus most of our efforts in these, as well as other Huon endemics, reason why no tour companies goes to Huon is probably because of the difficulties to get here, its still a very remote area and sparely populated. I think some sites in the outskirts of Huon Peninsula will be included in tours in the near-future however. There is always a possibility for anyone to join us on our trip later this year.

I dont know of anyone else planning to visit this area on their own in the next coming years aim afraid.
 
a bit of an old thread (actually a really old thread!) but I thought I should probably note the results of the Biggest Twitch 2008: 4341 bird species -- 679 more species than their hoped-for target of 3662! Pretty good effort ;)

Now that the Biggest Twitch is over, this year another couple has taken up a similar-yet-different challenge with the Big Mammal Year
thebigmammalyear.com : provided by Just Host

I'll bump this thread in another year's time with the results of that one :D
 
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