The Biggest Twitch: Around the World in 4,000 Birds

Front Cover
A&C Black, Aug 4, 2010 - Nature - 320 pages

Most people dream of packing in their humdrum city life, selling up andheading off into the unknown for a life of adventure. For Ruth Millerand Alan Davies this dream became a reality, albeit with a twist; theydecided to pack in their jobs, sell their house and take on theultimate birder's challenge - to smash the world record for the numberof species seen in one calendar year.

This book is the story of their great expedition, searching for birdsfrom Ecuador to Ethiopia via Argentina, Australia and Arizona. Wefollow this birding odyssey as they rachet up the species and thestamps in their passports, sharing in amazing birding experiences suchas monkey-hunting Harpy Eagles in the Brazilian rain forest, seedsnipesin the Peruvian highlands and lekking bustards in South Africa, allleading to the ultimate question - will they break the magic 4,000?

Written in an accessible style, this book will be of great interest tobirders, readers of travel literature, and to people who simply enjoy agood adventure!

 

Contents

Foreword
7
Introduction Ruth
9
1 January 4am Arizona
13
Part One New year new world
15
Part Two African adventure
51
Part Three European springtime
95
Part Four Back across the pond
119
Part Five Europe high and low
149
Part Six Latin reprise
169
Part Seven Back to Africa
211
Part Eight End game
241
Life after The Biggest Twitch Ruth
299
Glossary
301
Copyright

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About the author (2010)

Ruth Miller and Alan Davies are self-confessed birding obsessives from North Wales. Alan is currently warden of the RSPB reserve at Conwy. His

wife Ruth is a marketing consultant, and former Head of Trading for the

RSPB. They dedicated one year of their lives to beating the birder's

world record and smashing the seemingly impossible target of 4,000

species in a single calender year.

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