Birdwatchingwatching

Birdwatchingwatching by Alex Horne. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781905264520.

A HUMOROUS TALE OF FATHER-VERSUS-SON COMPETITIVE TWITCHING, CELEBRATING A NATIONAL OBSESSION Alex Hornes dad has always been a birder - a birdwatcher, constantly on the look-out for his next bird sighting. Alex wasnt so sure. But, determined to get to know his father better, Alex challenged him to a competitive Big from January 1st to December 31st 2006, they would each attempt to see as many species of bird as possible, governed by the basic rules of birdwatching, plus a couple of their the birds had to be wild, free and alive; they had to actually see the birds; and they could travel anywhere in the world to do it. The one who saw the most birds over the course of 365 days would be declared the winner. Along the way, Alex would try to finally understand why his dad did what he did, and perhaps even get into birdwatching himself. Following their year-long quest from Alexs first bird sighting at home to birding breaks in Romania, a stag-weekend spent twitching in Wales and a penguin-spotting trip to South Africa, this is the charming and hilarious story of a father and son, of manliness, obsessive behaviour, families and friendship. Its also the story of birdwatching told from the outsiders point of view, celebrating the eccentricities of two very different species.