Cover of Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time: A True Story about Birdwatching

Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time: A True Story about Birdwatching

by Sean Dooley · 2005

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One man's quest to realise a boyhood dream and break a national record.

Sean Dooley seems like a well adjusted, functioning member of society but beneath the respectable veneer he harbours a dark secret. He is a hard-core birdwatcher (aka twitcher').

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Sean takes a year off to try to break the Australian twitching record - he has to see more than 700 birds in twelve months. Travelling the length and breadth of Australia, he stops at nothing in search of this birdwatching Holy Grail, blowing his inheritance, his career prospects and any chance he has of finding a girlfriend.

Part confessional, part travelogue, this is a true story about obsession. It's about seeking the meaning of life, trying to work out what normal' is, and searching for the elusive Grey Falcon (the bird, not the car). Sean's story of how he followed his childhood dream of becoming a national champion is both inspiring and ridiculous. Could this be the most pathetic great achievement in Australian history?

Subject
traveltravelMore like thisLess of thisbiographybiographyMore like thisLess of thissciencescienceMore like thisLess of this
Themes
birdsbirdsMore like thisLess of thisnaturenatureMore like thisLess of thisanimalsanimalsMore like thisLess of this
Setting
AustraliaAustraliaMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 320 pages

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Liked Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time: A True Story about Birdwatching? Here’s where I’d start.

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“If you want more of the same (travel about birds), start with these.”

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“If it was the birds that hooked you, try one of these.”

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  2. To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifetime Obsession Dan Koeppel · 2005
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“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

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