Confessions of an Accidental Twitcher

A birder or birdwatcher simply enjoys observing birds in their natural environment. It’s generally a relaxed hobby. A twitcher, on the other hand, is a little more obsessive – sometimes even highly competitive – about spotting and ticking off as many species as possible.

Until recently, I would never have described myself as either.

I love photography and have always enjoyed taking photos while travelling and around home. I particularly love the Blue Wrens, Willie Wagtails and Waterhens that regularly visit my garden, but I’d never really thought of myself as a birder…

…until I arrived in Darwin.

One of my first experiences was a cruise on the Corroboree Billabong Wetlands, about an hour from Darwin. Before long I’d spotted White-bellied Sea Eagles, Comb-crested Jacanas, Brolgas, several species of Egret and the elegant Australasian Darter.

Then came my Kimberley cruising expedition aboard Ponant’s Le Soléal.

Over the following ten days I found myself constantly looking skyward, spotting

• Brahminy Kites
• Black Kites
• Pied Oystercatchers (and no, despite the name, they don’t actually eat oysters!)
• Brown Boobies
• Terns
• Pelicans
• Little Pied Cormorants
• Red-tailed Black Cockatoos
• Rainbow Pittas
• Willie Wagtails
• and an Eastern Osprey sitting proudly on its nest

One of my unexpected highlights wasn’t actually the bird itself, but the extraordinary bower of a Great Bowerbird — a remarkable structure decorated with shells, small pebbles and anything else interesting it can find. They’re particularly attracted to blue objects, although there’s not much blue to be found naturally in the Kimberley!

Expedition Partners had provided me with Martin Cohen’s excellent 101 Animals and Plants of the Kimberley Coast booklet, and before long I was enthusiastically ticking off every species I encountered.

Even then, I still considered myself little more than a casual observer who simply loved taking photographs.

Then everything changed.

I arrived in Broome and saw my very first Rainbow Bee-eater.

It was love at first sight!

After taking what I considered one of my better wildlife photographs, I suddenly found myself wanting to find another… and another… and another.

Rainbow Bee-eaters seemed to be everywhere—perched on roadside branches on the way to the Broome Bird Observatory, along the road to Willie Creek Pearl Farm, and even further north towards Cape Leveque.

My travelling companion soon became accustomed to hearing me suddenly exclaim,

“Stop! There’s a bird in that tree!”

We’d pull over whenever it was safe, and I’d happily spend the next few minutes taking photo after photo until I was convinced I’d captured the perfect shot.

I’m still not entirely sure.

What I do know is that I came home from the Northern Territory and Kimberley with a camera full of bird photos — and suddenly I’m noticing birds everywhere.

So perhaps that answers the question.

If you’re heading to the Kimberley, consider yourself warned. You may go for the waterfalls, gorges and extraordinary landscapes…

and come home a twitcher.

Wendy