The Second Worst Birdwatcher in the World

On 1 January 2002, Sean Dooley set off to see 700 species of Australian birds. His first tick was a sooty owl in Bunyip State Park, Victoria. His last bird was a little bittern in a suburban park in Brisbane. By the end of the year, he'd traveled all over the country and spotted 703 species. He recorded his birding adventures in The Big Twitch, a lovely, gently funny book that I've read three or four times.

Now, I'm the second worst birdwatcher in the world — modesty prevents me from claiming the title of worst, but, yanno — so I'm planning a much smaller project. My goal is to see quite a few birds. I'm not setting a target, but I'll be happy with 300 species. My joy will increase with each successive tick beyond 300. And if I hit 400, I might well require medical attention.

My bird list is over there → (I'm not sure where it is if you're looking at the mobile version.) It's currently at 141 species, split between Far North Queensland and Tasmania. I've planned a few small trips for the year, so let's see how this goes.

First tick of the year: brush-turkey