|
 EVERY YEAR across Australia hundreds of passionate and some fanatical birders race around the Australian bush trying to win a unique sporting event called a Twitchathon. As a race it can be fiercely competitive, not just in terms of the birds seen, but also in terms of the funds that are raised for conservation.
What is a Twitchathon? Put simply, a twitchathon is like a walkathon, but instead of recording kilometres participant's record bird species. It involves teams of birders racing around their respective State trying to twitch (identify through sight or sound) as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. The race is usually run annually as a fund-raising event organised by Birds Australia's regional groups.
Why participate in a Twitchathon?The rewards of doing a twitchathon are many. Foremost you go birding! What could be better than that? You get to go birding in spring even better! Importantly, each year participants raise valuable sponsorship for environmental conservation and education. Funds in Victoria have been recently been donated to the Birds Australia Victoria Research Grant, an award of excellence for doctoral students studying ornithology.
2007 Victorian Twitchathon Results
 Winners of the 2007 BA Victoria Twitchathon
The 24 Hour Race was won by the Seven Year Twitchers while the 8 Hour Champagne Race was won by Robin Rednecks. Well done both teams.
Birds Australia appreciates your fantastic contribution to raising awareness about birds and their conservation. Congratulations to everyone for such a fantastic turnout.
This year's race featured 3 new teams and 2 country teams. Well done! It was also great to catch up with a number of teams during the race. Everyone seemed tired but in fantastic spirits. (If there was an award for the 'best spirited team' it must surely go to the Common Loudmouths; when I saw them they were having a ball!)
Best Bird: There were some excellent birds recorded during the race, such as Black Honeyeater, Orange Chat, Australian Pratincole and Ruff. In the end the best bird award went to Masked Owl, recorded by the Twitching BigEyes, an excellent bird, well done.
Biggest Dip: The biggest dip award was much harder to judge. Dips included Spotted Pardalote, Dusky Moorhen, Australian White Ibis and White-browed Scrubwren. After some deliberation it was decided it would go to Silvereye. Nice dip for the Stirling's from Bendigo.
THANKS to the Australian Birdfair for supplying the major prize: 2 days accommodation in Leeton with dinner and free access to the Australian Birdfair. This was awarded to the Robin Rednecks for an excellent effort in the 8 hour race. Thanks also to Andrew Isles Natural History Books for supplying other prizes. Thanks also Australian Geographic - a twitchathon article will be coming to your local newsagent soon.
Finally I'd like to personally thank my team-mates Greg and Fiona for some excellent birding and for being excellent company.
Tim Dolby
Twitchathon Coordinator
Past Twitchathons
 Twitchathon 2006
Twitchathon 2005 story as it appeared in Victorian Naturalist (474kb)
Twitchathon 2004
Full list of all Victorian Twitchathon Champions
|
|
About BA 
