Birdwatching - then and now

In 1602, Shakespeare wrote in The Merry Wives of Windsor, "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding”, which probably meant he went hunting or trapping birds, or gathering their eggs. The term ‘birding’ is still used today in some places, mainly though for the peaceful pursuit of just watching birds.

John Gould named the Gouldian Finch, Chloebia gouldiae, in honour of his wife

In 1838, John Gould and his wife Elizabeth arrived in Australia and began to document the birds of this continent – mainly Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia. Gould, who was formerly a taxidermist, ‘collected’ fresh specimens for Elizabeth to draw. According to his own accounts, Gould seldom turned down the chance to taste the flesh of his specimens.

Reed Warbler specimen - part of the Hume collection in the Natural History Museum

In 1885, British ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume, donated a collection of more than 60,000 bird skins and 20,000 bird eggs to the Natural History Museum in London. Hume’s collection was amassed while he was a civil servant on the Indian subcontinent.

In the 1950’s in the UK, the term ‘twitcher’ was used to describe a serious birdwatcher prepared to travel long distances to catch a glimpse of a rare bird. Twitchers are often dedicated list-makers. The term ‘twitcher’ has an interesting origin: a serious birdwatcher, Howard Medhurst, would arrive at a destination on the back of a friend’s motorbike and he was so cold and shivering his friends described him as twitching.

Ornithologists today are a little more commiserative.

The term ‘bird watching’, now interchangeable with ‘birdwatching’ apparently, first appeared in North America in 1901. The pursuit of birdwatching became increasingly popular as optical quality of telescopes improved and with the emergence of readily available field guides. Today, with the development of binoculars, phone cameras and apps, the average age of birdwatchers has plummeted.

Whether birding, birdwatching or twitching, observing and learning about birds is a mindful pastime, accessible to everyone. Birdwatching can be done in your own backyard, or as some do, you can fly overseas just to see birds. Birdwatching connects you to nature, lowers your stress and improves your well-being.