Birders

by Mark Cocker

Since 1972 Mark Cocker has been a member of a community of obsessional people who sacrifice most of their spare time, a good deal of money, sometimes their chances of a family, even occasionally their lives, to watch birds. Birders is the story of this community, of its characters, its rules, its equipment and its adventures - many of which are hilariously funny. Birders is also a work of love - the story of what birds can do to the human heart.

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, Animals, Ornithology, Science

228 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2001

Reviews

[Brian Robbins · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some snippets in the book that were of interest, but it was very much a book for those inside the charmed circle of the twitching fraternity, who convert the Victorian and Edwardian obsession with shooting and stuffing rare birds, into hunting for them with binoculars, scope & camera.

Made me realise the gulf between my kind of bird watching (or is that bird-watching?). Found myself thinking is that really of interest at many points in the book.

haqve now read 4 books by Mark Cocker. Birds Britanica & Crow Country were excellent. This and "Loneliness & Time", were much less so. Frankly I got bored with them on a number of occasions.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I wasn't sure about it at first, by the end, I was quite glad I had picked up this book. Written by a British twitcher rather than a US birder, there are still plenty of similarities. Lots of tales, that after repetition, take on a scope beyond the original version. But you have a few laughs, and try not to take yourself too seriously. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

One of my favorite quotes from the book which clarifies how binoculars work, "Anything within the orbit of those eight degrees is magnified and enhanced, while everything else - job, relationship, money, sex - is consigned to the aura of darkness around you."

[Mike Sumner · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a keen birder I thoroughly enjoyed BIRDERS: TALES OF A TRIBE even though it was published 13 years ago. Cocker's anecdotal approach to what makes a "twitcher" is perfect, some extremely funny. Above all BIRDERS is the story of a community, of its characters (many of those mentioned now dead), its rules, its equipment (this section actually prompted me to buy some Alwych notebooks) and its adventures. A wonderful examination of what makes birders tick.

[Alastair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will lay my cards on the table and say that I am not a birder, however, I don't think that matters. If you have an interest in seeing how people "tick" you will find this book fascinating as it is more focused upon the people - the birders and how they used to flock around the country after teh latest rarity. I say used to as the age of Twitter and Facebook has kind of put pay to the phone in the local hangout or information picked up on the grapevine.

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives some insight into the life of birders, like the importance of notebooks and numbers for example. However, for non-birders, the book gets bogged down in fairly dry stories about where and when who saw what rare bird. I would only reccommend this book to people who are birders themselves.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's set in Britain and it's a series of stories about birders and birding. The birders are serious. The birding is funny. As an American I found it cross-culturally interesting, and as a birder myself I found it educational.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ‘tribe’ is actually Cocker’s close friends and associates in England. It isn’t about birders in general, but about his tribe of local birders. Chatty, discursive, occasionally interesting -- didn’t finish it.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a reading course (not a birder/birdwatcher; I am studying them). It was a dry read and only somewhat informative. Certainly would not have read for leisure.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to read this book for a long time and recently succumbed to, shock horror, paying more than the library reservation fee for it, the Derbyshire county library system being disinclined to release their copy from their Local Studies Reference. How odd, I thought but it turns out that Mark Cocker grew up in and around Chapel-en-le-Frith and that was where he first developed an interest in birds. And this book is much more autobiography than I had thought it would be. None the worse for that at all.

This makes an excellent companion to Bill Oddie's Little Black Book, which is much more upfront in explaining birding jargon such as dipping and stringing. I am very much in the 'bad birdwatcher' school with no interest in rarities (I drove past the spot where the Dusky Thrush showed up this last Winter many times and was only interested in seeing the phalanx of twitchers, but sulked at never seeing waxwing this season) This is mostly a book about, if not twitchers then people who have at least gone through twitching phases in their lives. He talks about 'value' in the birding community, and explains that this is something akin to the Irish 'craic' - and shows fabulously well what this means for this truly is a book of 'tales of a tribe' - lots of daft (and occasionally tragic) stories about the lengths people go to in pursuit of a tick. There are some fascinating tales - I was particularly interested in the mini-invasion of the Shetlands by birders seeking oil boom related employment to fund their travels. The book came out in 2001 and a lot has changed even since then but Cocker is deeply nostalgic for past birding times, past even his own birding youth without (quite) straying too far into "it was all better then" territory.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for birders, but I am guessing, unlike (as an example) A Big Year, there will be limited interest outside the community.

For that, I enjoyed it quite a bit. My view as an American birder (and one much less accomplished than the author is in the UK, or for that matter, worldwide) is definitely not at a high enough level to gain access to the kinds of stories Cocker shares with us, and most were very interesting, each in their own way. Definitely worth reading, if you are a birder.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I wish I had read this book before- so informative and so interestingly written. It is already on loan to a friend as I had been enthusing about it. It didn’t take long to read but my copy was borrowed so it was read in two parts!!

[Jenny Dohner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get through this book. I enjoy birds, but have learned from Mark Cocker that I am probably just a robin-stroker. I'm not a birder. This book is probably a 4 star (at least) read for birders. Cocker is fun/funny. His book is well written.

[Josh Friers · Rating 3 out of 5]

All these birder books are all the same.

[Deborah J. Kainauskas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly about birding in Great Britain, but some Global insights well. Interesting read for a birder

[Lauren Carter · Rating 1 out of 5]

If your tribe is all your friends in England sure...

[Roger Morgan-Grenville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. So full of recognisable wisdom and humour.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun, but I sense is more enjoyable because I "go birding." It is fun and relatable primarily for that reason, and I sense it is not just tales of a tribe, but tales for a tribe.

[Kristal Stidham]

A British man's birding memoir, complete with evocative stories of Great Britain's great birders and bird sightings. In the process, he indirectly teaches a how-to, the rules, etiquette and lingo of the sport. It also got close to answering my nagging question: "Why are all great birders men?"



I do think you would have to be involved in bird watching, at least at the hobby level, to enjoy this book. Since I do like to observe and identify birds on a daily basis, I find it interesting to see how far some people have gone to see what so many others take for granted. I'm just fascinated by these competitive listers -- knowing that I'll never have the time, money, or gumption to be one of them.

[Charlotte Beauvoisin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Very well written, nice pace.
“You don’t have to be a birder to enjoy this book” but it helps... or you need to hang out with a few.
Great introduction to what some obsessives do with their time. I love and appreciate them a whole lot more now.

[Keith Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a birder, this book is quite interesting to read with some truly amazing stories. It was a bit tedious in a few places as it is an English book and their language is a wee bit different than ours, but all in all quite enjoyable.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look into the world of birds and birding from the motherland of birding. I have a hero I will never forget in this book...Tragopan Pheasant is worth dying for.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book of my dad's while visiting him in Florida. We're both members of the tribe and some of our favorite times are birding together or talking birds together.

[Helen Farrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to me as a birder. Nice to hear of experiences in familiar places.

[Louise Davy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding account of birders and mark's own development as a birder pre-GPS and mobile 'phones. Some laugh-out-loud passages.