Editing Birdwatching (section)

==Famous birdwatchers==
{{See also|List of birdwatchers}}
<!--This list is for people famous for birding, not otherwise famous; it is alphabetical-->
There are about 10,000 species of bird and only a small number of people have seen more than 7,000. Many birdwatchers have spent their entire lives trying to see all the bird species of the world.<ref>{{cite book |isbn=978-1-4193-3299-9 |last=Koeppel |first=Dan |year=2005 |publisher=Hudson Street Publisher |title=To See Every Bird on Earth|oclc=68757783|title-link=To See Every Bird on Earth}}</ref> The first person who started this is said to be [[Stuart Keith]].<ref>Moss 2004:261</ref>

Birders have been known to go to great lengths and some have lost their lives in the process. [[Phoebe Snetsinger]] spent her family inheritance travelling to various parts of the world while suffering from a malignant [[melanoma]], surviving an attack and rape in New Guinea before dying in a road accident in [[Madagascar]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Birding on Borrowed Time|first=Phoebe |last=Snetsinger|publisher=American Birding Association|year=2003|isbn=978-1-878788-41-2}}</ref> She saw as many as 8,400 species. The birdwatcher [[David Hunt (ornithologist)|David Hunt]] who was leading a bird tour in [[Corbett National Park]] was killed by a tiger in February 1985.<ref>{{cite book|title=Through the Tiger's Eyes: A Chronicle of India's Wildlife |first1=Stanley |last1=Breeden |first2=Belinda |last2=Wright|publisher=Ten Speed Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-89815-847-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/throughtigerseye0000bree/page/173 173]|url=https://archive.org/details/throughtigerseye0000bree/page/173}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Confessions of a Scilly Birdman |first=David |last=Hunt|publisher=Croom Helm|isbn=978-0-7099-3724-1|oclc=12080015|year=1985}}</ref> In 1971, [[Theodore A. Parker III|Ted Parker]] (who later died in an air crash in Ecuador) travelled around North America and saw 626 species.<ref>Moss 2004:242</ref> This record was beaten by [[Kenn Kaufman]] in 1973 who travelled 69,000 miles and saw 671 species and spent less than a thousand dollars.<ref>Moss 2004:240–241</ref>

In 2012, [[Tom Gullick]], an Englishman who lives in Spain, became the first birdwatcher to log over 9,000 species.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Michael|title=World's greatest birdwatcher sets a new record|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/worlds-greatest-birdwatcher-sets-a-new-record--then-hangs-up-his-binoculars-8210960.html|access-date=16 October 2012|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=15 October 2012}}</ref> In 2008, two British birders, Alan Davies and Ruth Miller, gave up their jobs, sold their home and put everything they owned into a year-long global birdwatching adventure about which they a wrote a book called ''The Biggest Twitch''. They logged their 4,341st species on 31 December 2008, in Ecuador.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Biggest Twitch: Around the World in 4,000 Birds|first1=Alan |last1=Davies |first2=Ruth |last2=Miller |publisher=A & C Black|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4081-2387-4 |page=298}}</ref> [[Noah Strycker]] recorded 6,042 species during 2015, overtaking Davies and Miller.<ref>{{cite book|title=Birding without Borders|first=Noah |last=Strycker |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2017|isbn=978-0-544-55814-4 |page=255}}</ref> In 2016, Arjan Dwarshuis became the world-record holder for most species seen during the span of one year, logging 6,852 bird species in 40 countries.<ref>{{cite book|title=The (Big) Year That Flew By|first=Arjan |last=Dwarshuis |publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|year=2023|isbn=978-1-64502-191-9 |page=228}}</ref>

In early February 2024, [[Peter Kaestner]] became the first birder to log over 10,000 species, a record surrounded by much controversy as he was initially claimed to be beaten by Jason Mann who later conceded defeat.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://explorersweb.com/birding-controversy-two-birders-claim-10000-species-record-on-the-same-day/ |title=Birding Controversy: Two Birders Claim 10,000 Species Record on the Same Day |first=Martin |last=Walsh |date=27 March 2024 |website= |publisher=ExplorersWeb |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref>

Birdwatching literature, field guides, and television programs have been popularized by birders such as [[Pete Dunne (author)|Pete Dunne]] and [[Bill Oddie]].