Are you a twitcher?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381741)
Rockingham, Australia
June 8, 2026 12:41am CST
Twitchers are those who like watching birds. West Australian twitchers, and others, are all a-flutter because a black-headed gull has taken up residence in Geraldton with a number of silver seagulls.
The black-headed gulls are common in Europe and Asia and some migrate to southern Asia to breed. It’s rarely seen in Australia and this is only the second one to be seen in our state. They think it might have been blown off course in a storm.
It’s a bit of a drawcard at the moment and has learnt to steal hot chips from beach-goers and generally fit in with the local scene.
The image is from Wikimedia and was taken by Alexis Lours.
17 people like this
18 responses
@teamfreak16 (43567)
• Denver, Colorado
14h
@JudyEv - It's a bird they can check off their lists without having to travel to another country. I read a book called To See Every Bird on Earth by Dan Koeppel. It's about his dad, but also about bird watching in general. Those people are serious!
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
53m
I am not officially a "twitcher" because I do not actively go searching for birds to watch. If they come around I do watch them. This is a beautiful bird.
@garymarsh6 (23979)
• United Kingdom
16h
That would be a typical pesky seagull. No chips are safe if you eat at the seaside in fact they can be a real nuisance. Not forgetting to mention when the drop one all over your car! The smell is awful & it can damage the paintwork!
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
10h
They seem to clever birds. Never have seen black headed ones
@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
2h
I am a definite twitcher. Gulls are seen as pests in some areas here in the US. I enjoy seeing Canadian geese in great packs going over the apartment in the fall. We have ducks and geese in our local parks. No real sitings of rare birds around here. I used to see many different ones when I rode my mountain bike on the green belt here. That's been awhile back now.
@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
10h
I was thinking a whole different thing. I was thinking about very nervous type people who are never still 
@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3h
Oh, yes always enjoyed the parks in Latvia full of ducks, That is a wonderful looking bird,
@Traceyjayne (11252)
• United Kingdom
2h
I am not a twitcher as such …..but I do love watching birds the garden ……im not a hiding in the bushes with binoculars sort of person. lol x
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
15h
I like looking at the different birds that appear in our yard but I don't go out of my way to watch or identify them.
@JordanLader (7386)
• Sparta, Tennessee
14h
I can't say that I am but I don't mind seeing them while I'm out or reading interesting facts every so often. Especially if they're birds you don't get to see often.
I like to watch birds flying or just simply resting. I like to watched their every movement.
I haven't spotted like that here in our country. That's a pretty bird, seems like it wear a masks. Lol!