Melbourne 'tog arrested on train line

[Cage]

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/co...07-gx72d0.html

OK you Melbourne train spotters, 'fess up. C'mon, who was it?

[ricktas]

Friend of mine was one of the cops at the scene. This 'photographer' refused to get off the tracks for some time. Should be named and shamed in my opinion.

[ameerat42]

Probably took a CARPPY photo, too

[Mark L]

I refuse to accept that it was a "'tog" until we know what equipment he was using.
If it was a phone camera then he's just a shit-for-brain.
He should realise if you are going to do this you need the best possible photos.

[ApolloLXII]

Having lived here in Melbourne for a little while now and a regular user of the train system (which everybody here seems to bag but which I absolutely love and use every time I go to work), I can imagine just how much chaos this idiot caused to so many people and the disruption it created. I was unaffected by this incident (it had all cleared and lines were running smoothly by the time I left for work) but i sure would have loved to have been there and given this idiot an absolute mouthful. Having said that, the drongo could have been under the influence of some sort of drug(s) or could have been one of those thrill seeker types that likes to put their own safety in jeopardy and bugger everybody else. Death by train is all too common here in Melbourne (usually the choice when one has had enough of life and wants to end it all) and this pea brain chose the ideal spot to cause maximum disruption. As for being a photographer, I highly doubt it as he was probably an Instagram junkie looking to create his next attention grabbing image by depicting danger or whatever crap these idiots think will make them famous. These are the days of Social Media, where complete idiots can be famous and followed by morons to the tune of a thousand likes.

[bobt]

I refuse to accept that it was a "'tog" until we know what equipment he was using.
If it was a phone camera then he's just a shit-for-brain.
He should realise if you are going to do this you need the best possible photos.

Yup ... totally agree. People like that shouldn't be confused with photographers. This was just a turkey with a sensor but no sense.

[Hamster]

It may come to light that this person has mental health issues. Just speculating in a non ranty upbeat Friday kind of way (not implying that people were ranting and not implying that mental health issues are an upbeat topic). But I'll go sharpen my pitchfork in case they turn out to be a wedding photographer looking for his next "bride and groom on trainracks" location.

[blkmcs]

Didn't see anything in the article that called him a photographer, headline called him a "man" body of the article called him a "trainspotter", it could have been worse, he could have been a "twitcher".

[Hamster]

Ed Zachery. Trainspotter, wandering around tracks, police negotiating with them. Screams mental health issues to me. I'd have been certain of it had they said "twitcher"

[Cage]

Steady on there lads, or the wrath of the birding fraternity may descend upon you.

It is a well known fact that birders are in fact twitchers carrying a camera.

[Mark L]

My main interest in photography is taking photos of birds. And I'm not a bloody twitcher.
And after yesterday it seems Melbourne's rail network doesn't even need a twitcher to shut down.

[Cage]

My main interest in photography is taking photos of birds. And I'm not a bloody twitcher.
And after yesterday it seems Melbourne's rail network doesn't even need a twitcher to shut down.

Chill out Mark. I wouldn't take anything said in this thread too seriously.

[Tannin]

I dislike being called a twitcher.

It is a term used to describe individuals with one particular type of interest in birds - a rather shallow and often obsessively narrow one in my experience - which is often applied wholesale by the ill-informed to a great many people it does not apply to.

In more detail, a twitcher is a bird watcher whose primary (and sometimes only) interest is in making the longest possible list of birds he has seen. Most twitchers keep a life list, one or more state lists, year lists, backyard lists, lists of every possible description. It's a numbers game. Only one bird watcher in perhaps five or ten is a twitcher.

Some twitchers are remarkably well-rounded individuals with a deep love of and a vast knowledge of birds, bird behaviour, mammals, flora, insects - the entire natural world. Many are fairly normal people, their slightly odd hobby excepted. And some are downright loopy. An example: I once heard about a very rare and beautiful raptor species nesting in, of all places, a combination disused farm / holiday park in the NT. So I drove north for a few hundred kilometres and stayed there for three or four days, observing the mother and her young from every angle and at all times of day, watching how she fed them, and watching them learning to fly. In between, I swam in the mineral springs, explored the surrounding woodland, learned a bit about the tropical flora, saw and photographed many other birds, made friends with the owner's four-year-old daughter and helped her feed the chooks - all sorts of things. That strikes me as pretty normal, healthy stuff. One day a hired mini-bus arrived from Darwin, 4 hours drive to the north. About 14 international twitchers got out. Maybe four of them were interested in nature, the other 10 walked up, looked at the bird, got out their notebooks and went "Red Goshawk, tick", and got straight back into the bus, ready for the 4 hour drive back to Darwin. They showed no interest whatever in the bird (other than as an excuse to put one more tick on their list), no understanding of its nature or habits, no curiosity about the surrounding country or the creatures that live on it.

Now these dorks were a bit extreme, even by twitching standards. I hasten to add that there is nothing wrong with being a twitcher - if that is what floats one's boat, then the best of British luck with it. (Hell, I collect obsolete computer hard disc drives, so who am I to point the finger?) Nevertheless, you can see why those of us with broader interests usually resent being called "twitchers".

[bobt]

Well, you learn something new every day! Not necessarily something vital, but "Twitcher" is a new one on me. My daughter taught me another new term recently ... "tent pegging". Now that one was even more bizarre than twitching!! Until then I only knew it as an equestrian event. Now I know that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

[Hamster]

...many words....

Me thinks he doth protest too much.

[Tannin]

You call that "many words? Haven't read many of my posts, have you.

[The dingo]

I must be a 'twitcher'.
This fits me perfectly: "It is a term used to describe individuals with one particular type of interest in birds - a rather shallow and often obsessively narrow one . "

My narrow interest in birds is that I like dead ones I can eat.

A mate asked me to go to Sri Lanka with 40 doctors to join them in photographing birds in the jungle. I can think of little less appealing.

I do get it. Like stamp collecting, train spotting and girl watching, people become obsessed. I do wonder what its all about, though.

omeone might take the time to explain.

- - - Updated - - -

As for the bloke on the tracks, other than breaking the law and being a bit silly, I do hope he got the shot he was after.

Is he a member?

- - - Updated - - -

Well, you learn something new every day! Not necessarily something vital, but "Twitcher" is a new one on me. My daughter taught me another new term recently ... "tent pegging". Now that one was even more bizarre than twitching!! Until then I only knew it as an equestrian event. Now I know that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

'As bent as a tent peg' meant queer where I come from. Is that PC?

[Mark L]

I dislike being called a twitcher.

It is a term used to describe individuals with one particular type of interest in birds - a rather shallow and often obsessively narrow one in my experience - which is often applied wholesale by the ill-informed to a great many people it does not apply to.

Who would call you a twitcher?
And twitchers just don't care about the ill-informed masses.

I started reading The Big Twitch by Sean Dooley today. First 30 pages seem promising.
And I'm not a twitcher and I don't mind if you call me one though. Confirms ill-informed.

[Hamster]

You call that "many words? Haven't read many of my posts, have you.

[Tannin]

I started reading The Big Twitch by Sean Dooley today. First 30 pages seem promising.

Sean Dooley is an interesting one, Mark. I've met him once or twice. The first time he was very young, very keen, and struck me as a little narrow in his interests. Seeing as many birds as possible in one year seemed to be his single-minded focus. That was quite a few years ago. He seems to have matured and broadened enormously over time. (As people do.) I quite often hear him on the radio these days, fielding any and all questions from the people who ring up on zero notice, and he is very seldom lacking in his knowledge or understanding. And he does really good, practical work for Birdlife Australia. Top bloke. Let me know what you think of the book.