Typically, I do not consider myself a lister. Some people have a “thing” for lists, and I have a “thing” against them. I find listing to be tedious and pointless. But before your eyeballs fall out of your head, hear me out. I do understand its benefits for some people. Listing gets you out birding, creates friendly competition, helps you understand distribution of birds in a specific area, etc. Totally understandable if that’s your learning style. Admittedly, I do keep some lists. Like most birders, I have a life list and I keep trip/day lists. Once I even tried county listing. But ticking Mountain Chickadee in every south-east Colorado county from Baca to Kiowa lost my interest after awhile. The fact that they move out to the prairie in winter itself was more interesting to me, and I feel fine seeing a bird and taking behavioral notes rather than checking a box.
That being said, just this winter I reached life bird 500. The number had been climbing the past week with Yellow-billed Loon, Tundra Swan, and Snow Bunting. I was crossing my fingers for the number to hold out until my trip to Florida in a few weeks. A life bird is a life bird, although Wood Stork would have been a sweet 500. Wood Stork, by the way, was my first life bird in Florida. Imagine the perplexed looks of other people riding the terminal shuttle when I suddenly cried out, practically jumping out of my seat with surprise, “Oh my gosh, Wood Stork!” The real number 500 glided lackadaisically overhead during a trip to South Park. Pale with translucent wings— a somewhat disappointing Glaucous-winged Gull. Yes, that’s a great bird for Colorado.
What recent and exciting milestones has your list taken on? I cordially invite you to share. I know you want to…..
I agree with you. I kind of think too many listers are not really good birders. Some aren’t that careful about identifying a bird correctly, instead want to add a bird to their lists instead.
Hmmm, milestones, well, let me see: Last year, I set out to find as many species in a single year as I could, and to add as many lifers as I could. I ended up succeeding on both counts. I added well over 100 lifers last year. The nice part was getting my 400th AND 500th lifers both in the same year. My year list ended up at 475, which is pretty respectable considering I didn’t make it to the Rio Grande, FL or a Pelagic trip. I had been aiming for 500 in a single year, but it was… Read more »
Like Chris, I saw more species last year than I had previously seen in my life. I ended 2008 with 342 species for the year, adding almost 200 lifers. My life list at present is 370, the latest being a Mew Gull, which like the Glaucous-wing, is a very good bird for Colorado. I enjoy keeping lists (a life list, a year list, a Colorado life list, an annual Colorado list, and a few county lists), but try to curb the addictive nature of it. My real goal is to get better at identification and get more familiar with how… Read more »
I always felt listing was the best motivation to get people to take me birding. It always seemed easier to convince my parents to take me to hot spots when I could add a new bird to my list. For years I wanted to experience fall migration in the Everglades, and luckily in my senior year of High School a Northern Wheatear showed up at the peak of migration. In addition to the wheatear, I saw 15 species of warblers, 3 species of Empids, Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and a whole slough of other birds I couldn’t have seen at home. I… Read more »
I think that you are correct with respect to lists. They get you out in the field. I tried listing but, to what end–I can remember almost every bird I have seen and if I see a bird that I have seen and forgotten well then it is not an issue–I have seen a “new” bird. 🙂
Not sure what my list is at but I think my 300th life bird was a Greater (I guess they switched them back to American, oh well…) Flamingo in Rio Lagartos in Mexico.
I must admit being a lister had benefitted my everyday birding skills. For instance, at rare birds I find myself with people who can better my IDing capabalities and add to my knowledge of birs in general. Another example would be the preparation for the WSB, which boosted my auditory IDing skills incredibly. My favorite twitcher-related skill arose from rumors of great rarities being stirred up from the southern Atlantic by hurricanes and of migrant fallouts. A little research and I now understand the relation of birds to wind and storms, thus making *every* outing I go on (most of… Read more »
Being a new birder, I do not have much experience with birding or listing. I was wondering how other people manage their lists. I have found no way to keep an organised, legable list. I do agree, thought that keeping a list and going for new, rare, birds does make all birding outings more exiting.
Maia,
eBird is a great way to keep track of sightings. All of your sightings go to helping researchers, too. If you see a rare bird, you get an email from your local person asking for ID marks, etc. You can forward your list to anyone via email. And its free!