Interesting post today on Charlie’s Bird Blog about birders who keep lists. I’d imagine most birders do keep some manner of a list. I have friends who keep year lists and place lists, in addition to their life lists. I keep a yard list, and a pond list, and also a life list. I’m not fanatical about it; hence when I tried to come up with the last five additions to my life list, I was only certain of three:
1. Wilson’s Plover
2. Eurasian Collared Dove
3. Razorbill
Prior to these, I’m not sure. Probably Gray Jay and Boreal Chickadee from my early summer trips to the Adirondacks. Obviously I don’t keep very good records! What do these birds say about me as a birder?
Would any birders care to list their most recent 5 life birds?
4 thoughts on “Listing”
Comments are closed.
Here I am reading your blog and you’re over there commenting on mine.
I don’t keep a list of birds at all. But I don’t bird much beyond my yard, so I guess I can keep the list in my head.
The newest additions I can remember are a Carolina Wren last spring who fed right up to the glass door of my kitchen and the redstart that came to my new birdbath last summer.
Your blog is beautiful. I look forward to reading more.
Thank you, Mary Ann, for visiting me here!
While you may not write it down, I think a yard list, even one *in your head*, can be informative. Once I started paying attention to birds, they seemed to be everywhere. The variety that a person can see in their backyard, even in a suburban setting, is quite surprising, really.
Carolina Wrens are wonderful birds! So inquisitive and inclined to get themselves into places where they ought not to be. Have you heard them singing their “tea-kettle” song yet?
Yes, Redstarts, like many warblers, are attracted to water. I used a mister over my birdbath for a while until we put in the pond. It brought in a lot of birds during spring migration. A favorite was proably the Wilson’s warbler. The sound of the waterfall in our pond attracts a lot of birds, but mostly I enjoy seeing the robins and other everyday birds stopping by for a drink and a bath.
Hi Laura,
I have always loved birds, but it’s only been the last year that I’ve started to keep a list in my head. We spend our winters in south Florida and after day trip to the Everglades, then another one to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, I decided that it’s time to start a written list. And because of these two “field trips” I’ve been able to add some really cool birds to my list: these are probably the latest 5:
Wood stork
Roseate spoonbill
American bittern
Black-crowned night heron
Yellow-crowned night heron
Oh, let me add a 6th – American White Pelican that I saw at Don Pedro Island.
I really enjoy your blog!
Hi Susan,
I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now, but haven’t found occasion to comment, I don’t think. Thanks for finding me and adding your most recent life birds. A spoonbill or wood stork would be a nice addition to my life list! Lucky you to spend a few months of the year in sunny Florida. What terribly cold place (*grin*) do you spend the rest of the year in?