Bird Life List - Birdwatchers Keeping A Record

[Staff]

Bird Life List - Birdwatchers Keeping A Record
Author: Rick Chapo

Bird Life List - Keeping A Record
excerpt from above:

If you're a birder, you want to keep a list of sightings when you bird watch. Your life lists should be kept in a bird watching journal.

A bird life list is a record of the species of birds you've sighted over time. Typically, the list is kept in a journal. Each entry notes the bird species, the date, location and any notes you want to add.

Depending on your particular bird watching exploits, you can keep one global list or separate lists as you see fit...

[Staff]

The Life List
Jim Conrad

The Life List
excerpt from above:

Most serious birders compile a Life List. It's a list of all the bird species they've identified with absolute certainty during their whole lifetime of serious birding. Being "serious" implies knowing about look-alike species and subspecies, the various plumage states, and having a systematic-enough mind to not be sloppy and haphazard when it comes to making the lists.
Life Lists are extremely important to many birders. Wherever particularly interesting birds congregate, you can bet that birders will be there "searching for the rare ones" to add to their Life Lists. Expensive cruises to the Antarctica and river trips to isolated regions of the Amazon are staged just for people hoping to add new birds to their Life List...

[Birding Bunch]

We keep lists. Life, yard (with notations of which are feeder birds. I really should start a separate list for them), and year. For us, it keeps things interesting. So far our birding is within the state. The more we learn about birds, the more we wish to protect their habitat, so I am not sure I want to traipse around in sensitive areas just to add one more to the list. This last winter with all the sightings of Snowy Owls, notices were going out to keep your distance, don't leave the car, etc. It sounded like most followed these guidelines.

[dapjwy]

Now that I have a better understanding of what a life list is, I think I'm more likely to create a list of what visits my habitat. That is something I planned to do anyway...if I ever get around to it. I'd like to document both flora and fauna--plants I've introduced as well as those that volunteered.

I was thinking I couldn't imagine introducing any animals, however, I may add some minnows to my pond if I can get some native ones from a bait shop.

[recurve]

Nice thread! I still haven't decided what my "life bird" is though. I have only really kept a mental list of my birds since I'm not a hard core birder but enjoy it. I have been seeing a number of new and interesting birds lately and have been considering starting an official list.

[recurve]

Got a new one for my all time list today Yellow-billed cuckoo BOOM! I've only heard their calls before so happy I got a visual of one of course no camera though

[sprucetree]

I just keep a calender near the front window and write down the different species that visit, Of course the summer months are the most fruitful but I'm not taking trips to see birds- Yet. I was quite happy the other day seeing cardinals/jays/doves/ red and yellow finches.

Sadly I was gardening today and the robins are filling up on mountain ash berries, they'll soon be gone.

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by sprucetree

...I'm not taking trips to see birds- Yet.

I'm happy filling the yard with natives and letting them come to me!