Day Listing

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Day listing strikes me as being one of the most enjoyable sorts of listing so I wondered if any members might have some good stories to tell about their daylisting exploits. Obviously feel free to boast of any high totals but I'd be interested in any good totals on days when you weren't really trying to get a big list or maybe totals that were relatively high under unusual circumstances. Which species generally seem to elude you on birdraces?

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Fifey,

My best day total is 138 in Northumberland. What always eludes - Marsh & Willow Tits are always very tricky, as they're very quiet during the incubation period, which just happens to coincide with the peak diversity of available species in mid May. Green Woodpecker's another that's difficult.

Michael

[Jane Turner]

I have a 128 on the ancient 100 of Wirral.... and I think 139 in Cheshire, but I need to check on that.

The 128 was without Redpoll and Nuthatch

[deboo]

My day list for today was 2!!!!!

10 Waxwings and 3 Smew........and I'm v.happy!

Dave.

[StevieEvans]

My best local day total was many years ago, and without using birdlines, mobile phones, etc. = 132 Co.Durham.
It was a Long day though...!
Stevie

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I suppose I should mention my best. This was 112 in Islay. Two of us were out dawn till dusk in the middle of May and were fairly pleased with the total (maybe an Islay record?). I think it's beatable though because we missed quite a few fairly gettable species e.g. Chiffchaff, Wood Warbler, Red Grouse, Golden Eagle. We didn't even get any White-fronts or Barnacles (except for the small feral flock of WFs, which we didn't count).

Funnily enough I'm perhaps more proud of the 100 I managed in a day the previous year because I did it all by bike. Was pretty knackered after that!

One thing I was wondering, is May always the best time of year for a big day list? I would imagine that if you live in a really good migration area (especially for seabirds and waders) you could do very well on a good day in August/ early September.

[birdman]

I guess my best day list was GGBC I, morning at Bempton and afternoon at Toplcliffe Low... on my own without knowing what to expect, got between 60 and 70 spp, between about 10am and 5pm.

[Charles Harper]

Are we talking birdathons here, or just waking up and heading out? Biggest personal list I could find in my list carton is 10 May 1986, Victoria, BC, Canada, 132 species. Don't remember how we did it, but I must have been dead tired afterwards.

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Are we talking birdathons here, or just waking up and heading out?

I'm interested in both Charles. I think it's particularly good to go out for a day just 'regular' birding and come back with a really good list.

[Charles Harper]

'Average day' lists for me tend to excel by dint of quality rather than quantity. There are just so many species one can expect without running around to all the habitats. On the other hand, a regular day promptly turns extraordinary with the appearance of something unexpected.

Case in point: Sunday last. With wife and son in silent protest in the back seat, I headed for the mountains to beef up the year list. Never got there. I zigged when I should have zagged, and we found ourselves lost up a surburban labyrinth. Navigator wife with map unable to extricate us, I got angrier and more frustrated, rude words were spoken, and wife said, 'Alright, fathead (actually, the Japanese equivalent), find your own way out of here,' and slammed shut the road atlas.

So I tried. This way and that, undercurrent of curses, until at last I burst out into a little oasis of fields and riverside-- never seen the spot before-- where I had to pull over, get out and breathe deeply.

Slamming the car door set up a Greater Pied Kingfisher, very rare in these parts any more, and the first I'd seen in four years. Needless to say, the man getting back into the car was a much happier camper, with a suddenly very nice day list, though it was not a long one.

[SimonC]

Excellent story Charles!
Glad to see I'm not the only one that gets frustrated with the "navigator"! ;)

I wonder how many others have found "special" birds completely by accident (e.g. getting hopelessly lost!)

On the subject of day lists, my largest is 92 (I think) on an October trip to Holkham in 1995 (just started birding again & got about 15 lifers that day!)- still trying to beat it, hopefully this year will be the one.

[Andrew]

I love checking how many I get in a day and that way even the House Sparrow is appreciated! I plan to hit a high soon as three of us are doing a "Bird Race" style day that has been planned with a realistic target of 86 definites and with half our probables we could break the ton. Will let you know how we get on but for now my best is 75 birds.

[Ashley beolens]

My highest local daylist (well 24 hour birdrace total) was 115 set last May, and set a new Bucks record!! (unless you read the UK400 website) (see my website for a full break down http://www.beolens.co.uk/trip-reports/bucks2003.html )

I have seen 138 (i think) on a birdrace in Kent a few years ago, and have had regular days over 100 in Norfolk.

[gkrpepper]

hi, all
I started a day list at the beginning of this year and has been the same almost every day because these are the birds that visit my backyard and consist of:
Juncos 10+
Purple finches 10+
Mourning doves 4+
Northern Cardinals 4+
Pine Warblers 6+
Myrtle arblers 6+
Carolina Wrens 3
Carolina Chickadees 4+
Fox Sparrows 4+
Titmice 4+
Mockingbirds 2
Yellow shafted Flickers 2
Yellow bellied Sapsucker 1
Red bellied Woodpecker 1
Brown Trasher 1
Yellow bellied Sapsucker 1
Redwinged Blackbird 1
I try to add whenever i venture out like going fishing, shopping, and the like, and my daily best (please don't laugh) is an astounding 18. Maybe I can better it today, since I'm going fishing.
By the way, I only count birds that I can positively identify, and I'm not that good at it yet. (Sparrows and Warblers give me a hard time)
Good birding
Gunter

[Charles Harper]

Welcome to BF, Gunter, and be sure to take your binoculars.

Nice yard list; you must have a lot of trees.

[Karl J]

Only one story, if you can call it that. Last years GBBC went to Minsmere 1st day & saw 40, came back to my own patch 2nd day and saw 43 .... I was totally astounded ... and really rather happy !

[gkrpepper]

Welcome to BF, Gunter, and be sure to take your binoculars.

Nice yard list; you must have a lot of trees.
thanks, Charles
My yard adjoins a swampy woodland with a fair amount of dead trees (matter of fact, Isabel broke a bunch of them this past fall, including a really nice Weeping Willow). I've only lived here since May, and can't wait for spring. Last years notables were 2 pairs of Prothonotary Warblers nesting in birdhouses. We also tried to lure a Bluebird into our yard, but a Wood Trush kept chasing it way, maybe this year. Anyway, thanks again and
Happy Birding
Gunter

[jada dulo]

I think it was 80 in Norfolk around 1987 !! Since I have re-started it's about 55 I think , but I aint been anywhere really good yet . So , 55 to beat . I got 51 @ Venus Pool in 3 hours once and 52 @ Belvide Reservoir in 2 hours .... so , had I continued ...

[Andrew]

I love checking how many I get in a day and that way even the House Sparrow is appreciated! I plan to hit a high soon as three of us are doing a "Bird Race" style day that has been planned with a realistic target of 86 definites and with half our probables we could break the ton. Will let you know how we get on but for now my best is 75 birds.
Just seen this thread revived. We did our 'bird race' and I ended up with 94 birds which is now my best beating the old 75 easily. We were really lucky with a lot of species and the report is somewhere in Birding Day forum.

[pduxon]

Is it me but does the quantity really matter that much? I've had as much fun walking through a wood with common birds as I have finding lifers.

Just a different type of buzz

[Andrew]

Birding is just like football or anything else really. A fella (a proper one) will like playing a proper game of footy but occasionally likes penalty shoot outs, five a side, table footy, the pools and so on... There are many ways of enjoying it. I like to do all kinds of birding and just walking on my patch (the canal) really gives me a buzz.

[Tim Allwood]

[QUOTE=Andrew]Birding is just like football or anything else really. There are many ways of enjoying it.


Very true Andrew....but don't forget birding is just a hobby. and Football isn't a matter of life and death - it's MUCH more important than that ;) . Played tonight in fact....but in day list terms it would rate as a poor thirty-odd with several 'easy' species missed. In other words I had a mare.....tomorrow night however will be a different story. Hang on though, I did score all our three goals so maybe I'm being hard on myself.....(we lost 11-3)!

Never done a day list, honestly! We were gonna do one in Peru just to be smartarses and quote huge totals at obsessive listers but we got too wrapped up in watching the birds and trying to ID some of them..... :bounce:

[Ruby]

I'm feeling a bit inadequate here.... my LIFE list is crawling slowly towards the 'magic' 150, and here's you guys who've managed to see pretty much that many in a day!!! Mind you, I suspect I've actually seen some birds which are unticked, simply because I was too ignorant to know that what I was looking at was what it was (does that make sense??)

Anyway.... just off to sit in a corner and hang my head.....

[Charles Harper]

Not ignorant, you just need more practice, Ruby. Now, you're probably still eating sit-down meals, aren't you? Sleeping past dawn? Doing your laundry on Sundays? Still giving time to your relatives? Wearing oxfords? Haven't had an identification argument here with CJ yet?

You gotta get busy, get serious, Ruby!

[Ruby]

Not ignorant, you just need more practice, Ruby. Now, you're probably still eating sit-down meals, aren't you? Sleeping past dawn? Doing your laundry on Sundays? Still giving time to your relatives? Wearing oxfords? Haven't had an identification argument here with CJ yet?

You gotta get busy, get serious, Ruby!

I know, I know...... now my head's on the floor..... ;)

[CJW]

Some of you might find this (http://www.homepages.mcb.net/wormwell/new_year_bird_race_2003_2.htm) an amusing read - it's a Bird race I was involved in, in January 2003.

I must stress that it wasn't written by me!

[Andrew]

Looks like a good report. Pity I am on limited time in the library after my computer blew up. When it is fixed I shall read it in full. My kind of read and you can be so rude!

[CJW]

My kind of read and you can be so rude!
Ooh Andrew, I'm hurt!
Actually I think it's one of the problems with the written word. Misinterpretation. I don't set out to be rude and most (if not all) of my posts are meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Still, my aplogies to anyone who thinks I've been rude to them, that's not been my intention.

Chris

[Tero]

Feb 13 was a good day. I was skiing, it was cold. Saw Chickadees mostly, Blue Jays at a bird feeder. BUT the day brought one new tick: Wild Turkey! This was in Wisconsin.

[Andrew]

Ooh Andrew, I'm hurt!
Actually I think it's one of the problems with the written word. Misinterpretation. I don't set out to be rude and most (if not all) of my posts are meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Still, my aplogies to anyone who thinks I've been rude to them, that's not been my intention.

Chris
I am not referring to words but that finger! 3:-)