The Wall.

[Andrew]

In the London Marathon they talk about the 'wall' where you suddenly find it hard to go on.

When did you hit the 'wall' in your US/UK life lists? I am currently on 185 and the last few months have been a bit slow but looks like picking up again. I know 185 is paltry and that I will greatly improve this with say, a Scottish birding holiday but I think after 200 it will become very hard and the quality of the lifers will increase. What number are you on and when did you hit the 'wall'?

[pduxon]

In a review of one of the British guides on the fatbirder site (great Site if Bo reading this) the comment was made that of the 280 or so birds listed quite a few of them are quite scarce in the uk. I'd guess to get well above 200 you've got to do a bit of twitching or spend a hell of a lot of time in places like the shetland or scillies.

My list is a paltry 140 plenty of time to go!!

[phyllosc]

With a moderate amount of travelling getting to 200 in the UK is fairly easy.

I've been almost permanently on the wall for about 20 years, although I did have a very good spring this year, adding 5 new birds to my British List of which 2 were full lifers (the Lark and the Gull). Before this good run my previous Brit tick had been some 16 months earlier (Gull-billed Tern at Titchwell).

My Birt list is somewhere in the region of 390 - one day I'll check it - and I've plenty of ticks to get but I just don't twitch enough.

Dave

[Michael Frankis]

I'd agree with Dave. In Britain, the ease of adding new species slows a lot when you get to the 360-380 level.

Of 200 in UK - I've seen 216 so far this year, in Northumberland alone ;) (and am not the leader in the NL county yearlist either, someone I know is on 222+)

Michael

[alan_rymer]

Measley 116 over about 2 years. Wall?. Not really just yet. It just seems like a very steep hill. But I must admit I will not tray off my patch for birds. Except for holidays of course. And those are always in the U.K.

[Surreybirder]

I've been stuck around the 275 mark for several years now. Before I had a child I used to get close to 200 species a year but that's dropped to around the 150 mark nowadays. I haven't ever done much twitching (certainly nothing epic) but by going to good places I've picked up quite a few rare and scarce birds over the years.
Just to confuse our American friends (:D) I'm not really a twitcher but I am a keen lister, in that I keep lists for all sorts of things: countries, years, counties, birds, butterflies, dragonflies...
So I can tell you that my year list for the UK this year (birds) is only 115 species (I've hardly been to the coast this year).
Last ten additions to my UK list (not counting hooded crow 'split'):
6.4.00 Purple Heron
10.8.98 Black-winged stilt
10.7.98 Red-necked phalarope
20.2.97 Pied-billed grebe
22.3.96 Ruddy shelduck
1.10.95 Barred warbler
5.8.95 White-winged black tern
5.8.95 White-rumped sandpiper
30.9.94 American golden plover
18.9.92 Leach's petrel
Ken

[robinm]

I've only been birding seriously for about 6 years so I'll own up to a UK list of 225. I rarely go to rarity twitches (2 in the last 12 months and both in Kent). My Kent list is 183 - which represents a fair proportion. I am still adding birds at a reasonable rate.

I do go on holiday to birding locations - I have been to Shetland, for example. I also spend some time in East Anglia every year.

[Michael Frankis]

My last ten UK birds (again, excluding species splits seen earlier as subspecies - these account for the gaps in the numbering, for Hooded Crow, Mealy Redpoll & Green-winged Teal):

2003
MELODIOUS WARBLER 05Jul Souter, Durham 388
BLACK LARK 03Jun South Stack, Anglesey 387
MARSH SANDPIPER 06May Saltholme Pools, Durham 386
2002
WILSON'S PETREL 01Sep NZ569811 off Blyth, Northumbs 384
GREAT SHEARWATER 21Aug Eddystone, Devon 383
LESSER SANDPLOVER 14May Rimac, Lincs 382
IVORY GULL 03Jan Montrose, Angus 381
2001
GREEN HERON 30Sep Messingham, Lincs 380
LITTLE SWIFT 27May Netherfield, Notts 379
2000
CASPIAN TERN 03Aug Seaton Snook, Durham 376

I only leave Northumberland for major new ticks, and even then don't go too far (roughly 150 miles max day trips); my Northumberland list is 315.

Michael

[MikeMules]

I'm on 365 spp. where I'll stay for a while, I think. I've hit the wall, and without spending a lot of time and money on pelagic trips or trips to the far ends of the continent, I don't think it will go up much. I've seen most of the common (and not so common) species on the east coast of Australia. However, I'm off to NE Victoria in a few weeks to look for regent honeyeater, and the waders have started returning, so I might get up to 375 before the year is out. Then again, I could just get off my lazy bum and go and look for the 50 Victorian spp. I haven't seen yet.

Just to add to the listings above, my last 10 birds are:

STRIATED FIELDWREN 9 Feb, Williamstown (356)
BANDED STILT 2 March, Werribee Treatment Plant (357)
PECTORAL SANDPIPER, 16 March, Werribee Treatment Plant (358)
WOOD SANDPIPER, 16 March, Werribee Treatment Plant (359)
WHITE-WINGED FAIRY-WREN, 16 April, Meridian Lakes Mildura (360)
BROWN QUAIL, 16 April, Kings Billabong Mildura (361)
ORIENTAL PRATINCOLE, 23 April, Werribee Treatment Plant (362)
NORTHERN SHOVELLER, 4 May, Werribee Treatment Plant (363)
ORANGE-BELLIED PARROT, 4 May, Werribee Treatment Plant (364)
LEWIN'S RAIL, 7 June, Narracan, Sth Gippsland (365)

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by Surreybirder
I've been stuck around the 275 mark for several years now. Before I had a child I used to get close to 200 species a year but that's dropped to around the 150 mark nowadays.

Moral:

Stay single! :t: o:D :t:

Michael

[Charles Harper]

I have lived in Japan for 13 years and have seen 285 of about 585 recorded species. The number of lifers for the years 1990 - 2002 are: 74, 51, 8, 6, 29, 9, 15, 0, 3, 3, 2, 0, 8. So there's still no wall except my own laziness.

[Andrew]

Michael got it right, stay single!

It is obvious then a fair bit of travel is neccessary and I aim to put that right with a Scottish trip sometime within the next couple of years. I reckon that would give me a minimum of ten ticks for my UK list. Despite being on 185 I still have a few 'tart's ticks' to collect like Lesser Whitethroat, Chough, Turtle Dove and so on... A good pelagic off Scilly would give me at least five lifers.

[Edward]

Lifers for me here in Iceland are like the proverbial no. 9 bus, you wait for months for one to come and then two or three come along at once. E.g.
Two on the same day on October 15 last year, Blyth's Reed Warbler and then Yellow-browed Warbler moments later,

or on consecutive days
Lapland Bunting 19 Oct
Snow Goose 20 Oct

Then a hiatus (or wall if you like) until April 11, Black Kite
and then the number 9 bus came around again in June
Long-tailed Skua - June 27
Surf Scoter - June 29

My Iceland list is now at 161 (24 in total last year in Iceland) and the world list is on 391, will hopefully break through the 400 barrier this year!

E

[Grousemore]

Andrew,I'd be interested to know why you consider Lesser Whitethroat to be a "Tart's Tick"?
They are not a confiding species in my experience and can be very difficult to locate.
Certainly a different proposition than Turtle Dove,to use your example.

[Andrew]

Many apologies for the slur on such a fine bird, it is just that it seems to me everyone sees it but me making me feel a bit left out.:-C

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by Grousemore
Andrew,I'd be interested to know why you consider Lesser Whitethroat to be a "Tart's Tick"?
They are not a confiding species in my experience and can be very difficult to locate.
Certainly a different proposition than Turtle Dove,to use your example.

Hi Grousemoor,

Depends on where you are.

For me, Turtle Dove is a VERY difficult bird to get - one every five to ten years if I'm lucky. Far less easy than Lesser Whitethroat, which easy to get every year in late April or the start of May

Down in Devon, they're both rather difficult, as Devon is so far west. Overall, Lr Whitethroat has an eastern UK distribution, whereas Turtle Dove is now very local and patchy (and declining fast) in the southeast only.

Michael

[Grousemore]

I obviously misunderstood the expression.
I was alluding to the fact that given the presence of the respective species,Turtle Dove would be easier to locate (sitting on a wire)than a Lesser Whitethroat (skulking in a bush)

[dennis]

My life list additions by years:

1992, 64 (first year of listing)
1993 90
1994 76
1995 54
1996 73
1997 20
1998 22
1999 14
2000 40
2001 47
2002 39
2003 306 (planning on adding a few more!)

As you can see, I've broken through the wall. I've started birding internationally. This year I've been to the U.K. and Ecuador. Also will be going to the Caribbean in November.

Must admit though....my Northampton County, Pennsylvania list of 230 is my favorite to add to.

dennis

[ArnelGuanlao]

No wall for me yet.....I added three lifers this past weekend. Two were on a pelagic trip on Monterey Bay, where I finally added Common Tern and Craveri's Murrelet. The third was at the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, where I finally added Ruff. All three have been nemesis birds for me, having gone out many times to look for them, only to come away empty-handed. It was pretty satisfying to find all three in a relatively short period of time.

Thus far, I have ~300 birds for the state of California. I think it will get much tougher to find new birds in the state as I approach the 400 mark.

Arnel Guanlao

[Harry Hussey]

Hi all,
My Irish list is somewhere between 291-293(depending on whether or not I include Redhead(problems with determining origin)and Elegant Tern(a tough one,as so little is known about out-of-range "orange-billed" terns and their identification))
Excluding these,and the recently split Green-winged Teal(we have yet to adopt the crow split,but this is on the cards),my last ten Irish ticks were:

2003:
Stilt Sandpiper:Lough Beg,Co.Cork Aug.03
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper:Ardnahinch(near Ballycotton),Co.Cork Jul.03
White-crowned Sparrow: Dursey Sound,Co.Cork May 03
Corn Bunting: Cape Clear,Co.Cork Apr.03
Dartford Warbler:Brow Head,Co.Cork Mar.03
Red Kite: Dunany Point,Co.Louth Feb.03
Crane:near Ardfert,Co.Kerry Feb.03

2002:
Snow Goose:North Slob,Co.Wexford Dec.02
Snowy Owl:Belmullet,Co.Mayo Nov.02
Bean Goose(nominate fabalis):The Gearagh,Co.Cork Oct.02

Ticks definitely getting harder to come by:had 14 last year,but 39 as recently as 2000.300 seen as the Irish equivalent of 400 in the UK,but harder to come by,if anything.
Cork list somewhere over 240,self-found list approaching 200.
Andrew,I would have thought that Lesser Whitethroat,while not a common breeder in Devon,would be fairly regular on migration:have seen a few here in Ireland,where the species doesn't breed annually.
Harry H

[Nina P]

I suppose I'm at odds with you all, as I don't keep any lists, I know what I've seen, and where but never write it down other than to report it on here, when I've seen it, otherwise my list is in my head, so when I've seen one not seen before it seems to click in my brain, and stays there, but that is probably because I have a photographic memory, and when that gets unlocked some interesting matter comes out!! Nina.

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by Harry Hussey
Corn Bunting:Cape Clear,Co.Cork Apr.03

or Corn Bunting: Cape Clear, Co. Cork Apr. 03

Hi Harry,

Helps to put in spaces after punctuation!!! The forum software interprets colon cap C without a space as a smiley . . .

:-O :king: :t:

Michael

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Michael,
Noticed this,now corrected.
Harry H

[James]

Andrew

Come on! Get about a bit more it's only petrol (after all why save fossil fuel for future generations - what have they ever done for us!).

You should be able to get a serious year list approaching 300 with a few serious miles under your belt. Without leaving the SW you should be able to beat 200 in a year.

Joking aside Andrew (and I hope you realise the above was at least partly tongue in cheek) it is sometimes better to build from a solid base than charge around and forget half of what you have seen.

James

[Surreybirder]

Originally posted by Michael Frankis
Moral:

Stay single!

Michael

Having a child has its plus-points :D
Actually, I heard a Cetti's warbler from my bathroom window when my daughter was a baby and woke me in the early hours of the morning.
She loves pond dipping so I hope that her interest in wildlife will develop as she gets older.

[Charles Harper]

And Nina, you'll be sorry when you're old and can't remember so well anymore. Better make a few notes now.

[Andrew]

James,

I admit I am a very local patch birder. I stick to local haunts too often as they are convenient. With holidays coming up I think I should put on a spurt and hit the 200 mark wiht moderate ease. I suppose I am try to walk before I run. I have plans to visit one or two places in winter to mop up winter specials too.

Dennis,

That is an amazing list, I assume this is a world list not a US list? If so then what would be considered a hard point to pass in the US?


To keep in line with the trend on this thread here are my last ten lifers. . . .

23/08/03 Wood Sandpiper - Bowling Green Marsh
18/08/03 Ferruginous Duck - Chew Valley Lake *
18/08/03 Blue Winged Teal - Chew Valley Lake *
09/08/03 Great Skua - Dawlish Warren
05/08/03 Cattle Egret - Bowling Green Marsh
02/08/03 European Nightjar - Aylesbeare Common
31/07/03 Red Knot - Bowling Green Marsh
27/07/03 European Honey Buzzard - Kennford (Haldon Forest)
21/07/03 Ring-necked Duck - Barrow Gurney Reservoir *
18/07/03 Little Ringed Plover - Belvide Reservoir *

The ones marked are from outside Devon which shows me as a local birder in essence.

[dennis]

Andrew,

That would depend on where in the U.S you live. I believe that the U.S. list becomes difficult to add to at around 400. At this point you would need to do some serious traveling(or some serious chasing).

My current total reflects 419 in the States.

dennis

[Dave B Smith]

Well, after working on compiling all my old trip lists (that is those I could find) into one database, I can now tell you that I have 321 birds in North & Central America. And also, yes the rate I'm adding new ones has slowed down. Need another serious birding trip!

Last ten lifers were:
Wild Turkey
Brown-headed Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Florida Scrub-Jay
American Pygmy Kingfisher
Loggerhead Shrike
Short-tailed Hawk
Rock Wren
Canivet's Emerald
Green-Breasted Mango

[Beverlybaynes]

Well, I'm hovering just above 200, with the Swamp Sparrow being #200 just this spring. And at the moment, I can't remember just what I've added since!! Oh, Northern Waterthrush, and...and...

It's written down and out in the car.

Two of my big, BIG 'wants' are the Snowy Owl and the Great Gray Owl. Some friends and I are starting to talk about a trip to Sault St. Marie, Michigan in January or February, so if that happens, I would stand a fair chance of getting them. Would be a great way to start off 2004!!
And I wouldn't be at all disappointed if we could get Northern Hawk Owl, either!

Merlin (which I already have, but it was a fuzzy long-distance scope look) and Snow Bunting would just be icing on the cake for me!

[Surreybirder]

10 most wanted is another subject... but I'd certainly have a couple of those owls on my list. I'd love to see (Eurasian) pygmy owl too--I just cannot quite picture an owl the size of a starling!

[Hanno]

Surreybirder,
Saw Pygmy Owl only once, in Austria a good 10 years ago, and it was indeed an amazing sight. One of my birding highlights I should think, especially as I saw it in the open in broad daylight!

[PhilW]

Interesting stuff. I think it depends where you live. We are spoilt for variety of habitat on the Wirral - my year list stands at 185 but 200 should be possible with a little effort (Leaches Petrel of Wirral coast, Skuas at Hilbre.....). Only major twitches were Black Lark (after a week of fretting) and Glossy Ibis (whilst on holiday anyway).

This last three weeks have given me two lifers (Glossy Ibis & Dartford Warbler) & 5 year ticks - Pec Sand, Wood Sand, Little Stint, Curlew Sand, Osprey & Spoonbill.

As Michael says you need to get out and about to really build the numbers up.

[Hanno]

Had my latest lifer this morning, a Fujian Niltava. What a bird.

In the 16 years I have kept lists, I have added to my life list as follows:

1988: 136 (Started birding in Kenya, where I lived at the time)
1989: 13 (Too busy at school)
1990: 2 (See above)
1991: 187 (My mother invited me to a holiday in Kenya)
1992: 157 (Went to Kenya again)
1993: 19 (Didn't get out much)
1994: 181 (Kenya again)
1995: 333 (Went on vaccation to Venezuela and started working in Vietnam)
1996: 58 (South Vietnam)
1997: 67 (Holiday in the Camrque, France)
1998: 7 (Got married to a non-birder at the time)
1999: 32 (Started working in Dubai)
2000: 10
2001: 107 (Started working in China)
2002: 66 (6 months in Kenya, but it is getting harder to see new birds there)
2003: 79 (Holiday in Thailand, new job in Northern Vietnam)

Current list at 1453, sure hope to break the 1500 barrier this year, I will be transferred to the Mekong Delta in a month.

I think as long as you have the time and money, the world list wall is around 7,000+ (not that i am ever going to get near that:-))