The Wall. (1 Viewer)

Andrew · Aug 24, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

Surreybirder said:
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

:t:

Michael

Charles Harper · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

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 · Aug 25, 2003

Grousemore said:
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 · Aug 26, 2003

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 · Aug 26, 2003

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 · Aug 26, 2003

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

HH75 · Aug 26, 2003

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

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