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Life List -newby 'rules' questions (1 Viewer)

Fandango739

Fandango739

GeoBird
United States
Hi,

It has only been a few months since I started 'birding,' but I have enjoyed viewing wild birds all my life.

Must all listings in a 'Life List' begin only when one begins the formal birding list, or can one include wild birds that one has previously seen and positively identified from earlier in life?

I live in Florida, the land of exotics / invasive species, including birds. There are a number of non-native birds that have naturalized to this area. May one include sightings of invasive birds, or must one see the bird in it's native location?

Many thanks!
 
Birding is just a hobby so one may do as one chooses. But most North American birders follow the AOU checklist which only includes well-established exotics. As far as counting birds seen before one was a birder, I don't think there are any conventions about that.
 
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i agree with what fugl says. i personally have my life list in chronological order starting with the first bird i saw when i began listing. this is just what i do, however, and i know many people who include species seen pre-list, or have their list in taxonomic order. how you arrange your list is your choice.
 
To me it's makes no difference when you saw them as long as you saw them in the wild (and not escaped or in nets) in the place that you are listing them.

remember it's your list
the only rule is to be honest with yourself.

happy birding
 
It's birds that you've seen. No-one is going to worry about the starting point, so if you can be sure of the identity of birds you saw (it helps if they were big, obvious or easy to identify, like Ospreys or Cardinals) then of course you can list them.

It would be a bit more controversial if they were rare or cryptic species pointed out to you that you wouldn't have been able to pick out the key features on for yourself.

IMO, but think most would go along with that.
 
Thanks gang!

So that means I can add the Great Horned Owl that used to live near my house for about four years when I was a teen, the Cactus Wren that thoroughly investigated my open car truck at Organ Pipe, AZ, and the Purple Gallinule I saw while volunteering at Lakes Park in S. Fort Myers (it only stayed one day, but boy...what a bird!).

:)
 
I didn't start keeping lists until 2000, so everything I know I've seen before then is just listed as 1999. I don't list introduced or exotic species, but like people say the rules are entirely up to you. Enjoy!

N
 
I recently started a life list on ebird, and everything prior to this year I just lumped together in the year I know I saw those particular birds. Which reminds me I forgot to list one I saw while in the woods last fall! :)
 
I think I came from a similar background as you Fandango. I always found brids interesting, and had my first "Spotters guide to Birds" when I was about 8, I think. We were lucky to have a big garden from that age, and we had many "less common" species. But I certainly didn't keep a list.

I guess I started properly "ticking" species (in my Collins guide) about 10 years ago, but even then, it was not really a list as such, just a note by the bird's description in the guide where I had seen it.

Then perhaps 2 years ago, I started more seriously listing my birds, having a "world" list and an individual country list for each place I've been. And for me, I was quite happy to back-date my sightings to pre-list days. And I disagree that it shouldn't be birds you would not have seen or identified yourself, as I have a reasonable list for Kenya, and almost certainly would have missed many of those species without our fantastic guide.

Finally, in 2012, I did my first year list, which was a great challenge, and made me much more observant of what I saw.

One word of warning: be careful, listing can be rather addictive!
 
"Must all listings in a 'Life List' begin only when one begins the formal birding list, or can one include wild birds that one has previously seen and positively identified from earlier in life?"

Why wouldn't you want to see them all again anyway?
 
amaizlish said:
Why wouldn't you want to see them all again anyway?
Click to expand...

Well, you would...and you will. But a "Life" list would include birds we know we've seen (or heard if that's how you list) before we started listing, in my opinion. I back-listed a few birds when I started because I know I've seen them.

Now to get them again! :smoke:
 
The point of the list is really for you to decide.
If i lost my list there is no way i could accurately re do it!

Why do i keep a list? Well it evokes memories of events that happened in my life. A trip to Spurn with my father when i saw my first Bluethroat or Savis Warbler, Cley where we saw Green Winged Teal or other birds sometimes rarer or commoner. Obviously, at some point, i will no longer be able to ask him if he remembers these things, but i will have my lists....

More recently i have started a diary of interesting birds on specific days. I had found a field of Stone Curlew in France. It would have been the largest sighting in my area. I had no idea they were that rare here. Unfortunately, when i found this out 3 or 4 years after the event i had no record of the exact date (including year although i narrowed it down to two) and the record is 'here-say'.

For these reasons i now take pride in my lists and keep more accurate records!

Ps the only other person that has ever seen my list is my father. So it can be a private thing or a published thing, however you feel.
 
I am relatively new as well, and I began listing from my first day out as a birder. #1 American Robin. But whatever you want to do is cool.
 
We all have our own ways when it comes 2 our lists, i agree it can evoke memories of past birding days. 1 that springs 2 mind was the first time i had seen Waxwings and Long Eared Owls while out birding with my son, 2 excellent birds and both birds were previously unseen by us both. So when i read back i see my son jumping with joy at finding 3 LEO at there winter roost. :) but they r addictive :)
 
My list started in 2010 when I started birding, but previously I was always interested in nature. I have included birds from before, but one of my rules is that I have to photograph the bird. I did this because although I'm a lot more confident at making ids, I'm far from perfect and I don't want falsely listed birds. Also, I'm quite forgetful, post stroke, so unless I write everything down, I'll have forgotten most by the time I get home, so a photo is a good way to record what I see. The Only exception I have at the moment, is a Barn Owl, seen at night, because I didn't want to use flash and blind the bird. Eventually I will get a photo during the day, and if not who cares? Its my list and mean something to me, but absolutely nothing to anyone else. I think the replies on this thread are spot on, your list - your rules. That said, some people on this forum have strict rules about what belongs on lists and remind you now and again. I can live with that, because I generally ignore such comments. The only time, for me anyway, where set "list" rules might apply, is in local competitions, at New Year for example.

Happy Birding and good luck with your lists
 
Andy

More valid points. Barn Owls should be on chicks soon and will start hunting more and more during the day...

Rules start applying when people start comparing lists to ensure a level playing field. If you want to get into that game then accurate records from the outset will make things easier! The rules generally apply to things like seen not just heard, escape/wild, verified records for rarity etc.
 
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