• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Bird Points Game Version 2.0 - ABA Life List Edition! (1 Viewer)

birderbf

Wild, Wild West ................... ern Spindalis
Seeing the incredible success of the Devil Bird's (formerly Crazy Birder) "Bird Points Game", and "Bird Points Game Yearlist 07 version", and seeing the tremendous demand (OK two people, one of them myself) for an ABA-area counterpart.

Just to get everything straight: the ABA area is the entire contiguous 48 states and Canada, as well as Alaska and all it's little islands in the Aleutian chain. Greenland, Hawaii (and all other territories of the US) and other Canadian territories are not included. The little French-owned islands south of Newfoundland are in the ABA area. The rules over the ocean are: the bird must have been seen within 200 miles of the "dry" ABA area, or within half the distance between the "dry" ABA area and a neighboring country (i.e. an Audubon's Shearwater in the straight of Florida must've been seen no more than half the distance between the nearest point of Florida and Cuba).

Rules of this game are as follows.

Simply, after the common and scientific name of each bird, there follows a number. Whip out a calculator and add up the numbers that precede the name of a species that you have seen. There are 940 countable birds accepted in the ABA, but don't worry - I'll let you have them in about 19 installments of 50 species.

What do the codes mean, you ask? Well they average out the overall abundancy of the species they are tagged to - over the entire ABA area. So one bird that may be a state or province first may be very common elsewhere on the continent, and thus a lower code. For instance - I just saw a Yellow-headed Blackbird in New York, which is a fairly uncommon occurence, as they live far out west. Meanwhile, someone out in Wyoming wouldn't bat an eyelash at that species. Then again there are species which have only graced the ABA area a handful of times, and those have higher codes, as they are rare anywhere in the ABA area.

So basically this shows your birding quality, not quantity.

Code 1 = everyday bird, at least for somewhere in the ABA area. Examples, House Sparrow, Swainson's Hawk, King Rail.

Code 2 = an ABA area breeder highly restricted in range, or abundant yet recusive. Namely, Whooping Crane, Black Rail, even North Hawk Owl.

Code 3 = rare but regular visitor to the area. Eurasian Wigeon, Five-striped Sparrow, Lesser Black-backed Gull

Code 4 = very unusual occurence, recorded maybe less than twenty times

Code 5 = highly unusual occurence, maybe ten or even five individuals or fewer recorded. Gray-hooded Gull, Lanceolated Warbler, White-throated Needletail.

This game will begin on sometime Friday July 19. A Version 2.1, yearlist edition, will appear after all the 940 species have been displayed in all 19 or 20 installments, to keep things from getting to confusing!
 
YAY!!! these list games are so fun! youre not gonna do all 967 species? jk like anyone heres ever seen the bumblebee hummer or eurasian woodcock in the US 8-P
 
A few more hours still, hold yer hats! ;)

I fogot to mention that there will be two categories, keeping in line with the Devil Bird's rules, a category A and B.

A is for those who are documenting all they've seen in the ABA area, and B for those documenting from who knows where, and just want to see how much they can get for fun.

I have seen most of my birds in the area, but I have 18 that I have yet to come across here, from Ireland. These guys will be neglected unfortunately, until i catch up with them here (Rook? Red-billed Chough? Bullfinch? Wishful thinking...)

ALSO, I'd like to hear what you've been seeing! So if you have a level four or five that you're poud of, mention it alongside your score!
 
what do you mean? so if i wuz in B category, would i be able to count the european blackbird i saw in europe since its been recorded here?
 
what do you mean? so if i wuz in B category, would i be able to count the european blackbird i saw in europe since its been recorded here?

No, you would play in category A and record only the birds you have seen in the ABA, as you live in the area and encounter ABA birds every day. Category B is for people in Europe, or South or Central America, who have seen species that occur in the ABA away from the ABA, just for fun.

As in the original BPG (Bird Points Game), the codes average out abundancy in the ABA area. So even though Common Blackbird is a typical bird throughout much of Europe, it is super rare over here.

So if you haven't seen it in the ABA area, don't count it. If you haven't really been to the ABA area, but have seen species on there, I'll put you in category B for fun.
 
Anyway! The moment a handful of people have been wiating for HAS ARRIVED! In the order appearing the ABA checklist version 6.7, meet the very front end of the taxonomic sequence....

The Ducks!!
______________

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis 1
Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor 1
Bean Goose Anser fabalis 3
Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus 4
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons 1
Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus 5
Emperor Goose Chen canagica 2
Snow Goose Chen caerulescens 1
Ross’s Goose Chen rossii 1
Brant Branta bernicla 1
Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis 5
Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii 1
Canada Goose Branta canadensis 1
Mute Swan Cygnus olor 1
Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator 1
Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus 1
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus 3
Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata 3
Wood Duck Aix sponsa 1
Gadwall Anas strepera 1
Falcated Duck Anas falcata 4
Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope 3
American Wigeon Anas americana 1
American Black Duck Anas rubripes 1
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 1
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula 1
Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha 5
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors 1
Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera 1
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 1
White-cheeked Pintail Anas bahamensis 4
Northern Pintail Anas acuta 1
Garganey Anas querquedula 3
Baikal Teal Anas formosa 4
Green-winged Teal Anas crecca 1
Canvasback Aythya valisineria 1
Redhead Aythya americana 1
Common Pochard Aythya ferina 3
Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris 1
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula 3
Greater Scaup Aythya marila 1
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis 1
Steller’s Eider Polysticta stelleri 2
Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri 2
King Eider Somateria spectabilis 1
Common Eider Somateria mollissima 1
Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus 1
Labrador Duck Camptorhynchus labradorius 6
Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata 1
White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca 1

NOTE: Muscovy Duck is a rare wanderer into southern Texas, but it's a common escapee in places like FL. Only count Muscovy Duck if you have seen a presumably wild individual in Texas.
 
OK for the first round I have 36. You'll notice that most of your list will be composed of 1s. I find this is easier to calculate by counting in your head than with a calculator!

The only things of note that I have on there are: Barnacle Goose (I count it because it appeared with a Greenland GFWG, they both breed in Greenland by the way, and it showed no trace of being wild, it had all its toes, it could fly, it wasn't tame, etc.), Eurasian Wigeon. I was disappointed to see King Eider as only a one, but there are plenty of them farther north.
 
Well done birderbf, I am glad my idea has caught on. Just to start things off can you put me in category B and I have 29 points. Thanks.
 
Labrador Duck - 6 (an extinct species), I do not think anyone will get this one!

My first round total is 33

The Ivory-billed is still 6 too... ;)

Mines 37 - Pink-footed Goose for nice bumper points. BTW you missed off Black Scoter and the Mergs? Was that deliberate?

The rest of the ducks will appear in the next 50 species. I'm sorry I created confusing by say "here's the ducks". Those are all ducks and allies, yes, but more importantly, they are the first 50 species on the checklist! :eek!:

I will try to time scoreboards so that they end up near the top of each page, so you won't be seeing the first one until the next page. The next installment will simply appear tomorrow - so one each day.
 
Only 32 for me - I don't count Barnacle Geese... ;) ;) :-O just kidding.

The only bird I have that isn't a one on that list is Eurasian Wigeon, which really does not deserve a three. Oh well. B :)

Neil G.
 
Only 32 for me - I don't count Barnacle Geese... ;) ;) :-O just kidding.

The only bird I have that isn't a one on that list is Eurasian Wigeon, which really does not deserve a three. Oh well. B :)

Neil G.

I'm sure version 6.8 or 7 will fix that. I've herard estimates that in the Pacific northwest in a flock of 100 wigeon, there is one drake Eurasian. They aren't sure about the female yet becuase they are very easy to look over in a huge flock. Same situation with Black-headed Gull, which even breeds over here now. They still get enough attention for code 3s though I think.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 17 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top