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Norfolk birding (9 Viewers)
- Thread starter Edward woodwood
- Start date
Songkhran
Well-known member
I know you've only just reached two hundred for the year Stu, but you mean to say you haven't even seen a Snow Bunting!?
Colin
Axeman (Retired)
Why will it be your last county year list. Surely, having done one, the thing to do is to try to beat it. However, some of my friends have done a county bird year list and then the next year have done a butterfly list etc. What will you be doing next year?
Quite, who needs more pressure.
Songkhran
Well-known member
Before you make that new years resolution...
Here, here although each to their own. Just a few thoughts on listing though for anyone thinking about launching into one next year and in the context of those who have listed this year. Having done a rough one a few years ago (i.e. get to New Years Eve, counted it up and said 'oh good i got to 250'), i found there was a lot of pressure throughout the year, i got to the a stage where i was having to go and see things like Corn Bunting rather than seeing more Skuas which is what i would have rather have been doing - it was around this point i packed it in.
Not wanting to pee anyone off but isn't there a little hint of desperation about twitching Greenshank in February (its not like its going to be the only one of the year) or not finding your own first Wheatear of the Spring?
However, the greatest pleasure i found with not listing is simple - you find more of your own birds - not just rare ones but birds in general. Maybe its because you are being more patient and 'getting into the zone' rather than constantly chasing other peoples, maybe this improves your field skills and birds start coming to you, maybe there is a spot of Karma going on - don't know - there should be no difference as listers and not-listers are generally out in the field for the same length of time and listers are often in areas where rare birds are being drawn in (i.e West Runton) this year.
I'm not saying i'm right, and i don't want to sound patronising, but in reponse could someone explain the pleasures of listing, i gets some of the plus's its more social, competitions funs, it give people a goal, maybe its even an intrinsic human trait and stems back to learning how to count. I also get that listers do try to find their own stuff as well. But is there anyone really pro-listing out there or would people really rather purely be finding their own?
Here, here although each to their own. Just a few thoughts on listing though for anyone thinking about launching into one next year and in the context of those who have listed this year. Having done a rough one a few years ago (i.e. get to New Years Eve, counted it up and said 'oh good i got to 250'), i found there was a lot of pressure throughout the year, i got to the a stage where i was having to go and see things like Corn Bunting rather than seeing more Skuas which is what i would have rather have been doing - it was around this point i packed it in.
Not wanting to pee anyone off but isn't there a little hint of desperation about twitching Greenshank in February (its not like its going to be the only one of the year) or not finding your own first Wheatear of the Spring?
However, the greatest pleasure i found with not listing is simple - you find more of your own birds - not just rare ones but birds in general. Maybe its because you are being more patient and 'getting into the zone' rather than constantly chasing other peoples, maybe this improves your field skills and birds start coming to you, maybe there is a spot of Karma going on - don't know - there should be no difference as listers and not-listers are generally out in the field for the same length of time and listers are often in areas where rare birds are being drawn in (i.e West Runton) this year.
I'm not saying i'm right, and i don't want to sound patronising, but in reponse could someone explain the pleasures of listing, i gets some of the plus's its more social, competitions funs, it give people a goal, maybe its even an intrinsic human trait and stems back to learning how to count. I also get that listers do try to find their own stuff as well. But is there anyone really pro-listing out there or would people really rather purely be finding their own?
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Paul Woolnough
Well-known member
I keep lists for fun and general interest
Am not bothered if others have or have not seen birds I have seen and vice versa.
Living in Norwich I do not have the benefit of a good coastal local patch.
A "good" year bird an incentive to go out in a particular direction.
Unless a bird is a lifer or county tick, I may not go for it. The last time I started one side of the county and ended up in the other was the day the black lark turned up.
I never bother to go for a big total on January 1st. I gradually knock off winter birds over the first part of the year. If I miss anything I may get the species at the end of the year.
I saw twite in Suffolk early in the year and have not gone out of my way to get a Norfolk sighting this autumn.
The yearly total is not important. Have missed some birds I expected to get.
I like to see 250 species a year but on the five times I have done so in 13 years I have always needed Suffolk (only) sightings to get there.
With ring-necked duck on 23 November my total is 234 Norfolk + 12 others in Suffolk = 246. 250 is possible as a few regular species still not seen.
If I finish on 249 then so be it!
Am not bothered if others have or have not seen birds I have seen and vice versa.
Living in Norwich I do not have the benefit of a good coastal local patch.
A "good" year bird an incentive to go out in a particular direction.
Unless a bird is a lifer or county tick, I may not go for it. The last time I started one side of the county and ended up in the other was the day the black lark turned up.
I never bother to go for a big total on January 1st. I gradually knock off winter birds over the first part of the year. If I miss anything I may get the species at the end of the year.
I saw twite in Suffolk early in the year and have not gone out of my way to get a Norfolk sighting this autumn.
The yearly total is not important. Have missed some birds I expected to get.
I like to see 250 species a year but on the five times I have done so in 13 years I have always needed Suffolk (only) sightings to get there.
With ring-necked duck on 23 November my total is 234 Norfolk + 12 others in Suffolk = 246. 250 is possible as a few regular species still not seen.
If I finish on 249 then so be it!
mr.sim
Honourable founding member of the "day late" gang
I'm not heavily into listing but I keep a casual yearlist (a bit like you Josh, in that I count it up after a while and think, "oh, thats not bad" etc. but I don't go out of my way to get year ticks).
If I'm honest I don't fully know why I keep a yearlist (maybe to beat my record?), or a life list for that matter, as if I try competing against others I always end up losing...!
If I'm honest I don't fully know why I keep a yearlist (maybe to beat my record?), or a life list for that matter, as if I try competing against others I always end up losing...!
Dave Appleton
Well-known member
Year listing vs. patch birding
As someone who is normally a patch birder but this year ventured into the murky underworlds of local yearlisting (third time since the 1980s), I suppose I'm qualified to respond to this.
I agree with Tideliner, Rob & BR, enjoying birds is far better in virtually every respect than just listing and personally I could never be one of those who seriously year-lists year after year (though no harm in simply keeping a list of what you see in the year and perhaps chasing the odd year-tick here and there, if that takes your fancy). For me, the satisfaction gained from working a patch, finding my own birds, witnessing migration in action, etc. far outweighs the satisfaction of counting the 270 species I've seen in Norfolk this year.
There are good reasons to enjoy occasional year-listing though:
But among the downsides:
There's no way I'll be year-listing again in the near future, but I have no regrets about doing it this year. I'll be doing more patch birding again from next year but I think I'll make a greater effort to carry on getting out and about to a few different locations as well.
Apologies... I seem to have gone on a bit!
As someone who is normally a patch birder but this year ventured into the murky underworlds of local yearlisting (third time since the 1980s), I suppose I'm qualified to respond to this.
I agree with Tideliner, Rob & BR, enjoying birds is far better in virtually every respect than just listing and personally I could never be one of those who seriously year-lists year after year (though no harm in simply keeping a list of what you see in the year and perhaps chasing the odd year-tick here and there, if that takes your fancy). For me, the satisfaction gained from working a patch, finding my own birds, witnessing migration in action, etc. far outweighs the satisfaction of counting the 270 species I've seen in Norfolk this year.
There are good reasons to enjoy occasional year-listing though:
- Normally I wouldn't go far out of my way to see most birds that are scarce but regular in Norfolk - things like Great Grey Shrikes, Dotterel, Pallas's Warbler, etc. Chances are I'll bump into a few of these from time to time just from being out birding (at least when my patch is a coastal one) and if not it's no great shame. But I can go years without seeing some of these (I've still never self-found a Great Grey Shrike), so it's nice when you get to see a run of several species you've not seen for years.
- Rarities: I'd probably travel a few miles to see a lot of the rare birds I've seen this year in an ordinary year, but I wouldn't bust my gut. I wouldn't have abandoned my search for unfound Red-flanked Bluetails one October afternoon to chase after a Pied Wheatear, a species I've seen several of before. I might have gone at the weekend if it had stayed, but it didn't. As it was, because I was year-listing I raced over to Horsey and enjoyed fantastic views of a really interesting and educational bird that I wouldn't have seen if I wasn't year-listing.
- In year-listing you get to know a wide variety of locations and habitats across the Tideliner's "wild Norfolk environment" and go to places you wouldn't normally. OK, you don't get to know any of them as intimately as you get to know your patch, but I think it's good to explore new places.
- I think BR is right about the social side being a factor. I've enjoyed regularly bumping into people this year who I've hardly seen in years as well as meeting new people. That includes fellow year-listers as well as patch-workers from different parts of the county.
- I didn't set out to be competitive but when you find yourself neck and neck with the highest competing year-listers I suppose it's easy to get drawn into that side of things. Not sure that's ever been much of a motivation for me but I'd probably be kidding myself if I pretend it's not a factor.
- I guess it's the competitive edge that got me to spend most weekends in the first half of the year birding dawn to dusk in the hope of finding new birds for the year (non-birding commitments have got in the way a bit more in the autumn). Year-listing isn't just about chasing other people's rare birds but also involves looking for your own (at least it does for me). I spent far more time in the field looking for my own birds this year than I have done for the last few years of patch birding.
But among the downsides:
- Really enjoying birding a long way from the car when news of a Great White Egret the other side of the county cracks. It's probably duff, it will probably be gone by the time I get there, I've seen loads before, I'll probably see another this year anyway (indeed a flock of 8 flew past on one of the few occasions I was patch birding) - but I have to leave what I'm enjoying to chase after it, just in case.
- Having to leave one of the best spells of vis mig there's been this autumn in order to chase after a bird I've found several of in the past but might not get another chance to see this year (Barred Warbler).
- Spending hours and hours searching for Firecrests and Black Redstart in January-March knowing full well that I'd be incredibly unlucky not to bump into one later in the year, but feeling the need to get them under the belt, just in case.
- Prioritising an Iceland Gull at a Norfolk dump over a Glaucous-winged Gull up north and, worse, deciding against travelling for an Eastern Crowned Cracker and Fan-tailed Zitting thing, largely for fear of missing something in Norfolk.
- Leaving a Great Knot for another year-tick so quickly that I didn't have time to absorb the finer details of why it was a Great Knot and not just a normal Knot - if I'd not been year-listing I might have paid it enough attention to realise it was just a normal Knot!
- The autumn was a complete flop rendering any attempt to reach a respectable total out of the question.
- Don't ask how many miles or how much petrol!
There's no way I'll be year-listing again in the near future, but I have no regrets about doing it this year. I'll be doing more patch birding again from next year but I think I'll make a greater effort to carry on getting out and about to a few different locations as well.
Apologies... I seem to have gone on a bit!
Paul Woolnough
Well-known member
Why travel too far from Norfolk for birds?
I do very little bird watching outside of Norfolk and Suffolk. There are plenty of birds to see near home.
Have no BOU Norfolk ticks at all this year. Black-headed wagtail and Siberian chiffchaff both seen in Norfolk for the first time but only split on UK400.
Just one twitch away - the Surrey brown shrike. Just off the M25: it was too good an opportunity to miss sharing the petrol and a day out.
I do not travel too far or where the journey may be unpleasant.
No eastern crowned warbler. The A1 is 106 miles from my house and the Newcastle area is a long way north.
No fan-tailed warbler - not going to the Dover area for first light with a trip along Kent's busy motorways on the way back.
I only go for long-staying birds not too far away from home. For example the sora rail in Notts in 2004.
Very pleased my Norfolk list is 371. The brown shrike is 411 in Britain. My only ambition for British listing was to get to 400. I reached 400 on an unlikely date 30 December. Year was 2002 the bird pallid harrier Warham Greens.
I knew I had seen over 400 species. Entering records on BUBO proved it was 411, for what it is worth. I counted back all my lifers since, in reverse order, and then found out pallid harrier was number 400.
The extra "ticks" on UK400 mean I have already reached 400 under UK400 rules in Norfolk & Suffolk. 402 with black lark no 400! Only found black lark was 400 writing this reply. Did not go for the South Stack black lark!!!
I do very little bird watching outside of Norfolk and Suffolk. There are plenty of birds to see near home.
Have no BOU Norfolk ticks at all this year. Black-headed wagtail and Siberian chiffchaff both seen in Norfolk for the first time but only split on UK400.
Just one twitch away - the Surrey brown shrike. Just off the M25: it was too good an opportunity to miss sharing the petrol and a day out.
I do not travel too far or where the journey may be unpleasant.
No eastern crowned warbler. The A1 is 106 miles from my house and the Newcastle area is a long way north.
No fan-tailed warbler - not going to the Dover area for first light with a trip along Kent's busy motorways on the way back.
I only go for long-staying birds not too far away from home. For example the sora rail in Notts in 2004.
Very pleased my Norfolk list is 371. The brown shrike is 411 in Britain. My only ambition for British listing was to get to 400. I reached 400 on an unlikely date 30 December. Year was 2002 the bird pallid harrier Warham Greens.
I knew I had seen over 400 species. Entering records on BUBO proved it was 411, for what it is worth. I counted back all my lifers since, in reverse order, and then found out pallid harrier was number 400.
The extra "ticks" on UK400 mean I have already reached 400 under UK400 rules in Norfolk & Suffolk. 402 with black lark no 400! Only found black lark was 400 writing this reply. Did not go for the South Stack black lark!!!
Garybirder
A bird a day
Ring-necked Duck
Saw the Ring-necked Duck at Wroxham yesterday.
Just though I should mention that yesterday afternoon the bird favoured the area just outside the boat yard in amongst the jetty where the water was calmer in the strong wind. This is only viewable if you peek through the fence from the car park. The bird did tend to stick with the Pochard.
Gary
Saw the Ring-necked Duck at Wroxham yesterday.
Just though I should mention that yesterday afternoon the bird favoured the area just outside the boat yard in amongst the jetty where the water was calmer in the strong wind. This is only viewable if you peek through the fence from the car park. The bird did tend to stick with the Pochard.
Gary
Attachments
Cortonbirds
Well-known member
re Yearlisting
The major plus to yearlisting is that it simply gets you out in the field. For example its a strong rainy south westerly...theres no way I would normally even go out, but on a list ill search for birds.
2.) You find dross in January such as a Black Redstart or Firecrest.....being able to tick it gives double the satisfaction. It even makes that Jan 1st House Sparrow give a small buzz heh.
3.) Being out shows patterns in birds and contributes to local ornithological record. EG on a list I viz mig each morning wheras before i would only bother to get up that early on optimal conditions. You may say we should get out in the field as much as possible anyway regardless of listing but the extra motivation helps and its a fact that yearlisters are out more than most regular birders thus swelling the bird report. There are a few exeptions eg Andrew Easton in Lowestoft who is out birding his patch id wager more than anyone thats read this thread but shows no inkling to count his yearlist but such dedication is very rare without the additional motivation of yearlisting.
4.) Yes listers twitch stuff and this can be frustrating but they also do their patches more or look for birds in suitable sites at suitable times of yr (when nothing has been reported there)
There are many dissadvantages to year listing also but I for one will always be hooked (257 Suffolk, 218 local patch, 315 national) If it all gets too stressful with all that travelling and dipping as those that have said here they wont list again my advice would be to just do a local patch year list as you will still get the buzz but waste less time and money. Or maybe a self found year list, tho tbh listing and self found pusuit come hand in hand.
The major plus to yearlisting is that it simply gets you out in the field. For example its a strong rainy south westerly...theres no way I would normally even go out, but on a list ill search for birds.
2.) You find dross in January such as a Black Redstart or Firecrest.....being able to tick it gives double the satisfaction. It even makes that Jan 1st House Sparrow give a small buzz heh.
3.) Being out shows patterns in birds and contributes to local ornithological record. EG on a list I viz mig each morning wheras before i would only bother to get up that early on optimal conditions. You may say we should get out in the field as much as possible anyway regardless of listing but the extra motivation helps and its a fact that yearlisters are out more than most regular birders thus swelling the bird report. There are a few exeptions eg Andrew Easton in Lowestoft who is out birding his patch id wager more than anyone thats read this thread but shows no inkling to count his yearlist but such dedication is very rare without the additional motivation of yearlisting.
4.) Yes listers twitch stuff and this can be frustrating but they also do their patches more or look for birds in suitable sites at suitable times of yr (when nothing has been reported there)
There are many dissadvantages to year listing also but I for one will always be hooked (257 Suffolk, 218 local patch, 315 national) If it all gets too stressful with all that travelling and dipping as those that have said here they wont list again my advice would be to just do a local patch year list as you will still get the buzz but waste less time and money. Or maybe a self found year list, tho tbh listing and self found pusuit come hand in hand.
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Jono L
Well-known member
I agree with a lot of what has been said in this interesting discussion on listing. One word of caution is that it can be bad for your mental health! I have witnessed personally and from a distance the pressure all sorts of listing has on people and it can start to effect my/their birding enjoyment.
It can also lead to some big disasters. A couple of years ago I was birding my patch, where I was doing a patch yearlist (Grafham Water) when I heard about a Whimbrel nearby. I left the part of my patch I was birding to twitch the Whimbrel as it was by no means a guaranteed yeartick at Grafham. By doing this, I didnt check the next pool and as a consequence didn't find the adult Wilson's Phalarope that was pootling around there. My mate who had found the Whimbrel went to where I had just been and found it. Doh!
Similarly, a friend of mine doing a Cambs yearlist left Grafham to twitch a black-throated diver somewhere else in the county and whilst on the road to the other site, another was discovered back at Grafham!
I think for some people the extra motivation provided by yearlisting will encourage them out in to the field more, which is cool. I am not yearlisting this year, and will still try and get out as much as I possibly can (get away with!), whatever the weather and whatever the time of year.
I was even toying with the idea of trying to get some kind of patch race going in 2010, like they used to do in Birdwatch (I think). Birders could nominate their patch within certain defined parameters and then race against everybody else. This happens on Surfbirds, sort of, but the patches on there vary tremendously from, say Grafham Water, to the Vale of York or Felixstowe peninsula, so there is no comparison. And the reason for this would be to get everybody patch birding!
Cheers.
It can also lead to some big disasters. A couple of years ago I was birding my patch, where I was doing a patch yearlist (Grafham Water) when I heard about a Whimbrel nearby. I left the part of my patch I was birding to twitch the Whimbrel as it was by no means a guaranteed yeartick at Grafham. By doing this, I didnt check the next pool and as a consequence didn't find the adult Wilson's Phalarope that was pootling around there. My mate who had found the Whimbrel went to where I had just been and found it. Doh!
Similarly, a friend of mine doing a Cambs yearlist left Grafham to twitch a black-throated diver somewhere else in the county and whilst on the road to the other site, another was discovered back at Grafham!
I think for some people the extra motivation provided by yearlisting will encourage them out in to the field more, which is cool. I am not yearlisting this year, and will still try and get out as much as I possibly can (get away with!), whatever the weather and whatever the time of year.
I was even toying with the idea of trying to get some kind of patch race going in 2010, like they used to do in Birdwatch (I think). Birders could nominate their patch within certain defined parameters and then race against everybody else. This happens on Surfbirds, sort of, but the patches on there vary tremendously from, say Grafham Water, to the Vale of York or Felixstowe peninsula, so there is no comparison. And the reason for this would be to get everybody patch birding!
Cheers.
Colin
Axeman (Retired)
If Black Redstarts and Firecrests are regarded as dross, you must have a distorted outlook on British birds.
Paul Woolnough
Well-known member
I'm fired!
An extract from my earlier post
I keep lists for fun and general interest
With ring-necked duck on 23 November my total is 234 Norfolk + 12 others in Suffolk = 246. 250 is possible as a few regular species still not seen.
If I finish on 249 then so be it!
One of the four I need to get from 246 to 250 is firecrest!
An extract from my earlier post
I keep lists for fun and general interest
With ring-necked duck on 23 November my total is 234 Norfolk + 12 others in Suffolk = 246. 250 is possible as a few regular species still not seen.
If I finish on 249 then so be it!
One of the four I need to get from 246 to 250 is firecrest!
Tractorboy69
Well-known member
Paul
I think that pretty much sums up why there is the need to travel out of Norfolk.
Whilst Norfolk has an indisputable track record for producing lots of good birds, the real rares are pretty thin on the ground, so if anyone has the ambition to see 400 or 500 (or even 600!) then you simply have to travel out of county or else sooner or later new birds will simply pretty much dry up.
I know stats can be used to prove just about anything, but here are some anyway:- In the last 20 yrs since the 89 R B Nuthatch I have seen 130 new birds of which only 8 were in Norfolk, and in the last ten years I have had only 1 new bird in the county (out of a national total of 43) and that was back in 2001, so if you want to continue to see new birds then travelling nationwide eventually becomes a must.
Yes out of county birding has its downsides too, with today being the typical example of a mad cross country dash which resulted in a dip, and actually my 4th dip out of 6 twitches for new birds this year, so maybe there is something to be said for staying in county instead!
Simon
David Norgate
Well-known member
The reference to Firecrest and Black redstart as 'dross' was in the context of year listing in East Anglia, not as a comment on the spectacle of these birds!
Interesting that in year listing value a Wood Warbler I saw ends up having the same 'value' as Great Spotted Cuckoo, which I was away for! I know which bird I would have preferred to see, or even find!! I think that sums up Year listing well!!! The finder of the latter bird is not a lister in any form, but is out in the field a lot at various local patches - respect to him, JF!!
PS nice to be back!!
Interesting that in year listing value a Wood Warbler I saw ends up having the same 'value' as Great Spotted Cuckoo, which I was away for! I know which bird I would have preferred to see, or even find!! I think that sums up Year listing well!!! The finder of the latter bird is not a lister in any form, but is out in the field a lot at various local patches - respect to him, JF!!
PS nice to be back!!
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Cortonbirds
Well-known member
Yes im sorry that i use the word dross far too often, in fact Firecrest is my second favourite bird (behind Pallas` Warbler). The word dross in the birding sense was first used in an issue of the hilarious "NOT BB" journal in a cartoon script where a characterture of Gantlett and Millington on seeing a Golden Oriole flying over the east bank at Cley said " I think its about time we counted all this common dross flying over" 
, so in fact it is a reference to somewhat of a sub rarity but not a full decent rare-hence my comment..
, so in fact it is a reference to somewhat of a sub rarity but not a full decent rare-hence my comment..stuart white
Well-known member
Did you get to 280 Mr. Norgate ?
I think the trouble with yearlisting is, its addictive. Once you start you just can't stop yourself making more and more daft decisions.
In late July I'd had a nice day looking for the raptors around burnham market and fakenham then news of the white rumped sand at welney came through, I dashed down there which was a reasonably good decision. But then headed over to breydon on the off chance of seeing a roseate tern !! I did see the PGP but had already seen it twice before !! That's just barmy and over 200 miles in norfolk in one day.
I plan to do a self found norfolk list next year so if anyone wants a race let me know !!
I think the trouble with yearlisting is, its addictive. Once you start you just can't stop yourself making more and more daft decisions.
In late July I'd had a nice day looking for the raptors around burnham market and fakenham then news of the white rumped sand at welney came through, I dashed down there which was a reasonably good decision. But then headed over to breydon on the off chance of seeing a roseate tern !! I did see the PGP but had already seen it twice before !! That's just barmy and over 200 miles in norfolk in one day.
I plan to do a self found norfolk list next year so if anyone wants a race let me know !!
Irene Boston
Well-known member
To list or not to list, that is the question...
Fascinating topic and I agree with everything that's been said about the pros and cons of listing. I keep a sort of running total as the year goes on but must confess I don't do a great deal of dashing around any more just to increase it.
I once made the mistake a few years ago of having a really good first half to the year (with a couple of trips 'oop' north) and thinking hmmm, I wonder if 300 is gettable? And then being tempted to do a mild impersonation of a Norfolk headless chicken for the rest of the year. Ended on 285, which is still my highest year total and then added up the birds I'd missed or dipped on and felt disappointed, until I caught myself thinking, what on earth are you doing woman?! Don't feel disappointed at a personal best, even if it's less than you set out for. So that was my one and only foray into trying to beat myself, as it were, and whenever I've felt the urge since, a lie down in a darkened room or several whiskies usually brings me to my senses.
I do get a great deal of satisfaction from making an extra effort during migration or doing patch listing - I got unreasonably excited recently over a patch tick of a flyover Shoveller at Dersingham Bog so you can see how sad I can get... Although having said that I'm not that bothered about listing in general, I do seem to keep a worrying number of lists! I keep a patch list for several local patches, a Norfolk list, a UK life list, a sort of year list, a self found list, and a garden / house list (still trying to get that flyover Snow Goose with the pinkies!). But I wouldn't say I go out of my way to do a great deal each year just to increase list totals, which to me is nothing more than a numbers game.
On the other hand, there are certain birds each year I make a point of seeing and don't feel a year is complete without them. It's a poor year when I don't see as many raptors as possible and a positive catastrophe if the eagle count is low. I also have a pile of birds which are particular favourites which I make an extra effort to make sure I see each year, but it's not particularly for the sake of a list - just that they're special birds or ones I don't see that often. I hadn't seen Shorelarks for a year or so, so made an effort to get out for them but it wasn't for the sake of my year list. I'd probably make an extra effort for any lifers within a reasonable distance of home (i.e. within 2 hours drive of West Norfolk). I was very jammy with the EC Warbler as we were coming back from Holy Island that day so it was a 20 mile diversion but I wouldn't have gone from here.
In the days when I did semi-seriously attempt a year list, I did feel it made me go out and visit places I might not have done otherwise, and make me search for specific species which in turn led to finding other stuff. But I've done similar daft things as others have mentioned of leaving a good spot or a good vis mig day somewhere just for a tick. But as I increasingly head towards becoming a grumpy old wrinkly, I find I don't enjoy crowds, rushing about or driving long distances just for one bird any more.
I certainly find more enjoyment if I've got a kind of 'project' on the go, which I think is why I enjoy survey work so much as it gives an added incentive to your birding. Doing the BTO Atlas stuff in the last couple of years has really made me look at and learn the 10km sq of TF63 on my doorstep, which I thought I knew but it's yielded quite a few surprises.
Enough rambling on....
Irene
Fascinating topic and I agree with everything that's been said about the pros and cons of listing. I keep a sort of running total as the year goes on but must confess I don't do a great deal of dashing around any more just to increase it.
I once made the mistake a few years ago of having a really good first half to the year (with a couple of trips 'oop' north) and thinking hmmm, I wonder if 300 is gettable? And then being tempted to do a mild impersonation of a Norfolk headless chicken for the rest of the year. Ended on 285, which is still my highest year total and then added up the birds I'd missed or dipped on and felt disappointed, until I caught myself thinking, what on earth are you doing woman?! Don't feel disappointed at a personal best, even if it's less than you set out for. So that was my one and only foray into trying to beat myself, as it were, and whenever I've felt the urge since, a lie down in a darkened room or several whiskies usually brings me to my senses.
I do get a great deal of satisfaction from making an extra effort during migration or doing patch listing - I got unreasonably excited recently over a patch tick of a flyover Shoveller at Dersingham Bog so you can see how sad I can get... Although having said that I'm not that bothered about listing in general, I do seem to keep a worrying number of lists! I keep a patch list for several local patches, a Norfolk list, a UK life list, a sort of year list, a self found list, and a garden / house list (still trying to get that flyover Snow Goose with the pinkies!). But I wouldn't say I go out of my way to do a great deal each year just to increase list totals, which to me is nothing more than a numbers game.
On the other hand, there are certain birds each year I make a point of seeing and don't feel a year is complete without them. It's a poor year when I don't see as many raptors as possible and a positive catastrophe if the eagle count is low. I also have a pile of birds which are particular favourites which I make an extra effort to make sure I see each year, but it's not particularly for the sake of a list - just that they're special birds or ones I don't see that often. I hadn't seen Shorelarks for a year or so, so made an effort to get out for them but it wasn't for the sake of my year list. I'd probably make an extra effort for any lifers within a reasonable distance of home (i.e. within 2 hours drive of West Norfolk). I was very jammy with the EC Warbler as we were coming back from Holy Island that day so it was a 20 mile diversion but I wouldn't have gone from here.
In the days when I did semi-seriously attempt a year list, I did feel it made me go out and visit places I might not have done otherwise, and make me search for specific species which in turn led to finding other stuff. But I've done similar daft things as others have mentioned of leaving a good spot or a good vis mig day somewhere just for a tick. But as I increasingly head towards becoming a grumpy old wrinkly, I find I don't enjoy crowds, rushing about or driving long distances just for one bird any more.
I certainly find more enjoyment if I've got a kind of 'project' on the go, which I think is why I enjoy survey work so much as it gives an added incentive to your birding. Doing the BTO Atlas stuff in the last couple of years has really made me look at and learn the 10km sq of TF63 on my doorstep, which I thought I knew but it's yielded quite a few surprises.
Enough rambling on....
Irene
