What view of a bird do you need to consider it "Checked/Ticked" off list? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Crawley]

Hey!

What about dead birds?
Do you count dead birds that are found; i.e. washed upon a shore?

Will they go on your lists?

Cheers,

Fabian

No

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

No, but I might report it if the info is potentially valuable, such as the roadkill Dwarf Cuscus I found at Lore Lindu, Sulawesi , last month.

 

[Schneppe]

Thanks for your thoughts on that!

I report dead birds, if their cause of death might be something special or might be caused by human (mis)behaviour.
But those dead birds won´t make it on my lists either.

Thanks!

Fabian

 

[mjh73]

ticking anything retrospectively from photo's without identifying in the field - ok or absolutely, infuriatingly, completely wrong?

I have Many-striped Canastero on my list that was in the background of a Tawny Antpitta I was recording. Only noticed it when processing the file. Saw neither 😳

Heard only birds are identified as such on my list and in an ideal world would be seen at some point in the future to remove that encumbrance.

 

[Bino Steve]

Wrong forum ... see the " Dead Birds, Dead Flowers" forum. Wear your Docs.

 

[Schneppe]

Wrong forum ... see the " Dead Birds, Dead Flowers" forum. Wear your Docs.

Sorry, Steve. Will do.

Cheers,

Fabian

 

[Bino Steve]

That was a joke, subtle, but a joke....and I thought you were joking... so we are all good now.

 

[Schneppe]

That was a joke, subtle, but a joke....and I thought you were joking... so we are all good now.

Hey Steve,

no worries, I made a subtle joke as well... So yeah, we´re good of course!😂

 

[Andy Strachan]

I don't really count my list totals much as the amount of birds I've seen total doesn't really matter, I'm more of a patch guy. I doubt im ever going to be travelling the world or even the UK for birds. Maybe that will change one day, who knows but at the moment im not much of a twitcher. There are lots of "common" birds in nearby places that I could probably go and tick off whenever I want but just haven't bothered. Most of my birding goes on birdtrack, and I'm more into the recording data for the local area sort of thing, and just hope that a local rarity turns up now and again to keep things exciting.
So I almost feel like the records aren't really for me in a way, though I do get excited at a new patch tick or new highest flock count or whatever.
So I will record heard only (though obviously depending on the bird that could be really disappointing). And would record dead (and report it).

 

[Lerxst]

I'm legally blind. No view at all is necessary if I've recorded the voice and can identify it.

 

[Lerxst]

Also when I come across a bird that is silent and I manage to see it, I note it down as "Seen Only."

 

[ovenbird43]

Long ago I used to be in the "must be seen" camp to count a species on my life list. My attitude changed over time gradually, and the change was cemented once I started using eBird to keep track of my lists. It felt silly to me to leave a positively-identified species off a checklist just because I didn't see it. Nowadays, I'm not too bothered about heard-only lifers when it's just another lookalike small owl, nightjar, flycatcher, etc. It's less satisfying when it's something I'd really like to see (Pale-billed Antpitta, shakes fist), but I still "count" it.

Of course, even solid views can be less than satisfying as lifers, thinking here of non-breeding plumage Standard-winged Nightjar, things like that.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

I feel for your Antpitta example; one of the best birds I’ve ever encountered and one I had no previous expectations of.

 

[Ratal]

I shall stay in the 'seen only' camp but I never try to sway folks one way or the other - what works for me is that I shall count it only if have experienced it through a binocular or scope, or best of all - up close with the MK1 eyeball.

 

[Lerxst]

I used to be in the "I have to see it" camp but had to open my mind on this matter. Otherwise I would have quit birding. It is too demoralizing to be with other birders that are all seeing and gushing about a bird that your poor vision prevents you from being able to find, even when they are trying to point it out to you. I eventually realized that given the choice of (a) see a lifer that is silent vs. (b) hear-only a lifer and get a good audio recording, I'll take (b) every time.

 

[raymie]

I don't count birds that I've only heard and not seen, but I have no issue with others counting species that they have only heard.

 

[Mysticete]

I am a "seen only" person, but I wonder if folks have exceptions to this?

It occurs to me I would probably be perfectly fine counting some of the heard only Tapaculos, which are virtually identical in morphology but differ in call, if I had already seen one of those identical forms.

 

[lgonz1008]

My rule tends to be "seen only" for the life list, counted for anything else (year/county/country list).

I still keep a heard-only list just to see how many I can take out of there to my proper life list over the years, plus I know I'm not going to see all of these birds and eventually when I'm unable to travel to those places (due to financial or ecological restraints), then I'll include those heard only species to my life list.

I know my life list would be 60+ birds higher if I counted all of them and I'd finally have Tinamous for my family list, but just doesn't feel right, at least not for now and I can still make the trip every so often to connect with such species. Plus, it sucks to go heard only and eventually come to the fact that you added some megas that you couldn't see, like it was almost the case with Trumpeters in Guyana for me.

 

[Lerxst]

Seeing is nice and I do not take it for granted, given how hard it is to see birds at all.

But I'm always somewhat disappointed when I see a new life bird but it is silent.

For that is to miss 50% of what that bird has to offer.

 

[lgonz1008]

Seeing is nice and I do not take it for granted, given how hard it is to see birds at all.

But I'm always somewhat disappointed when I see a new life bird but it is silent.

For that is to miss 50% of what that bird has to offer.

I can agree to that 100%, especially if the bird in question is best known for the calls like an Antwren or a Tinamou; and I'm pretty sure any birder out there is at least a bit disappointed if they see a Common Cuckoo or Screaming Piha and they don't do their iconic calls.