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What qualifies for a tick on your list (1 Viewer)

B

BCW

New member
:hi: It's probably been asked before (altho I couldn't find it)
How does a bird qualify for a tick on your list? Is it one you've seen when on a birding session, or seen whilst driving for example? by accident, as such:h?:
 
I tick a new bird wherever I happen to be (provided it is a bird in the wild, that is to say, one that is not in a cage, zoo, museum, etc.).
 
Any wild bird which you have seen and positively identified.

You can apply numerous conditions if you like, and some do, but the above would be good enough for me. If only I kept lists...:eek!:
 
BCW, your inquiry has been addressed before on BirdForum here. You may want to take a look.

Here is another thread you can look at and get an idea how various people feel about "what to tick and what not to tick".

Here is one more. You can find some more by using the "Search Forums" option on the top right of the "forums" page and doing an advanced search for "ticking a bird", "ticking" or something like that.

Good Birding!
 
Judging by initial reactions yes I'm sure its BF!

And yes, I think Advent runs right up to 25th, after which there are 11 more days. Mind you Advent might start the first Sunday in December which is the day after tomorrow.

Is it so difficult to be nice to each other for an extra day - don't answer that!

John
 
If i hear a bird,its there so i tick it.
Although,saying this,i do put down as "heard."
If its a new bird then i would only tick it once seen.
 
I only tick a bird if I see it through my left eye and not my right, on the third wednesday of the month, before 3pm (GMT) and only if I'm wearing a hat, but not gloves. ;)
 
Those earlier threads are like 3+ years old - the internet equivalent of the dark ages ;) I'm sure us newer members can be forgiven for bringing up the same stuff over and over again, Christmas or not?

Personally I want to have seen the bird (am terrible at bird sounds anyhow) and I don't list dead birds or introduced species. I use a grading system from 1 (could have been but really not sure) to 5 (seen very well or several times) whereby 3+ is a tick. If it's not a 5 though means I'd like to get a better look in the future.
I'm also totally unbothered by vagrants/rarities: a Snowy Owl in a field full of Dutch sheep just didn't do it for me. Ultimately I want to have seen all subspecies within their resident/breeding range. Not that that's ever going to happen, but it keeps me occupied :t:

N
 
I pretty much, for life list purposes, only count seen birds in which I get at least something of a look at a identifiable feature. This tends to be more strict for land birds and a bit more relaxed for pelagic birds. Heard onlys I count for year/state lists, although in some cases sound was the most important feature that allowed me to identify the bird. I don't think counting heard onlys for a life list is bad however, I just don't like to do it because my hearing is crap

For my "official" lists (ABA, States I live in) I only count accepted bird and established Introduced species. I am more lenient for my life list, since sometimes bird committees can be a bit paranoid on the above issues. I strictly follow IOC for my lifelist in regards species, but do keep note of distinct "forms" that might be split in the future.
 
Nohatch said:
I don't list dead birds or introduced species. I use a grading system from 1 (could have been but really not sure) to 5 (seen very well or several times) whereby 3+ is a tick. If it's not a 5 though means I'd like to get a better look in the future.
Click to expand...

What, no Canada Geese, Little Owls or Pheasants?

I tick birds I've seen, that I am convinced are wild. I don't always agree with committees, though I very rarely argue with them on taxonomy: a man's gotta know his limitations.

If I only hear it, I don't tick it, but in view of the existence of blind birders who listen for all their birds I am happy for others to operate differently. Given how many things are said to taste like chicken, I'm not prepared to give the same license to ticking on taste or smell.

My list is longer than BOU would allow but shorter than UK400 would permit.

John
 
Nohatch said:
Personally I want to have seen the bird (am terrible at bird sounds anyhow) and I don't list dead birds or introduced species. I use a grading system from 1 (could have been but really not sure) to 5 (seen very well or several times) whereby 3+ is a tick. If it's not a 5 though means I'd like to get a better look in the future.
Click to expand...

I do something similar, but it's a 3 point system. 1 means I'm somewhat sure, 3 means I'm as certain as I reasonably can be, and 2 is somewhere in between (I'm pretty sure, but I still have a reasonable doubt). 'Could've beens,' 'my best guess is,' and '51% sure' don't make the list.
 
I tick it if I can identify the bird myself (although in some cases with help from others, but I must be able to see the identifying features and understand why it is this bird and not that bird...). When it comes to ticking heard-only it depends on the bird. If it is the kind of bird that is more often heard (and identified) by voice I will tick it, for example Bittern, River Warbler, Corncrake and such.
 
I do tick Little Owl, Pheasant and Canada Geese as they have established populations in the wild and have appear to be more or less accepted. Would anyone tick a Great Bustard from the Salisbury project which had flown off to Dorset or Cornwall and was spotted there? I do not tick escapees, ferals....I do not normally tick birds I have only heard unless I suppose I had to.
 
Well it's a bit of a grey area isn't it? But ticking and listing is anyway, it's a way we humans try to make a decisively non-discrete world discrete. So I believe that where you draw the lines is entirely up to you.
I prefer to see the birds in their "natural" area. Easy for stuff like feral parakeets in London, Mandarin Ducks in the New Forest etc. But you're right that it becomes tricky with semi-natural populations (Barnacle Geese in Holland) and re-introductions like the Scottish Capercaillie (originally Scandinavian subspecies). My 'solution' is to go down to subspecies level (if I can identify them) and not to tick a (sub)species if I see it in places I know it has been (re-)introduced. I know there's lots of drawbacks to this, but it's just the way I do it :)

N
 
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