Lerxst
Well-known member
Hello all;
I've been lurking around the threads related to various birding competitions for a while. Always an interesting topic.
For years, I've wanted to make a run at such a thing, but there are two factors that have put a damper on it. First, I'm not interested in restricting my birding to some specific area, such as the ABA region. It isn't that there is something wrong with having a competition that is confined to a prescribed space. Rather, it has more to do with wanting to see new species and adding to the life list while engaged in this potentially quite expensive pursuit. I agree with the sentiment that some others have noted in different threads: investing lots of money and time in an area where one has already birded extensively is not as appealing as going further afield for new birds.
This means that a year-long global birding effort is a far more attractive idea, but that gets to the second issue: I can't quit my day job or take a year off from it. Such an idea is utterly impossible at this point in our lives, and I am sure this is the case for many other birders.
Keeping the employer satisfied means that one will have several hours during work days, plus weekends and vacations and holidays, to bird. For the sake of putting some numbers on this, let's say a typical amount of yearly vacation is five weeks. That gives 129 non-working days to bird full-time or use for the process of traveling.
So...how many birds species could one expect to record in a calendar year, if one has zero geographical constraints, but rather this time constraint?
Does anyone else find this question and concept to be of interest? Perhaps this category already exists?
Finally.... yes, I bring all this up partly because I'm planning to do something along these lines. In calendar year 2018 my goal is to record at least 2,500 species while faithfully executing the duties of my day job.
Thanks for reading, I'm curious what comments you all might have.
-Michael
I've been lurking around the threads related to various birding competitions for a while. Always an interesting topic.
For years, I've wanted to make a run at such a thing, but there are two factors that have put a damper on it. First, I'm not interested in restricting my birding to some specific area, such as the ABA region. It isn't that there is something wrong with having a competition that is confined to a prescribed space. Rather, it has more to do with wanting to see new species and adding to the life list while engaged in this potentially quite expensive pursuit. I agree with the sentiment that some others have noted in different threads: investing lots of money and time in an area where one has already birded extensively is not as appealing as going further afield for new birds.
This means that a year-long global birding effort is a far more attractive idea, but that gets to the second issue: I can't quit my day job or take a year off from it. Such an idea is utterly impossible at this point in our lives, and I am sure this is the case for many other birders.
Keeping the employer satisfied means that one will have several hours during work days, plus weekends and vacations and holidays, to bird. For the sake of putting some numbers on this, let's say a typical amount of yearly vacation is five weeks. That gives 129 non-working days to bird full-time or use for the process of traveling.
So...how many birds species could one expect to record in a calendar year, if one has zero geographical constraints, but rather this time constraint?
Does anyone else find this question and concept to be of interest? Perhaps this category already exists?
Finally.... yes, I bring all this up partly because I'm planning to do something along these lines. In calendar year 2018 my goal is to record at least 2,500 species while faithfully executing the duties of my day job.
Thanks for reading, I'm curious what comments you all might have.
-Michael