Given a competitive athletic background, coupled with years of compulsive collecting via sports cards, Magic the Gathering, stamps, coins, Magic the Gathering. (Yes, that last one happened twice.) I now find myself 6 years into bird watching, wrapping up a county big year (sitting at 241 species in Washington County, MN) and on the precipice of jumping in with both feet on a big year of personally found birds in the state parks of Minnesota. An adventure that will bring me to all corners of the state looking to explore the natural spaces while recording every bird I can find.
These adventures overlay a much deeper mania wanting to get out, but which I've so far kept at bay. LISTING. Easily the most terrifying word in the bird watchers dictionary in my opinion. It is impossible for some of us to just bird watch. Like many others, I record my efforts in eBird and also import a copy to the MOU (Minnesota Ornithologists Union) and pour over those records on a regular basis.
Every day it seems a new statistic stands out. Hey, I just saw a Pectoral Sandpiper in December, how does that compare to my previous late date? What is the latest all time record for the county, state, etc...
The MOU website takes this all to the extreme. With a short cut on my smart phone I can call up my December month list for species seen and look for the gaps. Many exist as it is my most under birded month due to holidays and family obligations. I began the month at just 55 or so species seen in the state in December and now on the 13th that is up to 72. Just 8 more and my name will pop up on the list of all birders with 80 or more for the month. I already appear in the other 11 month lists with the minimum required number of species. So I'll set out these last couple weeks to reel in more birds like Horned Lark, Barred Owl, and maybe those Bohemian Waxwings hanging out down in Dakota county.
Don't even get me started on what happens when you find your MOU section called 'Personal Monthly Checklists' and you realize how many days of the year you have birded and how many days are sitting at zero species still, just begging you to bird watch on December 17th. Or even worse, the days missing listing that will show which days of the year you don't have a particular species. My top is Black-capped Chickadee with 309, yep just a scant 56 days left and I'll have a Chickadee recorded for every day of the year. (American Crow is close with 293.)
So all that sliced and diced data is available just by putting in your bird watching outings. Then when you dig into it you find a rabbit hole so deep you might never get out. I can't decide if that is good or bad. I'm going with good as it does make you pick at the edges of what is possible, it makes you think about birding differently and it can make every single species 'count' again. That lingering Common Grackle might be a month bird, or a day bird. What's that? Put up 45 species on an unseasonably warm winter day, might be a record for the county. Better check that out. (I personally have set 6 single day MOU month records this year for Washington County and one for Dakota County) I do love a big day that's for sure.
My state park big year will undoubtedly put me on the edge of a county listing adventure in the future. Gotta color in that county/state map, since eBird gives you a nice pretty one with shades for number of species seen. I know some other birders that county list and they seem to have functional lives so maybe it will all be alright. Maybe all this data is really just encouragement to get out and enjoy the birds more, appreciate their resilience and understand their lives better.
So for now, I'm a Washington County lister (251 lifetime), a future State Park lister, and then just a dude that keeps an eye on month lists, adjacent county lists, season lists, day lists, and personal early and late dates. I've no doubt that will all change in the future, but it's all good. As long as I go outside, enjoy the moment, and record birds I don't think any of it is right or wrong. I just really love this hobby and the numbers is another way to extend that fun.
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