Speaking of birding…

Looking at my year list, I’m now at 134 species for the year, about a week ahead of where I was last year. Last year was the first year I seriously kept a list (my life list stands at 221, with three new species so far this year, red-breasted merganser, ring-necked duck, and white-throated swift).

I’ve only kept a life list seriously for two years now; for me, a life list is more a way to keep track of my progress learning how to find and ID birds, not a reason in and of itself. I rarely “twitch” which is jargo for birders who go chasing every rare bird report they can find, just to add them to the list.

I find myself more interested in watching habitat over time and understanding how it changes. Spring and fall migration are fascinating, not (just) because of the birds that fly through, but because you can see how things change with the season in ways that aren’t obvious if you don’t watch closely — the winter ducks head north, the winter sparrows leave and the summer sparrows fly in, the warblers stop along the way. Birds like goldfinches moult into their “sunday go to church” clothes, and some of the neighborhood regulars pair off and go raise kids. Then in the fall, suddenly the orioles are gone, and you know fall migration is starting the cycle again.

Last year I set goals of 200 (laster, 220) for the life list, and 200 species for the year. Despite everything that happened I met both of them (sort of; I finished it Jan 5, but mostly because I decided not to push in the holidays just to finish it on time). this year, when I was trying to think of goals for the year, I decided to just not worry about it and continue to work on birding as much as I can and working on studying and learning and improving my photography and not set arbitrary goals. I am going to spend time this spring and summer studying swallows, since I struggle with IDs on all but tree and barn, but I just didn’t see the need for goals. It’s okay to have things in your life that aren’t races to the finish, but merely enjoying the trip.

I’ve had a chance to talk to a lot of birders over the last few years, from raw beginners to some of the top experts in the area, and lists tend to come up a lot. I was intimidated by them early on, and it seems many newer birders (and maybe-birders) are as well, because it seems there’s an implied competition to them. For some, there is — and that’s cool. Me? I started a list for a simple reason: I finally hit a point where I couldn’t keep the list in my head well, so I was second-guessing myself on what birds were new to me and what weren’t. that meant it made sense to start keeping track more formally. So I do.

It really comes down to whether you are in control, or the list. If you like the competition of chasing that next new bird, great. If you don’t, nobody will mind. The list is there to help you appreciate what you’re doing, not some monster that needs to be fed the latest random rarity 300 miles away. It’s up to you.

One thing I’m starting to do is build a list of birds I’ve photographed and create an online portfolio of the images. I’m doing it both to show off my images and help me target species I need to add to the library. Does the world really need another image of a snowy egret? Does my portfolio? (answer: yes, if it’s a really good one. But am I going to go stalking egrets just to take photos? Probably not)

Ultimately, the way to enjoy birdwatching (like so many things in life) is to do it. Keeping lists is a good thing only if it makes doing the thing more fun, not less, not a chore. So what I’ve suggested to people asking me if they should keep a list is simple: only if you want to, and only if the list does something for you. For new birders, just relax and look at birds. As you grow into the hobby and learn how to enjoy birdwatching, at some point, you’ll probabl yfind yourself keeping a list, because it was a natural thing to do based on your interests. Until that happens, don’t bother.

Just enjoy

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