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Sunday, 24 February 2008

My Little List (on keeping bird lists ...)

I am not about to pass comment on ditties from Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Mikado' although I do like G & S's operettas. This small article is about lists, but not lists of everything in the world I would like to get rid of as that would be far too long. No I want to make a comment about bird lists. Those of you who attend the group holidays and fieldtrips know that I keep records of birds seen and I am fully aware that it causes some amount of amusement amongst at least some members. Several of you will remember the Coot that never got onto my list in Scotland. This is simply an explanation as to why I record things that I and members of the group have seen.
First of all let me dispel the myth that I or most other serious birders keep bird lists just so that they have an ever growing number of bird species on it. Well ok some may do it for that reason and to be honest I have yet to meet anyone keen on bird watching who does not want to add more species to what they have seen, but generally speaking most of us keep lists as an educational and learning tool. Just let us try and imagine for example how the ornithological literature would look if early naturalists had not recorded lists of what they had seen and just how lacking in information we would all be about the birds we all enjoy watching. Much of our knowledge (in any field) is in a way simply built upon the knowledge left by earlier 'listers' and recorders. Not all listing is done by professional naturalists and some of you may be aware of the use that is presently made of the records of keen amateurs, who have kept lists over many years of sightings of migrant birds and other wildlife in their gardens or near their homes, and how this has been used to monitor the effect upon wildlife of climate change.
My own lists and recordings of birding trips are simply for personal use in that I use them primarily as a reminder of what I have seen and when. Over time no one can remember everything they have seen and in what circumstances. I have over 1,000 species from three continents on my birding list alone, not to mention the other wildlife I have seen, and there is no way I could remember much about them if I didn't keep records. Incidentally, I would have larger numbers, but I simply record definite and identified sightings. In any event the record of species seen in my garden is equally as important to me as the records made in rather more exotic places. It is basically for educational purposes. I want to learn about the wildlife I see and records help in this process. I haven't always kept such records, but I have no doubt I have learnt a great deal more since I began. Again I would stress that numbers are of no real importance in my opinion as I have met people who have travelled the world and have thousands of bird species on lists, but appear to know little about what they have seen, whereas I have spoken to garden bird watchers who have immense knowledge. I guess it is often simply a matter of how you wish to use the time you devote to your interest. Personally I don't want to watch wildlife and not learn from the experience.
I note down anything I think might be of interest as I never really know when I might want to follow something up. I am becoming more and more interested in butterflies and odonata, and keeping notes on what I have seen and where, is a great help in expanding my limited knowledge. One of these days I may even make some progress with the wild plants I see on trips. It's also a pleasant occupation occasionally looking back on my reports. There is usually a bit of humour in them, as on the whole I find life rather a humorous business. I enjoy writing the reports too and I think I am getting rather better at it the more I do. Educational again you see!
Records need not necessarily simply be reports of course. I really do wish I had artistic abilities as I really enjoy looking at the art of wildlife artists and wish I could record things a fraction as well as some of them. Incidentally one of my favourite wildlife artists is a guy called Keith Brockie. Take a look at his work if you ever get the chance. He has several books available. Photography is useful too of course especially now that digital photography has made things far easier. On the group trip to Northern Ireland we saw Common Blue Damselflies, or so I thought. I confirmed it later from my book, but it was doubly confirmed once I had seen a photograph taken by Denise Morphet and compared it to the one depicted in my book. I think I am now well able to tell the difference between at least the more common male blue Damselflies!
I will continue to keep records and lists for my personal benefit. As you know I also keep records of RSPB fieldtrips and lists of the birds seen and heard. I think recording the birds heard is just as important and my goodness it does get you spending a little time trying to get a better knowledge of bird song. One thing that really brought home the value of bird song to me was when Jillian attended our group. Jillian has no sight, but it does not stop her from enjoying birds and their song. I asked myself if I ever lost my sight would I lose my interest in wildlife. The answer was a resounding 'NO'! It is easy to forget when we have our sight that it is only one of our senses that we use when out birding! We have other members with hearing difficulties and other disabilities, some of which may not always be apparent. I am sure we can all rely on one another for support.
Now there are no birds on my personal lists that I am not definite that I have seen or heard and identified. There are no 'maybes,' 'possible,' 'might have been,' or 'well it could have been.' There are none of these simply because I take my lists seriously and I also often put them in front of very experienced birders who would be quick to tell me that my records are false. I take the same line with the group records. Some may ask why that is necessary as we are just out to enjoy our bird watching. I have two reasons for taking the line I do. First and foremost one of the objectives of the group is to act in an educational manner so whilst it is important that all members feel able to report their sightings it is important that we can agree that these sightings can be queried in a polite manner when there may be some doubt. In that way people new to bird watching learn and those with more experience learn that they make mistakes too. I often make mistakes myself and thankfully there are often people around to correct them. Secondly I wish the group to be taken seriously and that would never happen if we were to have false records of sightings. Now I am off to check how many species are on my UK year list so you can all have a chuckle at my 'little list.'
Good birding
Brian
... and a postscript from Brian - 'lists and local patches'
Members will remember I hope, my article on local patches which appeared in the newsletter recently. Just to show how one can be rewarded by taking a careful interest in one's local patch, I can report having seen a Firecrest not far from my home on 22nd of January 2008. I reported this to the Northumberland Bird Recorder who promptly advised me that there were only two records of Firecrest in Northumberland during the whole of 2007. I'm very pleased (with myself)!
Lists - editors note:
Members are reminded that for reasons of space we cannot publish full bird lists with the newsletter fieldtrip reports. However, our website also carries our fieldtrip reports, and on the website space is not a problem. We will in future publish on the website the lists prepared by Brian and others.