[TN-Bird] Re: County lists
- From: "Mark & Tommie Gail Bennett" <benn5609@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'TN-Bird'" <TN-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 20:49:01 -0600
In Illinois, listing is a "big deal" and a sort of "fun thing" as well. =
The
IOS web site has a page devoted to several types of listing in that =
state
including county listing. They have a threshold of 150 species per =
county
and have at least 1 person with that number for all 102 counties in the
state.
For those who are interested, a link to the IOS list page is below:
http://www.illinoisbirds.org/Listing/ILListersCornerMainPage.htm
Mark Bennett
113 Iroquois Circle
Russellville, KY 42276
-----Original Message-----
From: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] =
On
Behalf Of Don Miller
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 8:28 PM
To: TN-Bird
Subject: [TN-Bird] County lists
TN-Birders,
I am pleased to read David Trently's and Stephen Stedman's thoughts on=20
county listing. I concur with what they've written and would like to=20
add a few thoughts of my own on the subject.
Although I began keeping daily birds records on January 1, 1994, I did=20
not systematically begin entering info in comprehensive county-specific=20
ways until about five years ago. Since then, I have found that my=20
knowledge of our region's birds has increased enormously, due in large=20
part to the act of keeping county lists and notes. Here, in no specific =
order, are some of my observations drawn from county listing--
[1] A target of 200 species per county, in East Tennessee at least, is=20
sufficient to generate meaningful birding and significant bird records. =
A target higher than 200 can generate significantly more depth. (200=20
might be inappropriately low for West Tennessee, which has the bird-rich =
Mississippi flyway to stock its counties with a greater variety of=20
species than we typically get in East Tennessee.)
[2] A target of 200 is likely to require several years for counties=20
other than the one in which the birder lives, and even in the birder's=20
home county, reaching 200 is a tough goal in only one year.=20
[3] To reach 200 species in any county (even the home county), a birder=20
has to identify and bird a wide variety of habitats, and targeted=20
birding has to be done in all seasons of the year, including especially=20
the prime migration windows of April 15-May 15 in spring and August=20
25-October 10 in fall.=20
[4] Anyone who birds enough in one county to reach a total of 200=20
species is bound to find a number of rarities and is certain to make=20
some useful observations regarding early dates and late dates for=20
migrants, seasonal abundance, habitat variety and abundance, and various =
other things that contribute to our understanding of birds.=20
[5] Striving for a high total pushes birders to sharpen their skill at=20
identifying birds by ear, since getting a high total as efficiently as=20
possible requires familiarity with birds that are seldom seen (night=20
birds, marsh birds, and deep woods birds, for instance) and even common=20
birds can usually be identified more quickly by their sounds than by our =
seeing them.=20
[6] Improvements in ear birding lead the birder to create more accurate=20
records regarding abundance, since fewer birds slip by unidentified.
[7] Striving for a high county total can help us shore up gaps in=20
Tennessee bird records. The Migrant, as good as it is, in some ways=20
only reflects the fact that birders tend to keep going to the same spots =
over and over, which does provide depth of coverage in those spots but=20
which discourages breadth. There are many Tennessee counties that are=20
poorly known, or that are only known from a site or two, or that are=20
only known well in one season of the year.
[8] Striving for a high total encourages birders to find legal and=20
appropriate ways to bird our little-known private lands--for instance,=20
by birding from back roads and other public areas adjoining private=20
lands and by developing cooperative relationships with private=20
landowners who are interested in learning more about birds and who are=20
willing to allow access to their property. Obviously, there are limits=20
to what we can learn about birds on private lands, but we can do more=20
than we are doing now.
I'm getting long-winded, so I'll stop here. I would like to hear what=20
others have to say on the subject.
Don Miller
Greeneville, Greene Co., TN
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3DNOTES TO =
SUBSCRIBER=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the count in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual date of observation should appear in =
the
first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: =
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________=20
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx=20
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society=20
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
=20
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical =
Maps
located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
_____________________________________________________________
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the count in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual date of observation should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
_____________________________________________________________
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