[TN-Bird] The Top 100

  • From: kbreault <kbreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:44:53 -0700 (PDT)

Tennessee Birders by the Numbers: 2012 (Vol. 8), Special Issue

The Top 100: A Quarter Century of State and Province Birding, 1988-2012

Welcome to the Tennessee Birders by the Numbers (TBN) report for 2012. Given 
that the ABA has a new interactive reporting system and that birders and the 
ABA 
are still working out the various bugs, I decided to make this volume a Special 
Issue.

When Jeff Wilson died I was working on a project to see how Jeff compared to 
other local (state and province) birders in the ABA area. In the past, we have 
seen that Jeff dominated Big Years in Tennessee (Vol. 7), by holding 23, or 
46%, 
of the 50 highest TN Big Years, and 11, or 77.3% of the top 15 highest Big 
Years. We have also seen that for 2007 (Vol. 3), Jeff ranked 4th among all 
birders across all states and provinces, having identified 95.1% of the birds 
on 
the official TN list (that year, Bud Johnson was first with 95.5% of the birds 
for the state of Arizona).

While these statistics help to show how important Jeff was as a birder, Big 
Years may not be representative because many birders do not do Big Years, and 
the comparative percentage of state/province birds is highly dependent on the 
particular state/province (among other things, the likelihood of rare birds may 
be an important factor), and of course one year's result may also be 
unrepresentative. So it bothered me that we did not know more. Thus, the 
question I wanted to ask was: how does Jeff's ranking on the TN list over the 
last 25 years compare to all birders in all states and provinces in this last 
quarter century, 1988-2012?

The list of the Top 100 state and province birders below is  the result. It 
includes data for the 40 highest ranking birders over 25 years in each of the 
63 
states and provinces (Hawaii was included, as was DC, but there are no ABA 
results for the newest Canadian province of Nunavut--with the exception of 
2012--and the French islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon.), or roughly 40 x 25 x 
63 = 63,000 data points, covering the 2,500 highest ranking state and province 
birders in the ABA area.

Without boring readers with the methodological specifics (email me if you are 
interested), the structure of the data allowed for the use of a reverse 
numbering system where a rank of 1 = 40 points, 2 = 39, 3 = 38...40 = 1, in 
which the highest possible score was 1,000. A score of 1,000 would mean that 
the 
birder had the highest score possible across all states and provinces, and that 
he or she was the top ranking birder in the relevant state/province for all 25 
years. A score of 975 would indicate  that the average rank over  the 25 years 
was 2, 950 = 3, 925 = 4, etc.

Now, as an apology I have to admit that while I just said that I was working on 
this project when Jeff died, the fact of the matter is that I had been working 
on it for quite some time (indeed, for more than a year), and that my own 
professional activities got in the way. But, of course, that is only an excuse. 
Frankly, if I had just worked a little more on the project Jeff would have been 
able to see these findings. I did not know Jeff was ill and while something 
seemed wrong when I met him when looking for the Ash-throated Flycatcher in 
Memphis, he seemed himself when he quickly jumped out of his truck to get a 
better look at the bird. So my regret, and it is a significant one, is that 
Jeff 
is not here to see these results. I feel badly about that but hopeful that the 
many people who supported him over the years will only have more of a reason to 
do so now.

In the following Top 100 list the  state abbreviations are not  the home 
state/province of the birder (although that is the case for most of the birders 
on the list), but the particular state/province on which the birder's score was 
based. This can be seen more clearly, for example, when looking at the 10th 
ranked birder on the list, Gordon Grieef, at a score of 984 for Manitoba, who 
is 
also on the list for Saskatchewan for a score of 897. Other birders with scores 
for more than one state/province are also presented, and note that while it did 
not make the Top 100, Jeff had a score of 844 (rank of 132), for the state of 
Mississippi, and a score of 806 for Arkansas (generally speaking, scores less 
than 837-rank of 142, were not calculated for ranks).

Of course, many of our more national TN birders will be quite familiar with the 
names on this list, all of whom have been at the top of state and province 
birding in the ABA area over the last 25 years. And be sure to note not only 
Jeff's extraordinary performance for TN,  but other Tennessee birders on the 
list: Daniel Jacobson with a score of 929 (rank of 46), and John  Henderson, 
875, at a rank of 95. Still other TN birders not on the Top 100 list scored 
well, Dollyann Myers with a score of 854 (rank of 122), and Kathy Jacobson with 
851 (rank of 126). If you are not on the list and wondering why, remember that 
the list generally involves high ranks in the 25 years of the study. If you are 
interested in calculating your own score but are having problems let me know. 
While I am a newcomer to Tennessee compared to many TN birders, and mainly 
interested in total ticks, let me offer that I broke the 40 rank level in 1995 
when I ranked 34 on the TN list, and by calculating up through 2012 I end up 
with a score of 175 out of 1,000 for the 1988-2012 period. Not sure what that 
overall ranking would be, but it is not exactly something to crow about!

But this is: in summary, these data (63K strong and covering about 2,500 
birders), show that Jeff Wilson, with a score of 955 out of 1,000, was the 
second highest ranking  state and province birder in the ABA area  (including 
HI) in the last quarter century, 1988-2012.

The Top 100 list that follows includes the rank (1-100); the score (0-1,000, 
effectively 871-1,000); the birder's name; the state/province abbreviation for 
the place in which the score was produced; the last year of listing activity 
for 
the birder and the number of birds on the list at that time; and a reference to 
an additional score if the birder has more than one score on the list.

The Top 100

1. 997 Robert Janssen (MN), 2012, 405
2. 955 Jeff Wilson (TN), 2012, 388
4.-t 990 Frank Mantlik (CT), 2012, 380
4.-t 990 Paul O'Brien (MD), 2012, 407
5. 989 Edward Hopkins (IN), 2012, 384
6. 987 Don Roberson (CA), 2012, 604
8.-t 985 Gene Knight (MS), 2012, 380
8.-t 985 Daniel Finizia (RI), 2012, 384
10.-t 984 Reginald David (HI), 2012, 236
10.-t 984 Gordon Grieef (MB), 2012, 359, and see 897

11. 981 Charles Wes Biggs (FL), 2012, 474
12. 979 H. Thomas Bartlett (OH), 2012, 370
13. 975 Roger Foxall (NS), 2012, 363
15.-t 974 Harry  LeGrand (NC), 2012, 433
15.-t 974 Paul Sykes  (FL), 2012, 457, and see 876
16. 964 Steve West (NM), 2012, 483
17. 962 James Haw (IN), 2012, 370
20.-t 960 Mark Brogie (NE), 2012, 405
20.-t 960 David Eastela (MO), 2011, 331
20.-t 960 Alan Wormington (ON), 2011, 438, and see 905

21. 959 Frank Paul (ME), 2012, 351
22. 956 Caroline Eastman (SC), 2012, 376
25.-t 955 Glenn Belyea (MI), 2012, 395
25.-t 955 Christopher Escott (SK), 2011, 312
25.-t 955 Daryl Tessen (WI), 2011, 407
27.-t 954 Bob Morse (WA), 2012, 434
27.-t 954 Kenneth Ward (NY), 2011, 435, and see 882
28. 950 Mike Rader (KS), 2012, 434
29. 949 Sheran Wright (OR), 2012, 462
30. 947 David Lambeth (ND), 2011, 366

32.-t 946 Helen Carlson (MT), 2011, 382
32.-t 946 Bruce Garrett (CA), 2012, 600
34.-t 945 Richard Rosche (SD), 2012, 334, and see 880
34.-t 945 LaRue Wells (MI), 2012, 393
35. 942 Gordon Tufts (NS), 2012, 344
37.-t 940 Thomas Heatley (MI), 2012, 387, and see 890
37.-t 940 Elton Stilwell (TX), 2011, 597
38.-t 939 High Willoughby (RI), 2012, 366
39. 937 Robert Bradley (AZ), 2012, 490
40. 936 Jo Ann Mackenzie (BC), 2012, 411

42.-t 934 Kenneth Thorpe (PQ), 2012, 308
42.-t 934 Carolyn Titus (NV), 2012, 425
43. 933 Bernard Morris (PA), 2012, 361
44. 932 Larry Peavler (IN), 2012, 371
46.-t 929 Daniel Jacobson (TN), 2011, 365
46.-t 929 Shannon Knight (MS), 2012, 368
48.-t 928 Hugh Currie (ON), 2012, 432
48.-t 928 Nancy Newfield (LA), 2011, 412
49. 929 Tobert Stymeist (MA), 2012, 446
50. 922 William Drummond (MA), 2012, 435

54.-t 920 Wendell Argabrite (WV), 2012, 310
54.-t 920 Jeff Gilligan (OR), 2010, 489
54.-t 920 Barbara Padelford (NE), 2010, 391
54.-t 920 David Stirling (BC), 2012, 424
56.-t 919 Ted Cable (KS), 2012, 435
56.-t 919 Richard Rosche (NE) 2012, 361, and see 945
57. 918 N. Bruce Broadbooks (CA), 2011, 591
58. 917 Galen  Pittman (KS), 2012, 431
59. 916 Jeffrey Sanders (IL), 2011, 399
60. 914 William Bouton (MI),2012, 366

62.-t 912 Richard Cannings (YT), 2010, 172
62.-t 912 Paul Dejardins (CT), 2011, 363
63. 910 Larry Gorbet (NM), 2012, 480
64. 908 Graig Provost (VT), 2012, 309
65. 907 Janet Witzeman (AZ), 501
67.-t 905 Wayne Weber (BC), 2012, 426
67.-t 905 Alan Wormington (NT), 2011, 157
69.-t 901 Paul Bauer (MO), 2011, 370
69.-t 901 David Goodwin (FL), 2012, 456
70. 899 B.J. Rose (SD), 2010, 342

72.-t 897 Gordon Grieef (SK), 2012, 234, and see 984
72.-t 897 Byron Swift (DC), 2011, 231
73. 896 George Schottler (CO), 2011, 460
75.-t 894 James Frank (WI), 2012, 363
75.-t 894 Jim Fuller (IA), 2011, 388
76. 893 Robert Duncan (AL), 2012, 376
77. 892 Ann Miller (AL), 2010, 375
78. 891 Wayne Neily (MB), 2011, 339
79. 890 Thomas Heatley (WV), 2012, 204, and see 940
80. 886 Lee McNeely (KY), 2012, 294

81. 885 Tom Garrer (PA), 2011, 367
82. 884  Kenneth Burden (WA), 2012, 419
86.-t 882 David Horn (OH), 2012, 365
86.-t 882 Ken Knittle (WA), 2011, 418
86.-t 882 Jeri McMahon (OK), 2010, 419
86.-t 882 Kenneth Ward (VT), 2011, 328, and see 954
87. 881 Larry Neily (NS), 2012, 284
88. 880 Paul Pisano (MD), 2012, 398
89. 877 Hank Kaestner (MD), 2011, 371
91.-t 876 Steve Compton (SC), 2012, 355

91.-t 876 Paul Sykes (VA), 2012, 357, and see 974)
95.-t 875 Brad Hammond (ID), 2012, 316
95.-t 875 John Henderson (TN), 2011, 360
95.-t 875 Bernard Master (OH), 2012, 368
95.-t 875 Russell Tkachuk (MB), 2011, 330
96. 874 Bob Bates (AZ), 2012, 500
100.-t 873 James Brown (MT), 2012, 356
100.-t 873 Loren Padelford (NE), 2011, 390
100.-t 873 Wayne Weber (MS), 2010, 364
100.-t 873 John Wright (NC), 2011, 419

To all that we know about Jeff these data add  that he was a local birder with 
a 
truly national standing. He will be missed and I submit, and these data 
certainly show, not easily forgotten.

Some Top 100 Statistics

51 states/provinces, including DC, are on the list: 42 states and DC, and 8 
Canadian provinces. Michigan and Nebraska have the most birders on the list 
with 
4, and 13 states and provinces have 3 birders on the list, including TN: Jeff 
Wilson, Daniel Jacobson and John Henderson.

Among the states and provinces that are not on the Top 100 list, the following 
are the highest scoring birders in those areas:

AK: Macklin Smith, 818
AR: Don Simmons, 809
DE: Colin Campbell, 861, rank of 115
GA: Bruce Dralle, 864, rank of 111
NH: Alan Delorey, 831
NJ: Richard Ryan, 837, rank of 142
UT: Parker Gay, 820
WY: James Lawrence, 847, rank of 130
AB: David Stirling, 867, rank of 109
NB: Eric Tull, 854, rank of 122
NF: Blake Maybank, 720
PE: Eric  Tull, 741

Among the states and provinces that ARE on the Top 100 list, the following are 
the second ranking birders on state/province lists who did not make it into the 
top 100:

DC: Elton Stilwell, 728, and see 940
HI: Douglas Pratt, 805
ID: John Gatchet, 783
IL: Richard Palmer, 809
IA: Thomas Kent, 851, rank of 126
KY: Larry Peavler, 869, rank of 105
LA: James Holmes, Jr., 838, rank of 138
ME: James Hinds, 843, rank of 134
MN: Richard Wachter, 867, rank of 109
NV: Marian Cressman, 834
NY: Jeanne Skell, 784
ND: Robert O'Connor, 837, rank of 142
OK: Jimmy Woodward, 868, rank of 107
TX: Charles and Mary Gambill, 863, rank of 113
VA: Valarie Kitchens, 869, rank of 105
NT: Wayne Neily, 837, rank of 142, and see 891
PQ: Roger Foxal, 869, rank of 105
YT: Wayne Neily, 821, and see 891

The median score (0-1,000), on the Top 100 list was 921, the mean bird  list 
for 
the most recent (indicated) year was 389, with a range from 157 (NT) to 604 
(CA).

Of the Top 100, 65 birders last reported results for 2012, 28 for 2011, and 7 
for 2010. Note that I waited until today, March 31, 2013, for birders to 
report. 
Of the birders on the list 97 began reporting at the beginning of the period, 
1988, and only one, Wendell Argabrite (920, WV), began reporting as late as 
1990--Argabrite has a number one ranking in West Virginia since that time.

Six birders have two scores on the Top 100 list: Gordon Grieef (984, MB and 
897,SK); Thomas Heatley (940, MI and 890, WV); Paul Sykes (974 and 876, VA); 
Richard Rosche (945, SD and 886, NE); Kenneth Ward (954, NY and 882, VT), and 
Alan Wormington (960, ON and 905, NT).

Other than Jeff, discussed above, several birders on the Top 100 list have 
additional scores that just missed the list: Larry Peavler (932, IN and 869, 
KY-rank of 105); Ted Cable  (919, KS and 845, IN-rank of 131); David Stirling 
(920, BC and 867, AB-rank of 109); and Wayne Neily (891, MB and both: 837, 
NT-rank of 142 and 850, NS-rank of 127. Also, Eric Tull has three scores that 
barely missed the top 100: 854, NB-rank of 122; 848, AB-rank of 129; and 838, 
NT-rank of 139.

Finally, as I was going through the data I was struck by how important it 
appears to be to have a spouse in the game. These were the highly ranked 
married 
birders I could easily identify: Gene and Sharron Knight (985 and 929, MS); 
Caroline Eastman and Robin Carter (956 and 761, SC), and note that Robin, the 
15th all-time highest total ticker, is deceased and was not listing after 2007; 
our own Daniel and Kathy Jacobson (929 and 851, TN), Barbara and Loren 
Padelford 
(920 and 873, NE), Richard and Gloria Watcher (867-rank of 109, and 860-rank of 
116, MN), and Charles and Mary Gambill (863 and 863-rank of 113, TX). Perhaps a 
birding dating service is in  order.

Speaking of the Gambills and marriages, perhaps the most competitive 
state/province in the last 25 years was Texas, where Barbara and John Ribble 
(who I knew briefly in my youth), competed for the number one ranking with 
Elton 
Stilwell. The three were tied in 1988, but the Ribbles lost the top spot to 
Stilwell in 1991-93. They took it back in 1994, only to lose it again in 1995. 
The Ribbles then tied with Stilwell in 1997-98, and then went ahead in the 
1999-2005 period. Yet, they lost the top spot again in 2006, and were no longer 
listing in 2007 (they ended up with a score of 749 for the quarter century). In 
that same year the Gambills took the top spot and held it through 2009, only to 
tie with Stilwell in 2010-11. Neither party has listed for 2012, but I for one 
really want to know how this important state comes out in the end, especially 
since the 2011 tie was at 597 birds, second highest in the entire ABA area!

I also observed  in several states/provinces that several birders who had lost 
their number one ranking then stopped listing, perhaps confusing the year's 
battle with the war. What Jeff, the other birders in the Top 100, total 
tickers, 
and many other birders understand is that birding is a lifetime activity in 
which the greatest satisfactions come when you stay in the game, "win" or 
"lose."

Going Forward: Millennium List, 2001-2012 and Beyond

In the future it may be of interest to limit the total years of the Top 100 to 
a 
millennium list, state and province birders beginning with January 1, 2001. 
While the following are somewhat preliminary (because they only include birders 
who were listed in the 1988-91 period), these are the findings but only 
restricted to the top 10 birders and the TN list (a score of 480 is the highest 
possible).

1. 480 Jeff Wilson
2. 428 Daniel Jacobson
3. 422 Dollyann Myers
5.-t 416 John Henderson
5.-t 416 Michael  Todd
6. 399 Terry Witt
7. 391 Kathy Jacobson
8. 388 David Chaffin
9. 363 Tommie Rogers
10. 319 Rick Knight

I hope to have a more complete list on the next TBN. Note that in order to 
produce this list and some other statistics birders should report their 
previous 
year's results in January of the following year, and I expect to put together 
the previous year's results (on the TBN), as of the end of the following 
January.

Well, that is it for the TBN 2012 Special Issue report, a kind of unexpected 
memorial report for Jeff as it turned out. I apologize in advance for any 
errors. If I have made a mistake let me know and I'll make the change asap. The 
usual TBN report will be back for 2013, hopefully earlier in February of 2014. 
Finally, several people have asked me how my quest for my life goal of  10,000 
total ticks was going. The answer is that while I missed a couple of good TN 
birds including the Harlequin Duck and of course the longspur, I did pick up my 
9,998 and 9,999th bird visiting my daughter at college--my 15th out-of-state 
trip to AL (no other state has as many OSTs for me now; KY comes in second with 
12). I hope to go on two trips in May so I have about a month for a good TN 
bird 
to get me to 10,000! I still have a couple of easy ones left. And I just heard 
the great news about our Hooded Crane! Too bad it can't be the 10,000th bird.

Remember, you can't list your ABA totals unless you are a member of the 
American 
Birding Association (www.americanbirding.org). I believe the Individual and 
Joint membership will continue to be $45 and $52, and that includes a 
subscription to Birding and the new interactive web site.

Always be good to birds and generous to birders of all stripes, and keep Jeff 
in 
your thoughts. Good birding and good totaling!

Kevin Breault
Brentwood,  TN

www.mtsu.edu/~kbreault

Canadian abbreviations:

AB = Alberta
BC = British Columbia
MB = Manitoba
NB = New Brunswick
NF = Newfoundland and Labrador
NT = Northwest Territories
NS = Nova Scotia
ON = Ontario
PE = Prince Edward island
PQ = Quebec
SK = Saskatchewan
YT = Yukon Territory

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  • » [TN-Bird] The Top 100 - kbreault