Good questions Mike (and Al), My opinion is YES, 300 MN birds is still a significant number, as is 200 and to some extent 100 + as a form of a ranking system to signify someone’s experience and/or efforts on a state level and certainly on a county level it is well worth noting. In Martial arts, even a white belt indicates participation and some effort! As for myself, I am still eyeing 300 and am within striking distance (this year?) at 289 MN Birds.
Listing is the most common form of tracking one’s progress/prowess as a birder and a quick, easy if not altogether accurate way of comparing one’s ability and ‘status’ with other birders. I do have to agree with Laura’s comments about numbers vs. skills, as the two are far from synonymous in some cases. I believe that is the intent of the “Personally Found” category MOU has. Personally finding a bird is far more satisfying than running to a ‘stake out’ bird, or just having a highly experienced trip leader point out birds you’re not sure you could ID by yourself. Truthfully, in the past that hasn’t stopped me from taking advantage of someone else’s efforts and willingness to share (those darn gulls are hard, and shorebirds can also be tough for me). But I know more and more, I pride myself on really trying to be able to say to myself, “Yes, I am certain with no one else around I could ID that bird for sure”. That is more than half the fun and challenge of birding. The numbers should really only be a reflection of largely that ability in my view, not just an ability and willingness to drive all over creation or follow behind a skilled trip leader and take the easy pickings. As I now have enough experience, I won’t accept a bird as a Lifer if I can’t do that ID for sure myself. In the last two years, I‘ve passed up Lifer a Le Conte’s Sparrow others have IDed, because based on what I personally saw, I couldn’t be sure of the ID if I were alone. Just my own rule. Even so as Craig pointed out, 300 today is not as tough or impressive as in the pre internet/ iphone /GPS days, when cars, roads and gas stations may not have been as dependable or ubiquitous as they are today. This makes a direct comparison of the most veteran birders feats and the up and comers achievements a bit dicey. Still, 300 species in MN is an impressive accomplishment and worthy of note in almost any way you manage it. As for chasing, although the decision to chase or not to chase is a personal one, and I always tell new birders to enjoy the birds in whatever way they like, I make that decision on a case by case basis – One notable example; I passed up the possibility of seeing a Baird’s sparrow in MN in 2002 (my first BIG year) because as a single dad with a 12 yr old son, the prospect of 8 + hrs of driving with an uninterested 12 year old to see one bird was just out of the question. Being retired (or otherwise having plenty of time to call your own) and of some means (or just obsessive and fanatical) seems to make accumulating large lists that much easier. Regarding remembering your finds, Wow, I hope you remember! Although I just got Avisys last year and finally know what by MN and Life list numbers actually are , I can still remember many, many of my lifer moments, even if I couldn't say "That was my 280th MN bird". In doing many Christmas Bird counts or annual trips, I can recall birds I’ve seen in past years in certain locations, lifers, year birds or just awesome experiences. I always recount to myself (with others if possible) the highlight bird of the day or trip. That is also a big part of the enjoyment of birding for me. If you can’t remember what youv’e seen, What exactly are you doing? In my opinion, it’s well worth getting better at remembering what you’ve done than doing something you can’t even recall. Here's to this years migrants! -- Sincerely, Jim Ryan Saint Paul's Westside ---- "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community" - Aldo Leopold "Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises." - Samuel Butler ---- On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 7:38 PM, Michael Hendrickson < [email protected]> wrote: > Al Schirmacher always have a way to stir conversations up with questions > and I thought I share a birding question with all Minnesota birders who are > members of the MOU listserv or MnBird listserv. > > 1. Is getting 300 birds species in Minnesota still a significant milestone > for those that keep a Minnesota life list? > > 2. For those that already achieved the 300+ plateau do you remember what > your 300 bird was and your 301 bird was and also was it a big deal for you > to break the 300 barrier? > > I forgot what year it was when I got 300 and 301 but I do know I was part > of the Minnesota Birding Weekend and we were down in SE Minnesota at > Kellogg. Kim Eckert found a Bell's Vireo to the east of me and another > birding group found a Dickcissel to the west of me. I ran to see the Bell's > Vireo ( 300 ) and then ran over to look at the Dickcissel ( 301 ). It was a > significant milestone to be part of the 300 club and it would be interesting > to see if others today still feel that getting 300 ( life list NOT annual > list ) is still a milestone to achieve. > > Someone told me that getting 300 in Minnesota is no longer a milestone and > I respectfully disagree with him -- so I am putting this to the test by > asking the MOU members here if its still a milestone or not. Please respond > NOT to me but rather reply to "all" so we can hear your stories about > getting 300 in Minnesota. > > Mike > > Mike Hendrickson > Duluth, Minnesota > Website: http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/ > Blog: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/ > > > > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
