Whoso List to List

I had a nice, spirited discussion with a good birding buddy on our way to Holly Beach a while back.  I shared my opinion that hardcore birding competition was something that I find pretty mindless, and that I wouldn't want to see it creeping into Louisiana birding.  My buddy scoffed, pointing out that I keep a list every year, that I keep lists for multiple parishes, and that I recently even designed a type of birding game based on points for calculating the quality (versus quantity) of a birder's year list.  And he was absolutely right; all of that's true. 

Many of us participate in year listing and parish listing games either among friends or, say, when the LOS sponsors such a game.  These reindeer games can be fun, and should be fun.  I recall the epic year-list battle between Charlie Lyon and Mark Swan a few years ago in which both birders racked up record year lists.  I also recall the LOS's great parish listing game that boiled down to a tilt between maestros David Muth and Phillip Wallace.  What I can't remember is who won either contest.  The real fun was watching the battles develop throughout the year.  What made both battles so much fun was that none of the birders involved played dirty pool; there was far more cooperation than competition all around.  Everybody enjoyed seeing the mutual respect between the parties involved.

My listing games are also designed for fun.  My state list is in the 390s.  Think I'll ever catch the all-time mark of 425+?  Not unless Mac Myers stops birding before we all start counting Muscovies.  My Cameron Parish list is at 347.  I take it pretty seriously.  As for the competition, well, I'm not sure who the competition is--I don't have a clue what anyone else's Cameron list is.

I have birding goals: 400 species for LA, 350 for Cameron Parish--and those numbers are my competition.  My yearly goal has always been 300 species. If I get some lagniappe, that's even better.  Saying that my goals are impersonal  may seem hypocritical or like a naive rationalization, but that's the way it is.

List of Lists

I don't travel outside of Louisiana as much as I used to, and rarely just to bird. That's OK. My way of thinking about my Life List has evolved with age. I've accepted that anybody with a tank of gas or a wallet full of plastic can travel around the continent seeing the birds that are supposed to be there. More power to 'em, and sometimes I envy them, but luckily there's no shortage of exciting birds here.


I've become much more interested in the local birds and my local lists, and the challenge of finding surprises here.


Here is a quick, rough count of the many birding lists I do care about right now and the number of species on each:


My Louisiana state list--399

Cameron Parish list--357

Lafayette Parish--292

Vermilion Parish--284

SW LA--376  

Yard list--163