Life list now at 4,150 species
I have recently counted the number of bird species I have seen, over the years, in my 32-year old copy of A World Checklist of Birds by Burt L. Monroe Jr. and Charles G Sibley. It is the first time I have updated this list in decades.
My number of species is now 4,150. This is quite a change from the number normally seen at the the top of this blog each day. That low number dates back to the last time I did a count back in the early 1990s. Now, if I could just figure out how to change that number on my computer! One of my talented daughters will do that for me maybe.
I did notice as I was counting those 4,150 species, that the oldest bird sighting I recorded in the checklist was a Bald Eagle, which I sighted in Vancouver in July, 1961. That occurred while I was hitchhiking from Ontario in central Canada to British Columbia on the Pacific coast, and back again.
My copy of Monroe and Sibley's A World Checklist of Birds was first published in 1990 and revised in 1993. It lists a total 9,702 species. Remarkably in this day and age, most checklists list double that many species.
At 83 years age, and not be as mobile as I once was, and no longer having a car driver's license, I don't see me adding to my life list much more. Moreover, my days of vacationing and birdwatching in dozens of Caribbean islands and Mexican spots like the Yucatan and Cozumel, as well as American states likes like Florida and Arizona won't be repeated.
My last entry is my checklist was for a western American Swainson's Hawk, seen nearby last summer and again this winter. At this time of year, this bird would normally have migrated to South America!
With a life list now at 4,150 species officially, I'm going to finally describe myself as a 'Birder', not a birdwatcher.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry the Birder
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