 The Daily Diagnostic A little while ago I coined the phrase “Birders are seldom listless.” I then put the phrase on the front of the 100 Mile House birding checklist. In my case the saying happens to be rather accurate and on occasion I have received annoyed looks from other birders. Perhaps they feel I perpetrate the notion that all birders are a bunch of checklist tickers with no real interest in individual birds. As this summer's house-sit session began, I also commenced filling in my first checklist of birds seen and heard about the property. In just over a week the checklist was more than full and my ingenious coding system of “check marks one day” and “dots another day” soon had the tri-fold bird list filled with messy, indecipherable scribblings. This wouldn't do. How could future generations sift through such a hodge-podge and find the critical information within. To untangle my jottings I purchased a small, coil-bound book from town and rewrote all my sightings. It wasn't as tedious as it sounds because in the few days I'd kept tabs, a pattern slowly took shape. I wouldn't have to rewrite the whole checklist as only about 100 bird species presented themselves on any given day, even on the very best of days. Not that 100 is a small number of birds, it's amazing to find so many birds in one area. I was saved from rewriting the complete checklist of 200 plus birds. Now, keeping a daily list of birds was no problem, just a matter of going down the list and making appropriate check marks. It was fun, not tedium. If a bird appeared that was not yet in the top 100 then it was simply added to the end of the list. One reason this property contains such bird diversity is that within walking distance there is a good-sized pond, a creek, and an upland section. The upland section is comprised of wooded areas, pastures, and mixed forest edges. The creek section runs through relatively untouched riparian areas choked with willows, reed canary grass, and a multitude of forbs such as nettles which provides ideal habitat for Catbirds, Waterthrush, and Veerys, to name a few of the 'skulker' birds. The pond is about a hectare in size without substantial bushes or natural edges as it serves primarily as a cattle watering hole, but it supports an amazing amount of waterfowl including Grebes, Coots, and a variety of shorebirds. Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds also nest around the edge. Counting birds in all these separate habitats can mean a bit of walking each day. However if I do not venture into a section I quickly notice a gaping hole in my list. For example if I did not visit the creek, my list would miss birds common as the Song Sparrow, and the Lincoln Sparrow, not to mention the Alder and Willow Flycatcher. The 'skulkers' I mentioned earlier are also only to be found at the creek. The creek willows are home to Redstarts and other Warblers. In the early part of June I could get the Wilson's warbler at the house. On quiet days, an Olive-sided Flycatcher that lived by the creek was sometimes heard all the way up at the house. On days I didn't stroll to the pond I'd be missing almost all my ducks, and if you don't have any ducks, your list is short indeed. Each day at the pond I could see Mallard, Wigeon, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Scaup, Barrow's and sometimes Common Goldeneye, and Rudy Duck. There was also a chance of seeing Gadwall, Cinammon Teal, Shoveller and Pintail, but these were not standard fare on a typical day. Not visiting the pond also deprived the list of the Red-necked Grebe, and the Pied-billed Grebe (though on silent mornings the Red-necked Grebe could be heard from the house as could the Yellow-headed blackbird.) The Sora Rail, a bird one could only hope to hear, not see, was often heard all the way from the pond to the house. Often seen shorebirds are Greater Yellowlegs, and Lesser Yellowlegs, and Solitary Sandpipers. My list often begins in the early morning, sitting in the pasture with a coffee, after which I walk to the pond with my scope. In early afternoon before it gets hot, I walk down to the creek. Mind you this regimen doesn't happen every day but I do make an effort to fatten the list with these trips. I have stayed on this property during the course of other summers and I am aware that some birds which make my daily list are not representative of a typical bird. The Pacific-slope Flycatcher is an anomaly. Normally the Pacific slope Flycatcher is found along the Fraser River benchlands, this year it arrived early in June and called constantly, in June and now into July. Turkey Vultures also are not uncommon during the summer months, however they do not normally appear every day as they have this year. I think there is only one day they didn't make the list, and that may have been a result of me not being particularly attentive, and spending a good portion of the day in town. Two pairs of Goldfinch have been summer regulars, and this is not typical. Only the males are coming daily to the feeder during July, this suggests the females are somewhere not far off taking care of nests. By a similar token, some birds missing from the daily list this year are usually found here in other years. One bird which comes to mind is the Townsend's Solitaire. These birds usually nest somewhere on the property and I count on hearing their monotonous calls during the day. But not this year. The Dusky Flycatcher also appears to be missing. In a typical year the Dusky is found on at least three spots on the property, but one look at this year's list shows it was heard on only two occasions. These are just a few of the trends such list keeping reveals. So what was my highest number of bird species in a day? On June 10th, I recorded 90. That list included one-time sightings of a Bonaparte's Gull, and a Mourning Dove, missing were common birds such as the Osprey, Greater Yellowlegs and Black Tern. On an average day I count about 75, and into the low 80's if all areas are plumbed. This number slowly drops as July sees the end of nesting by most species, and singing males become silent. So there it is. I'm a list maker. I defend my list making as more than just a way of personal score-keeping in an insane hobby. I strongly suggest that bird names and check marks on a page could be important. Obviously, I have no intentions of quitting my list making any time soon. Sharpen your pencils, and your wits! There are birds about! To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
