Life List Clarification

[Dinusaur]

I saw my first Ring-necked Duck in Dec. of last year in Las Vegas. In Ontario I saw it for the first time on March 23rd at Colonel Sam Smith Park. In a situation like this, when does a bird make to one's life list for Ontario? In Dec or in March? Once it enters one's master life list; can it also be included in a region specific list without being counted twice?

[cloaca]

You wouldn't count a bird on an Ontario list until you see it in Ontario.

[Brian Bailey]

Yes, I would add it to your life list in December, and your Ontario list in March.  If you really want to slice & dice your sightings into multiple sub lists, I suggest that you use software of some kind.  I just use eBird.  It's free, effective enough for me, and my sightings become part of the public database.  

BB

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[Dinusaur]

Thanks cloaca and Brian for the clarification. Migrating bird is an interesting challenge. Take for example the Spotted Towhee that many of us saw for the first time last month in Glen Williams, Ontario. Should it be included in Ontario life list given that it is not native to this region?

[thouc]

Of course it should, you saw it in Ontario and it in all likelihood flew here by itself. The only birds that don't count are exotic birds that probably have been released by humans or escaped from captivity (like Mandarin Duck or European Goldfinch).

Here is the Ontario checklist, with the birds that has been accepted in Ontario (some recent ones, like the Brown Booby, haven't been added yet).

/Thomas

[Rotarran]

I second the use of ebird.  It's an easy and convenient tool to keep track of all your lists in all regions of the world.

[Dinusaur]

I second the use of ebird.  It's an easy and convenient tool to keep track of all your lists in all regions of the world.

Thanks - I'll switch to eBird; so far I have been maintaining the list in Excel.

[Bluffs Birder]

I have absolutely nothing against using software like eBird to record all of your sightings, it is fun but keep this in mind, your Life List will be around for the rest of your life, eBird and all the other available software will not.  If it's important to you, I'd back it up by keeping a hard (paper) copy as well.

Walter