How to find your true Colorado bird list total

[Joe Roller]

Mark Chavez's comments were spot on!

Your eBird list is usually an overcount, as it includes birds that 

are not on the official Colorado list, as carefully maintained by 

the CFO's Colorado Bird Record Committee, the CBRC.

Here is one way to figure out your true, valid CO list, the only way to compare

your sightings with other birders:

Start with your eBird CO list total, which is an over-count for most of us.

Subtract species that have not yet been considered or voted on by the CBRC for inclusion 

on the official state list, like Pink-footed and Barnacle Goose.

Other species to subtract from your eBird list are "exotics" like Mute Swan and African Collared-Dove. 

Mexican Duck has been considered and not accepted as a separate species from Mallard. But you'll be pleased to know that birds like 

Fork-tailed Flycatcher HAVE been voted on and accepted. To see the up-to-date, official CO list, go to the CFO website and 

look under "Birding Resources", then at the top of the menu, go to the (printable) Official Checklist of Colorado Birds. 

Some of us print that out and keep a paper list for Colorado birds.

You can keep track of your true CO and county lists this way:

Go to the CFO website, and under Birding Resources, click County Listing,

then Enter Your Counts.  Log in and fill in the boxes. Click Annual and All-time lists. In small font at the bottom, 

be sure to click "Update your counts" or the updates will not be kept. You can do this a few times a year if you 

care to.

But that is somewhat tedious. An easier way is to use the Colorado state list that eBird keeps for you, which is a close

approximation, but an over-count, and mentally subtract PF Goose and any exotics you may have ticked off

on eBird. That is the only way you can compare your lists with those of others. When you hit a milestone, like 

350 or 400 species on your Colorado eBIrd list, you may not have actually hit it yet, if it includes Pink-footed Goose or Mute Swan.

And yes, you can keep your personal lists any way you want, eg, counting birds you see at the zoo or counting the Evergreen

Rufous-collared Sparrow. BUT such a list cannot be compared to any other birders' lists. Use the ABA rules,

of course - no dead birds, no eggs, no birds seen in a mist net at the banding station!

True, it's all a game, but there are good rules to follow to avoid fooling yourself, just as in golf, curling and stamp collecting.

I'll try to answer questions and clarify this off-line (or on-line if of general interest).

Joe Roller, Denver

[Andrew Bankert]

I just wanted to add a quick note that is really minor about listing. If you do report your totals to the ABA you can count anything on the ABA checklist in your state totals even if that species hasn't been accepted by the state records committee.  That means for ABA, you can count Pink-footed and Barnacle Goose if, in your own personal best judgement, you think they arrived unassisted by man.  You cannot count Rufous-collared Sparrow since that does not appear on the ABA checklist.  For ABA, you can even count Mute Swan if you see one you believe is a stray from the countable populations in the Midwest.  I still think that using the official state list is a better way to keep track, but I just wanted to clarify for anyone using ABA's listing rules.  

Andy Bankert

Fort Collins

[Joe Roller]

Andy,

This is NOT my understanding. 

You can count those geese on the ABA checklist ONLY if you have

seen them in the states out east where they have been accepted by the state bird record committees. 

Ditto with Mute Swan and Budgerigar. They are established and countable in some states, but you have

to see one where the local population is established in order to add it to your ABA area or Lower 48 list. 

"Personal judgment" does not trump State Records Committees. The whole idea of having rules for listing

is so we are all on a level playing field.

Joe Roller, Denver

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[Andrew Bankert]

I could not find any mention of state records committees in the ABA Recording Rules.  Has anyone seen anything saying that records committees have any say in ABA list totals?  Here are the rules I was referring to in my first email:

For vagrants it seems pretty clear to me that personal judgement and knowledge are what matters:

(ii) A species observed far from its normal range may be counted if, in the observer’s best judgment and knowledge, it arrived there unassisted by man. A wild bird following or riding a ship at sea, without being captured, is considered traveling unassisted by man.

For introduced species it seems like strays from established populations (in conjunction with the rule above) are countable:

(v) an individual of an introduced species may be counted only when part of, or straying from, a population that meets the ABA Checklist Committee’s definition of being established; 

Again, I personally think that official state lists tend to be more accurate, but I do believe records committees are occasionally too conservative and have rejected species that should have either been accepted or at least received more consideration and the ABA rules are nice in some situations if a lister thinks a decision was too cautious.

Andy Bankert

Fort Collins

[Chip Clouse]

Andy et al,

It has always been my understanding that the ABA only accepts species to their overall list that have been accepted by state bird record committees as having arrived unassisted by man or, in the case of established exotics, been there for multiple generations, is successfully breeding AND has had a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal documenting that. As Joe said, it would lead to a bird being countable only in those states where accepted. For years, Muscovy Duck was only countable in the Rio Grande Valley until FL (and maybe other states) added Muscovy to their State List. Now you can count Muscovies seen on a golf course in Boca (though it feels like cheating...)

Certain birds like Budgy and Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, once ABA countable - but only in FL - have been removed from the ABA list as they are not thriving or "established" anymore. I don't count the Budgy I saw free flying by the Denver Botanic Gardens 15 years ago, OR the one I saw in Dade county, FL 10 years ago, as the only countable ones were around Hermosa Beach north of Tampa when Budgy was still on the ABA list.

Good birding,

Chip Clouse

Golden

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[David Simpson]

Hi all,

State committees are inherently variable and even absent from some states, therefore they are an impractical means of establishing a level playing field in the ABA Listing game.  Furthermore, the ABA Checklist Committee is only interested in reviewing first occurrences within the ABA Area.  Any state first records occurring after that would be up to the local states' committees (or lack thereof).  Anyone wishing to count those birds on state, local, or ABA lists would be at their discretion to do so, regardless of state and local committee decisions.  Furthermore, state and local committees are not a part of the ABA, although they often provide useful guidance when considering first occurrences of species within the ABA Area.  They also provide useful guidance for ABA Listers considering whether or not to count a particular species, but are not binding by the rules of the game.

Full listing rules:  ABA Listing Rules

David Simpson

Fellsmere, FL