Tuesday November 18 - Lists

The bulk of today's post relates to yesterday. About mid-afternoon I got a message from Rob W relating to a Snow Bunting along the dam at Upper Bittell. This was a drop everything, jump in the car moment.

On arrival I could see a group of three birders huddled at the far end of the dam, so I hastened to join them. As I'd hoped, Rob, Chris and Josh were still on the bird and so it was just a case of them pointing to where it was.

My thanks go to Rob who found the bird, initially on call, and was kind enough to think of me. Others were called, but a winter's weekday late afternoon is not ideal for most, and no-one else arrived. Chris and I got distracted by looking at Gulls after fifteen minutes, and shortly afterwards we could no longer find the Bunting. Maybe it had gone to roost, or perhaps it had just gone.

So why was seeing it so important? Well it's all about lists. I've kept lists of birds for nearly fifty years. My first was my British List which I was encouraged to compile at University in November 1978. At the time it stood at 143, so I was able to recall seeing (or thinking I'd seen) that many species since childhood. There were some dodgy ones on there; Tree Sparrow, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and maybe a few more, but in time I saw them for certain.

My first local list was my Bittell List, and from 1978 to the early 2000s I cherished it, and also my Upton Warren List. In all that time there had never been a Snow Bunting at Bittell. The last records were in 1964, and possibly 1969 (one at Cofton Richards in April). So even though my Bittell list is more of a historical thing, I was very keen to add Snow Bunting.

One of the peculiarities of my list making is that many lists have been, if not abandoned, then put on the back-burner as my birding priorities have changed. Nowadays the lists that matter to me the most are my Morton Bagot lists and my 10 k square Circle year list. But if I ever move house for example, they too might be discontinued.

List making can be seen as nerdy, but I would defend it for one reason. It helps you remember what you've seen and focus on what you want to see. Birds on lists matter more than birds seen, for example on a birding trip to Norfolk. They do to me anyway.

Technically, this Snow Bunting might have been within 10 k of my house, parts of the east shore should qualify. But having decided from the outset not to include Upper Bittell in its entirety I will not be adding it to the 10k year list. It's my list, my choice.

Today, I resumed my 10 k wandering. I visited a wood at the eastern edge of the Circle near Wootton Wawen. It had no public access and I did not have permission to be there. This was a shooters wood, Pheasant pens everywhere. Thankfully no-one shot me. The best bird was a Marsh Tit.