I was going to try to let this subject die, but Steve Clark gave the best
contribution yet, so here goes ...
I basically follow the rules on Tony Palliser's home page :
1. All species counted should be seen alive and in the wild.
2. Geography shall be defined as Mainland Australia, its Territories or
anywhere within the 200 NM limit.
3. Taxonomy should follow the new RAOU checklist .
4. Submissions should be honest, accurate and dated.
1. Yes, my lists are of birds alive and in the wild, except for my Argyle
Diamond Mine list where I found a dead Oriental Cuckoo. People asked about
counting birds that have been mist netted. I have met banders who have
banding lists. For some it is sufficient to be part of the group that
caught and banded the bird. For others they have to actually put the band
on the bird.
2. Yes, my geography is as above. You might call it twitching to visit
Christmas Island, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, Ashmore Reef and I
admit that I would not have visited these places if I was not a birder but
to me that is one of the big advantages of being a birder. I would not
have visited Birdsville Track, Cape York, Kimberley Coastal Camp, Broome
(16 times), Port Hedland Saltworks (a real tourist attraction!), Canning
Stock Route, Eyre Bird Observatory, pelagic trips, etc, etc, etc if I was
not a birder. They are all fascinating places and worthy of visits, but
before I became a birder I had 12 weeks of annual leave owing as there was
nowhere particular that I wanted to go. As a birder, I now seek out places
I haven't been to, especially where there are birds, and I use my annual
leave. It also means that I want to go to places while the Atlas II
project is on, including revisiting places I have been. Does anyone have
an Atlas list? i.e. species submitted on Atlas forms.
3. Yes, I follow Christidis & Boles. So I do include the "introduced"
species. But I don't include Helmeted Guinea Fowl and Goose sp. even
though I have seen them in places where they are self sustaining. I must
get those Green Jungle Fowl on Cocos Island and Turkey on King Island
........ :-) Again, a great reason to include them on the list so that
people visit these fascinating places. How many people have visited
Northam in WA for Mute Swan? Or Rottnest Island for Common Pheasant? I
keep records of the sub species for future reference in case species get
split, except that my one Wandering Albatross was not identified to sub
species level so I might lose that one the next time they revise the list.
I don't count both Little & Brush Wattlebird, or Black-chinned &
Golden-backed Honeyeater, etc. In the last revision by Christidis & Boles
I lost a few (Swamp Quail, Red-collared Lorikeet, Mallee Ringneck,
Yellow-rumped Pardalote, Kimberley Flycatcher, etc) and gained a few
(Rufous Fieldwren, Mangrove Grey Fantail, Western Bowerbird, Russet-tailed
Thrush, etc).
4. My submissions are honest, accurate but I do not have exact dates for
each species, although I can tell you where I have seen everything. I
don't include a very distant Streaked Shearwater because it may not be
accurate, or a probable brief view of a Red Goshawk. I did not include my
first Rainbow Pitta in the NT because it was a very rough view through
vegetation, but I include it now that I have seen perfect views in WA. I
don't include Rose-crowned Fruit-dove on my WA list, but I keep a record
that I have heard it. I don't include the Pond Heron I saw on Christmas
Island even though it was very probably a Javan Pond Heron, but there was a
chance it might have been a Chinese Pond Heron and so it has not been
accepted on the Australian list.
I hadn't heard or thought about the requirement to date records until
recently. A friend from Queensland has just visited friends / relatives in
Perth & Bunbury, and was planning to see a species (I can't remember which)
just because he didn't have the exact date that he first saw it about 30 to
40 years ago. He wouldn't put it on his list until then. Why? I guess
this dates back to the early days of John McKean and others? I have been
birding for 12 years and I have only just heard of this "rule".
All the best
Frank
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