A great deal of birding is the simple act of being in nature, your senses tuned to the slightest movement or sound in the trees, trying to discern an identification with very subtle and miniscule clues, sometimes alone but often with other birders, telling stories of birds seen and birds missed and birds we want to see one day, and generally an extremely enjoyable experience.
Another side of birding, and just as enjoyable for many of us, is the push for one more bird for your county, or life, or year list, striving to reach the threshold of 400 county birds, or 600 California birds, or the highest big day or big year, the thrill of the phone call of a potential county record, the frustration of slow drivers as you're hurrying to get to the bird before it disappears, and the satisfaction of adding another tick to one or several of your lists, or, heaven forbid, the frustration of seeing the bird all too briefly to count it.
The competitive aspect of birding is very prevalent, and certainly affects many birders, and the numbers involved are very impressive. If I may bore you with numbers for a bit, the top world lister (as reported to the American Birding Association) is Tom Gullick (8,942 birds). Macklin Smith is the top lister of the 49 continental states and Canada (887), California's Bruce Barret holds his state's record (594), and there are records for the lower 48, Mexico, each continent and each ocean, lists for photographed birds, and the impressive "total ticks" record held by Kenneth Ward (15,594) . . . the cumulative numbers of birds seen in different states or regions . . . along with many other lists. One must keep in mind though, that many top birders do not report their lists to the ABA, and if they chose to submit could certainly move many birders "down a rung."
Locally, our top county birder is Brad Schram with 427 birds, and that is even more impressive when you consider that comprises 95% of the birds ever seen in the county. Brad also has the second highest list in Santa Barbara County (450) and no doubt would rank near the top in California, and respectfully high in the world. Four hundred birds is the ultimate goal for county listers, and San Luis Obispo County has six birders over that mark, and Bill Bouton needs just one more bird to enter that realm. Sometimes I wonder how I'll ever find the 14 birds I need to reach that magic number. Just to show the incredible bird diversity in our county, 427 birds is a higher number than 19 states have on their entire lists.
In 1999 several of us participated in a Big Year for the county. I had been on a slight hiatus from birding and it was a great way to thrust myself back into the birding scene. We scoured the county, finding birds and chasing the birds the other's had found. I ended the year with 311 birds, trailing Tom Edell (312), Bill Bouton (344), and Greg Smith (345), a county record that still stands. The state big year record is held by Richard Norton (429).
The San Luis Obispo county big day record is held by Tom Edell and Greg Smith (181), a record held since 1988. A big day takes extensive planning on routes and timing and pre-scouting to "stake out" the expected birds. It often starts well before the sun rises, driving to the far reaches of the county and working back towards the coast to finish after sunset to get the owls. California's big day record — held by Jon Dunn, Kimball Garrett, Van Remsen, and Richard Webster (231), all superstars in the birding world — was set in 1978.
Of course, one doesn't have to range far and wide for a list. Many birders take great pride in their yard list, and one of my favorite birding events is the Big Sit. It happens every year on the second Sunday of October, and birders must count what they see while remaining inside a 17' diameter circle. It's great fun, and a place of gathering for most of the county's top birders throughout the day, and ends with champagne at sunset. In 2000, our little circle in the Elfin Forest had the highest number of birds seen in the world (122), and consistently ranks in the top five circles. We do live in a marvelous birding area.
