Combined Beats’ List, May 2016

This is an update for the combined yearlist compiled by the beat writers at 10,000Birds. The list is becoming big and cumbersome and difficult to fit onto one page. So this month, we have just noted the new sightings while we find a way to update the original without blacking out a city block.

Sightings through May 31^st bring the total for the beats’ combined list to 1744.

The fiddly nature of such a list makes it very difficult to say who has made the biggest contribution so far, but we can acknowledge merit where it is due on a monthly basis.

The award for most submissions in one day goes to Nate who managed to compile an astonishing 22 checklists on May 25^th.

Dragan continues to be teacher’s pet simply by sharing as he goes. It simple Beats, really it is. Try it.

Corey takes the prize for being shyest with the share button apart from a fitful outburst between May 11^th and 13th.

The accolade of worst role model was grumpily accepted by Redgannet who, for the second month running, forgot to share his own sightings.

It is a dream, nay, a mission statement of 10,000 Birds to see as many of the World’s birds as possible. A Strickerian task for an individual, but the combined eyes and optics of beat writers around the globe might be able to make a fair fist of it.

Thus, a combined list of current beat writers will be compiled to see how many birds, weird and wonderful, common or unusual we can find between us. All birds are equal on this list; parking lot birds or pelagic species, breeders or fly-overs, all will be accorded the same status and each shall be worth 1 credit on the list. There may be a bit of backroom competition by the beats as only the first of the species will be noted on the list, but with a little delving, there is more information here than we first realised.

Unexpectedly, every entry can be highlighted as a link. So if you wish to check how many Mallards have been seen by the beats you can. Should the fancy take you, you could call up a 10,000 Birds life list (from 2016 onwards. Backdating has not been ruled out, but logistics make it unlikely) for a particular location or simply study the rest of the checklist from which the link was chosen.

This is not an exhaustive list as a few of the beats do not use compatible listing software, or have reservations about revealing sightings of sensitive birds. Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Still, the list will be as complete as we can keep it and will be updated on the first Saturday of every month.

The Management and beats at 10,000 Birds send a big hat tip and a collective thank you to eBird for their facility which allows us to easily register the beat sightings into a joint accont.

New since the last time;

And this is the complete list. We managed to include it on the post, but the lights in Maidstone dim a little when I try to edit it.