Life List

by Harold Brewer

Serious birders keep a record of the various species that they have seen. The record can be as simple as checkmarks on the pages of a bird guide. Or the record can be detailed accounts of birds seen, locations, numbers and behavior, along with any variety of details depending on the individual interests and skills of the observer. My early lists, starting back when I was a youngster, were checkmarks and turned down page corners in my old Peterson Guides. I still have a few of those, dating back into my teens.

Today the most popular way to keep a bird list is by using eBird. In 2002, a joint effort by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society launched what has become in less than 20 years, the largest citizen science biodiversityrelated project in history. An astonishing collaboration of partners, expert bird scientists and hundreds of thousands of bird watching users have joined together to build an online, easily-accessible database that is growing by over 100 million bird sightings from around the globe each year.

Birders who have accumulated long life lists, lists of different species they have observed over the years, are always in search of “lifers”. A lifer is a species of bird that we personally see and identify for the very first time. As our own lives mature, an active birder has a more difficult time finding new lifers to add to his or her list.

Last month, I first heard then watched a flock of parakeets in flight above Sunrise Cay. I immediately noticed the rapid chattering calls they were making. We have had various species of parakeets here at The Reef from time to time. These sounded different. After several attempts I was successful in taking quality photos of the birds necessary for a firm identification. To my surprise, these were White winged Parakeets. Natives of the Amazon River valley, escapees from captivity in Miami-Dade decades ago, they have declined in population in south Florida and had never before been reliably reported in Monroe County or the Keys. “Lifers”.

For local birders with a long life list to find and identify, a new species is a big event. In the last few weeks, these little green birds have become “lifers” for several Members and guests here at The Reef. Great fun and just another benefit of our wonderful environment in the northern Keys.