HOLY COW!! Boy, that subject line sure captured everyone's attention!
Sheesch, birders sure are a curious if not twisted lot, huh.

Actually, I have a *hypothetical question* and am looking for an official
answer regarding state listing. Imagine if you will (sounds like Rod Serling
introducing the "Twilight Zone") that you are on the beach at Sauvie Island on
the Oregon side of the Columbia River last Sunday just kind of hanging out (bad
pun, sorry) soaking up some rays and enjoying the peace & tranquility and
magnificent views of Mt. Hood, St. Helens, and the mighty Columbia itself.
Suddenly after several hours you remember that your bins are in the bottom of your
pack. You pull them out and start scanning the opposite side of the river (for
birds of course!). Low and behold, you serendipitously spot an adult
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK soaring around over the tree tops over there which happens to be
Ridgefield NWR. About a minute later, it dawns on you that you don't have
Red-shouldered Hawk on your Washington State list. Clearly, the Red-shouldered
Hawk is "over" Washington although the you happen to be a mile or more away in
Oregon. Bottom line (sorry, another bad pun), does one actually have to have
one's feet firmly planted *in* Washington at the time of such a sighting for
this bird to 'count'? Or is it Oregon? Or both? Or neither? I think I know
the answer (yes, Washington), but am curious what others think or what the
official ABA bird gaming policy is. A scenario such as this may have in fact
happened to you, ...or will happen. Maybe not there, but somewhere. You just
need to be prepared for these sorts of things ya know, especially when a
precious little state tickie mark is at stake.

.........okay, I confess, it's not a hypothetical question :-))

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Richard Rowlett
Seattle / Bellevue (Eastgate), WA, USA

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what
nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
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