Maybe I'm not a birder after all.

I didn't chase the Redwing. I didn't chase Baikal Teal. I
didn't chase the Costa's Hummingbird or the Black-throated
Blue Warbler in Portland. I didn't chase the Falcated Teal
in Eugene.

A few years back, I was invited to come look at a rare bird
that was coming to a feeder in Wahkiakum County. I forget
what the bird was, a Brambling or something. I declined. The
person on the other end of the phone said, "Oh you're not a
lister?" My reply was "well... not a very good one, I guess."

I do keep lists, lot's of 'em. But they reflect my interest
in the place where I live. So, I have a bird list and a
mammal list and an amphibian list and a butterfly list and a
dragonfly list and slug list....

I also have a plant list and a fossil list and... and... and.

I have quantitative list of butterflies nectaring on flowers,
the time of year that Salmonberries and Hooker's Willow start
blooming and when they peak.

For me it's about how things change, how they stay the same,
how they interact and the only way I can manage that is to keep
my study area to a manageable size. I've defined my study area
and I know more stuff about my place than the average person.

I am reminded of a movie call "The God's Must be Crazy" which
I'm guessing many of you have seen. It's all about a Coke
bottle that drops from the sky.... and it's about place and
it's about the definition of crazy.

--
Mike Patterson
Astoria, OR
celata at pacifier.com

If you want to end war and stuff, you've got to sing loud
- Arlo Guthrie