Hi Tweeters & Inland-NW Birders-

I've just completed the latest update to the excel version of the WA
County Checklist , based on the Fall 2005 issue of WA Birder.

The newest version of the excel-based county-by-county checklist of
Washington birds is available online. The excel file can be found
at: <http://www.wos.org/CountyList.htm>www.wos.org/CountyList.htm
(thanks WOS & Michael Hobbs for hosting).

This version is based on the latest issue of Washington Birder [vol.
13 #3]. Changes include the addition of Red-necked Stint to the state
list, the re-lumping of the Wagtails, county firsts, and a full
update of the data for Chelan County.

If you are looking for a quick reference for how common a given
species is in any county, this excel file can be handy. Further, if
you are interested in keeping track of your county lists, this file
works as a checklist for each county and the state as a whole.

Thanks again to the Knittle's for making this data available in
Washington Birder, and thanks to those who have sent questions,
comments or suggestions. Let me know if you have any problems working
with the sheet or ideas for changes.

Finally, for anyone already using the old file who wants instructions
on how to transfer your information from that one to this new one,
read on (for everyone else, I'd recommend skipping the dry
instructions that follow). This time around, we've got to accommodate
both a new species and one deleted species:


Short version: Use the the same tax order to sort both your old file
and the new one. Add a blank line the where new species will be
inserted. Transfer any records of Black-backed Wagtail into the line
for White Wagtail, then delete the entire White Wagtail line. Copy
color-coded cells portion of old file, and paste "values" only into
the new file [using paste-special].

Longer Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Download newest file from webpage [save under a different name
than your own file]

2. Open both the new file and your old one.

3. Make sure both old and new files are sorted according to the same
taxonomic order - either the 'old' or the 'new' one. To do this,
select the entire file and click 'sort' from the 'Data' menu. Check
the box for Header Row, then select 'older AOU order' or 'new AOU
order' in the top box, with the default setting of Ascending selected.

4. On your[old] file, insert a blank row [using the 'rows' option on
the Insert menu] where a new species will be added. For example, to
make space for Red-necked Stint, insert a row beneath Western
Sandpiper and above Little Stint.

5. Still on your [old] file, to accommodate the lumping of the
Wagtails, first transfer all your sightings of Black-backed Wagtail
up one line to the White Wagtail line. Then highlight the entire
Black-backed Wagtail line, and select 'delete' [on the Edit menu].
Sniffle, as one more possibility disappears...

Those 2 changes will leave your data ready for transfer.

6. On your [old] file, highlight all of the cells that have the color
coding in them and press control-C to copy this section [or use the
'copy' option from the Edit menu]. In the present file (once you've
added the blank rows for the new state species and deleted the lumped
species) this would be all the cells from E4 to AR490.

7. Click on the E4 box of the new file, and then choose 'paste
special' from the edit menu. In the dialogue box that opens, select
'values' under the paste section [instead of 'all']. It is important
to paste only the values -- otherwise you will bring over all the old
color codes too!

7. All your data should be pasted into the new file. Do some double
checking to ensure the formulas are adding up to the same numbers
they did in the old file. Also check to be sure you haven't brought
over the old color codes [check a county first like the Lewis Co.
Red-throated Loon].

That should do it.

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA
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