So Matt-- the total number of bird species reported this year by ALL OBSERVERS in WA is 363? Well, much as I hate to brag, a SINGLE OBSERVER has now tallied 364 species in BC this year (yes, this does include a few September sightings). The observer is Russell Cannings (Dick?s son), who is trying to establish a new BC year list record, and is now only one or two species away from the old record, depending how you count. If anyone is interested in reading about his effort, Russell?s blog can be found at http://bcbigyear.blogspot.com . His list includes a couple of species that aren?t even on my LIFE list (Horned Puffin, Manx Shearwater).



And if some of you wonder why county listing has never caught on in BC-- we have no counties! We do have something called ?Regional Districts?, which are somewhat analogous to counties. However, there are few if any widely available maps that show Regional District boundaries, and I don?t know any birders who keep Regional District lists.



Good birding, everyone?with a bit of luck, the all-observers year list for WA at the end of 2010 may exceed Russell?s BC year list!



Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC

contopus at telus.net







From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Matt Bartels
Sent: September-21-10 8:33 AM
To: tweeters; InlandNW
Subject: [Tweeters] Updated cumulative WA county year list file available online





Hi Tweeters & Inland-NW-Birders -



An updated version of the 2010 county year list project is up at Washington Birder. We've received updates from most of the 39 WA counties with details through the end of August.



As of the end of August, the state year list was at 363 species, just a bit lower than the same point last year. Both eastern & western WA have recorded over 300 species. All but one county have reported over 150 species by now, and 20 counties have crossed the 200 species mark.



As for the two new species for the list, the Lesser Sand-Plover made it onto the list because it came in before the end-of-August deadline -- look for Canada Warbler in the next round. In a similar fashion, some of the fall migrants dropped by on either side of the Aug 31 cut-off line, so if you notice something obvious missing that was reported in fall, that might be the cause.



Overall, it is a great time to take a look at the lists and see whether you've recorded something in one of the counties that might help fill a gap in the year list. If so, please email the county compiler with details and accept our thanks.



If you'd like to take a look at where things stand, the list and many other interesting files are at the Washington Birder website:



<http://www.wabirder.com/> http://www.wabirder.com/





A direct link to the 2010 county year list & the list of county compilers is:



http://wabirder.com/bartel.html



Thanks to all the compilers and all those pitching in to sketch a picture of another year's birds in WA.





Matt Bartels

Seattle, WA