Hi Tweeters & Inland NW Birders -

I've just completed the latest update to the excel version of the WA
County Checklist , based on the latest county checklist updates at WA
Birder (Actually, these changes are from a few months ago but I've
been slow to incorporate the updates. Sorry!)

The checklist is available at:
<http://www.wabirder.com/bartel_co_checklist.html>http://www.wabirder.com/bartel_co_checklist.html

This version of the checklist is based on the latest updates of
county-firsts compiled by Ken & Laurie Knittle for Washington Birder,
and covering information gleaned through about Jan 2011. It includes:

1. Addition of one new species for Washington: Solander's Petrel
(following the acceptance of a 1983 record by the WA Bird Records
Committee)

2. County Firsts through Jan 2011, and a few updated county codes.

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. As
needed, the list can be sorted back & forth between older checklist
arrangements, Avisys's Clements ordering, or the newest taxonomic
list decision from the AOU.

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).

Instructions for transferring data:
Short version: Use the same tax order to sort both your old file and
the new one. Add blank rows the where new species will be inserted.
(For this update, that would mean inserting a row below Murphy's
Petrel. 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 and 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. To do this, select the entire file and click
'sort' from the 'Data' menu. Check the box for Header Row, then
select the desired sort order in the top box, with the default
setting of Ascending selected.

4. On your [old] file, insert blank rows [using the 'rows' option on
the Insert menu] where new species will be added. For this update,
that would mean inserting a row between Murphy's Petrel and Mottled
Petrel.

Those changes will leave your data ready for transfer.

6. On your [old] file, highlight all of the cells in the region with
the color coding 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) this would be all the
cells from F4 to AS502.

7. Click on the G4 cell in 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!

All your data should be pasted into the new file.

8. 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 Adams County Willet to confirm the square is now colored red
instead of blank (white)].

That should do it. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.




Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA