“Scarlet Macaw, Tick”. Listing revisited.

Listing means different things to different people; a challenge, motivation, competition, research, or a complete waste of time. My philosophy is simple, if it works for you then good on ya. Just don’t ask to see mine – one of us might be disappointed :)

Over the years various note books have been filled with species seen on my travels. And ticks have been scribbled in the margins of field guides. But until recently I’d never worked out how many species I’ve seen. I didn’t even have a UK list. More worrying is that I’m sure some trip notes have gone a stray! Having decided to take my birding more seriously this haphazard approach has to come to an end. Indeed why write down what I’ve seen if I’m not going to put these records in some semblance of order?

So I’ve jumped in the deep end and invested in some listing software - Wildlife Recorder Professional World Edition (£99.99). Working as I do in IT I could have put together a database myself, but life’s too short to re-invent the wheel. And having entered all my species sightings in just one night I’m so far suitably impressed; species entry is very fast when all you need to do is talk into a mic, “Scarlet Macaw, Tick.”

As I get more familiar with this software I’ll post a review, in the meantime questions are welcomed.

And the count is in – let’s just say I now know where my efforts need to be focused. Less blogging, more birding perhaps?