Can anyone explain to me what an untickable sighting is? As an avid birdwatcher of nine years,I have recently started my life list(to those of you who are feeling a little faint,sorry).I have heard this term used a few times now and am a little confused.I assume (never a good idea); it to be a bird that you are 99% sure of but not positive of.Surely this is a probable sighting,as if you know what species it is,it is tickable.I am not trying to be pedantic,but genuinely interested.Happy birding,Mark. ===============================
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Phil
I feel you miss the simple point of it. My understanding is that listing has never been a contest but is simply a “number of birds seen” that may indicate a rough measure of ability, or persistence or even madness. One can tell that a person with over 700 birds on their list has put in a lot of effort, time and money and is likely to have some knowledge of the birds. As my business I do bird surveys and yes as I wander about writing down plants I also write down the birds and frogs, often as I hear them, not actually seeing them. It does not matter how they are recorded just that they are on the site. However, regarding birding as a pastime, hobby or passion or even a pathology for some, it is different. Up until a few years ago I did simply visit areas on holidays by myself or with the family and enjoyed looking for birds and if I saw a new bird then great. In my early years an experienced bird watcher told me that “tickers” were not real bird watchers. I did not understand ticking but adopted the anti ticker attitude anyway. A few years ago I met a couple of serious birders that changed my view. They were tickers/listers, they loved birding, they were keen and knew their stuff and it was a revelation. As far as I was now concerned I had been wasting a lot of time. By developing a “list” of birds seen, “ticked” off, by place or date, I was then able to systematically target species and groups and therefore tailor extended holidays and weekend visits for birding. I feel that for some of us this is enjoyable and adds a more structure to birding. There is no financial benefit derived, no accolades from anyone else outside of the birding community, no reward other than self satisfaction and showing fellow birders some measure of achievement.
Greg Little
For me a non-tickable sighting, as others have said, is something I’ve pretty much definately seen, but haven’t ticked. In my C&B list, I have a few different symbols to help with my non-tickable sightings:
Tick Yes, I have seen this bird
BVD – Better Views Desired 100% a tick, but %&#@ views, so sighting is to be upgraded when I see the bird better
NRS – Not Really Sure Anything that is not a 100% certain tick – I just put them on my list (but not added to the total) to show myself what I probably have seen but a small part of my mind says I might not have (eg; Flushed Little Button-quail @ Bowra…)
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Me too.
Tony
Same here, but I often need a good look with my first sighting of a species, because I might not be expecting to see it, and therefore not know what field marks to look for.
Peter Shute
The tickability would very much depend on varying factors such as, are the bird lifers and the rate one was paying the guide, I suppose
Carl Clifford
Hi Gang,
As someone who just posted a report with 2 – sightings, I am assuming I am partly to blame for the question.
Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot flying at 400 miles an hour and identifiable by call/options and paid guide only, but not really seen clearly is in my book an un-tickable sighting. Even to the surprise of the guide…
Black-thighed Falconet seen at 2 km’s through Bino’s and even the Guide was uncertain…. even when all other options exhausted, I declare an un-tickable sighting also.
My bird list, My rules!
Cheers.
Steve Potter
non tickable sightings
from [ http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/cgi-bin/namazu.cgi?query=%2Bfr om%3Amwstephens1970%40gmail.com&idxname=birding-aus&sort=date%3Alate> Mark William Stephens]
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non tickable sightings
Mark William Stephens < mwstephens1970@gmail.com>
Sat, 7 May 2011 16:09:29 +1000
Can anyone explain to me what an untickable sighting is? As an avid birdwatcher of nine years,I have recently started my life list(to those of you who are feeling a little faint,sorry).I have heard this term used a few times now and am a little confused.I assume (never a good idea); it to be a bird that you are 99% sure of but not positive of.Surely this is a probable sighting,as if you know what species it is,it is tickable.I am not trying to be pedantic,but genuinely interested.Happy birding,Mark.
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If I see a bird and I definitely know what it is, then it is in the books.
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In the twitching scene in the UK it means this: you have positively identified a bird – perhaps by call or a distinctive feature but the bird is flying over high up or you see it for a split second. You know what you’ve seen but for a new bird (a lifer) – most people tend to want to ‘grill’ the bird i.e. watch it for 1/2 an hour in the bins or scope and see every feature. I for example only tick views of button-quail I see sitting on the ground – watching them in my bins. Looking at thier feather detail, see the glint in their eye. I have managed to see little, red-chested, red-backed, painted and black-breasted in this way – but have only had flight views (which I consider ‘untickable’) of Chestnut-backed (flying away over tall dry grass in Kakadu!). So this is not on my list; and don’t even mention Buff-breasted! Rob Morris
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In the twitching scene in the UK it means this: you have positively identified a bird – perhaps by call or a distinctive feature but the bird is flying over high up or you see it for a split second. You know what you’ve seen but for a new bird (a lifer) – most people tend to want to ‘grill’ the bird i.e. watch it for 1/2 an hour in the bins or scope and see every feature. I for example only tick views of button-quail I see sitting on the ground – watching them in my bins. Looking at thier feather detail, see the glint in their eye. I have managed to see little, red-chested, red-backed, painted and black-breasted in this way – but have only had flight views (which I consider ‘untickable’) of Chestnut-backed (flying away over tall dry grass in Kakadu!). So this is not on my list; and don’t even mention Buff-breasted! Rob Morris
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My untickable sighting is Masked Owl. I saw a calling white owl flying over at night. I know it was a Masked due to its call and location, but I didn’t see its face etc so it wasn’t added to my life list……and still isn’t there 5 years on.
Grant Brosie
You could be right Mark. I understood it to mean an exotic or perhaps a native artificially confined. I hadn’t thought about your definition. Cheers John McVictor Harbor
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