It's been great reading the comments about the Kaestners resulting from my
posting, and my enjoyment of the Backpacker article was greatly enhanced.
Hope I get a chance to meet them someday.

Hope I get to meet *any* birders someday - been engaging in a bit of
obsessive behavior myself with my day job but hope to break out in a couple
of weeks. This weather and all the migration talk is making it very
difficult to stay the course - I shall tie myself to the mast, or rather,
the keyboard.

fdp

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Fred Pierce (DNRC)- 
Mid-Atlantic Aviation on the Web - http://www.avialantic.com
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Taylor McLean
> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 2:01 PM
> To: 
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Kaestner Life List Numbers
>
>
> I can guarantee that Hank and Pete Kaestner know every bird they
> have seen.
>
> In fact shortly after Pete discovered a bird never before identified by
> anyone in the world birding community,
> someone asked him how long did it take to recognize the bird as a newly
> discovered bird.
> Pete's reply was : " I knew it was a new bird the moment I saw it."
> I can verify that his statement was one of authority.
>
> Both Pete and HK know world birds after constant study, reading and
> collaboration with other world birder's.
>
> I have had so much fun birding with them over the years; both are
> extremely
> generous in sharing their birding knowledge.
> While it is undeniable that Pete and HK are heavy listers, both are also
> focused on the more interesting aspects of
> bird watching that deal with bird habits, conservation, expansion of bird
> populations; and observations about Nature.
> I would consider both to be serious Naturalists.
>
>
>         good birding!
>
>
>
>                 Taylor McLean
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bill Ellis" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 7:29 AM
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Kaestner Life List Numbers
>
>
> > I wonder what those numbers mean.  I suspect that they are very
> > hard numbers.
> >
> > When I add a new bird to my list, I have seen or heard the bird
> > well enough that I would have a pretty good chance of identifying
> > it correctly again if I was alone, with no help but a field guide
> > (book).  On a field trip led by an expert to see birds I have
> > never seen, I expect to add a lot of "maybe's" to my trip list,
> > that do not make it to my life list because I did not see them
> > well enough.  I have no doubt of the leader's ID, but I could not
> > see enough field marks to ID it myself, so I did not really see a
> > distinguishably new bird.  If I see a new bird when alone, I
> > study it hard to be sure I have correctly ID'd it.
> >
> > The Kaestner's have developed their lists through long and
> > intensive birding rather than quick tours, so I bet their numbers
> > indicate a phenomenal knowledge of world birds.
> >
> > Bill Ellis
> > USA
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Maryland Birds & Birding On Behalf Of Taylor McLean
> > Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2004 8:48 PM
> > Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] O.T. somewhat - Peter Kaestner article
> >
> > ...
> > Hank has only seen a number between 6,000 - 7,000 bird species in
> > the world;
> > Pete's list  is something like 8k.
> >
> > As for my life list, well, I am a local birder...
> ----------------------------------------------------
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