Listing Central: More than a Toplist

It's been a few days since the official launch of Listing Central, our 21st Century answer to the ABA's venerable Big Day and List Report, and the lists continue to populate as more and more members sign up, sign in, and submit.  The centerpiece of the site are undoubtedly the list of lists, but we'd love to draw your attention to some of the other attributes of Listing Central, advantages that we couldn't have accomplished before going fully digital.

Be sure to check out the Listing Central Forum, where you can weigh in on topics as diverse as the current state of bird taxonomy and the responsibilities of the ABA Recording Standards and Ethics Committee (i.e. the "Can I Count It?" discussion).  You can also get and share information from ABA members on how to find target birds in hotspots from Arizona to Atlantic Canada. 

 

Jen Brumfeld writes like she birds, to the limit.

 

And second, toggle over to Lister's Corner, a new ABA blog focusing on the efforts of Big Year and Big Day birders across the continent.  Think of this like the Big Day section of the old list report, except instead of waiting 12 months to read the results of a record-breaking day, you'll be able to see it more or less immediately.  Plus, birders tackling Big Years in 2013 (and some from 2012) will be posting on their progress periodically.  For instance, right now you can go read about THE Jen Brumfeld's experience crushing the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Big Year record in 2012.  It'll change the way you think about birding urban counties. 

On that front, if you are a birder doing a Big Year or attempting to break a Big Day record in 2013, be it ABA-Area or your local patch, WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT!  Please get in touch with us at listing AT aba.org.  If you're willing to write regular updates on your progress, we'd love to include your voice on our blog. 

We all all about promoting the fun of birding at the ABA, and we want to do everything we can to spread that fun around.  So come check out the rest of Listing Central when you're finished sending us your numbers.