National Geographic Birder's Life List and Journal Diary – February 7, 2023

I love this life list book. It has spots for notes, dates, and where you saw the bird. The main body of the book is really neat but I think my favorite part of the entire thing is the multiple entry checklist in the back. It's so cool to have in case you want to go year by year you can just check then off and see how past year's have gone. One thing I'm using the checklist in the back for is birds I've seen while at work. I work at a university that has a river running through it and we often get migratory birds stopping by. So this list is only for the birds I've seen at work, the other list is birds I've seen with my family, and then the next list is birds I've seen during bird week! It's so cool to have a place to keep multiple lists and my life list!

This was exactly what I was looking for. When I started my search, I learned that there are many options out there with various features. This one had exactly what I wanted. I use this weekly when I spot a bird that I want to record in my yard. Would make a great gift for a bird lover.

I bought this for my granddaughter it is set up in a format she can use though out her life and understand at the age of 8 easily. Really nice product

The first 186 pages of this are without any value save for the occasional nice illustration. Its not possible to use this mess of a life list as one must troll through all186 pages to locate a desired entry. The last few pages have a usable list. The rest can be torn out and discarded. Save your money and write a list by hand. This is an embarrassment for National Geographic.

Ok

National Geographic Birder's Life List and JournalThis paperback life list and journal is a resource every bird watcher, serious or casual, will enjoy filling up with their memories. I’m a casual bird watcher, but I wish I would have had one earlier in my life.The book is good looking, but not especially rugged, with eight white spirals holding it together. There is some weight to it as it’s a little over 250 pages. As you open the book there is a place for your name. A simple blue background with white bird silhouettes decorate the endpaper pages. A handy black elastic bookmark is attached. All pages are numbered, with the title of the book appearing on all bottom left-hand pages and a short page description on all bottom right-hand pages. There are a few beautiful illustrations throughout, but this is not an identification guide.The book starts with a page about “Keeping A Life List” by the writer, Noah Strycker. The next page is “How To Use This Journal”. There are three main sections:1. The Life List (pages 9 – 185). This section is the bulk of the book, and the bird species are listed in taxonomic order. "Each entry includes a bird's common (English) name, scientific (Latin) name, and unique four-letter code.”2. The Checklist (pages 187 – 243). “This section repeats the species list in a condensed format with several blank columns.”Note: There’s no blank line before the list starts so you’ll have to remember what you designate each column for, make a very short note above somehow, or make a note at the end of the checklist where there are a lot of blank lines for “Further Notes”.3. The Index (pages 245 – 254). Here the birds are listed by common name. “When a bird’s name has two or more words, it will be listed by group name with species name following.”A helpful journal for any bird watcher. “Every purchase helps support the global nonprofit National Geographic Society in its work to protect and illuminate our world through exploration, research, and education.” Printed in China.

When I ordered the National Geographic Birder's Life List, I didn't realize it was for a well-versed birder. I honestly was confused when I first opened the book, but it only took me about 5 minutes of reading to understand how to use this as intended. First, the book explains how to create a life list and discusses the American Birding Association's Recoding Rules and interpretations. The book then explains that bird observation should always be respectful according to the ABA's Code of Birding Ethics. These things were all new to me, but now knowing about them, I could research further.Page 7 explains how to use this book as intended, and it further explains each section: Life List Pages, Checklist, and Chronological Life List. This book also has an index at the back of the book. The Life List page lists birds by taxonomic order. It includes the bird's common name, scientific name, and unique 4-letter code. The Checklist section is just a condensed form of the species list, but here you have several blank columns where you can choose how you want to organize and label the columns. The Chronological Life List is more for fun and where you can add birds based on when you viewed them.Now that I understand how the book works, it appears to be well thought out. While the book seems sturdy, it should have been a hardcover. I feel a hardcover book would have better longevity and heirloom value. Currently, the elastic cord damages the cardboard cover.

I just gave this to my 21 year old daughter. She's graduating in the spring with a degree in Wildlife Biology. Her favorite area of study is birds. She literally squealed when I gave this to her. She was about to start an activity, but when she saw this, she immediately found a desk and started filling in some of her recent bird encounters & observations. She likes the format and layout of this bird journal. She was impressed with the bird lists. She says she's going to keep this with her in her bag so she can add to it as she sees them. This would make a great present for any bird lover!