Date: 1/3/25 8:36 am From: Kent Fiala (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: When John Fussell hit 400
Here is another tribute to John Fussell, along with some insight into how different birding was before it really got going on the internet. This was posted by John Wright on carolinabirds on June 2, 1998. I remember being awestruck by this accomplishment.
Carolinabirders,
I thought I would break the news, since John Fussell probably wouldn't do it himself in so public a forum. This past Sunday, Fussell found his 400th bird in North Carolina. A Fea's Petrel, seen from the Miss Hatteras was the lucky bird to add John Fussell to his life list of humans.
For those of you who may be unaware of the amount of effort that goes into such an accomplishment, try this. Sit down with a checklist and tick off all the bird species that you think you could reasonably expect to see in North Carolina if you had quite a few years to go birding. Now count it up. (Pause) You're well short of 400 aren't you? Chances are you topped out at maybe 340 or 360. Or maybe you were generous and gave yourself 380.
Naturally, on your way to 400 species, the first 200 are much easier than the last 200. Reaching 300 is not too difficult. Finding 350 is possible if you work at it hard for several years. It's that last stretch from 350 to 400 that will take most of your birding lifetime, if you expect to live that long.
For a little perspective on North Carolina bird listing achievements, consider this. Over 100 species can be seen in North Carolina by a competent birder in one day. Naturally, some have gone well beyond that. Fussell was part of a group that found the current record of 184 species in one day back in 1987.
Then there are the annual lists. Over 300 species are possible within a single year in this state, if you are willing to travel the state from one end to the other. Some, naturally, have gone beyond that. Fussell recorded 326 species in North Carolina in one calendar year, about 10 years ago. I topped that by one a few years later. The current record is about 335, set by Steve Dinsmore a few years ago.
But what about the "lifetime of birding" North Carolina list. This is a record that, for the forseeable future, belongs to John Fussell. He has set a lofty goal for those of us who play this game, and has no intention of slowing down. A few other baby-boomers (Harry LeGrand, Ricky Davis, Derb Carter) lurk close behind in the mid to upper 390s. I'm hopelessly behind at 380, but if I live long enough, perhaps 400 is possible. Of course by that time, Fussell will still be ahead of me.
What's the point of all this? I guess I'm wondering if the growth of birding in this state will produce another competitive group of young birders who will, like John Fussell and his cohorts, set new records while they are still young, and expand upon them as they age. Listen up you thirty-somethings and generation Xers out there. Let's see if your new flourite 80mm scopes, everything-proof binoculars, half-dozen specialized field guides, bird-song CDs, rare bird alert, and internet hookups will allow you to break all the "old" birding records before your 40th birthday. And by the way, if you are going to the coast, don't forget to take along Fussell's book, A BIRDER'S GUIDE TO COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA. It tells you where to go and how to look when you get there.
