Hello John, Your personal list is your personal list, and you can put anything on it that you like. However, if you enjoy comparing your list numbers to others, then you need a level playing field. The American Birding Association provides a set of Recording Rules that most serious listers will try to follow. They can be found here: http://listing.aba.org/aba-recording-rules/ To jump to the chase, for your Bar-headed Goose to be countable, it must be part of an established population. Since there is no reason to think it's not just an isolated stray from some waterfowl-fancier's backyard, it shouldn't go on your list -- if you care about complying with the ABA guidelines. Happy birding,Paul Paul Gardner Secretary, OBRC Columbus, OH From: John Seiler <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 6:02 AM Subject: [Ohio-birds] What Birds Do You Count? I had the pleasure of seeing a Bar-headed Goose this weekend, a very striking bird. It was in an open aired enclosure mixed with other local captive and wild birds. I was thinking, what if I saw this bird in the wild, would I add it to my list? There are a lot of birds that have been brought over from other counties that have either escaped or have been released and are doing quite well in this country/state. The Ring-necked Pheasant, some Sparrows, Parakeets, Gray-lagged Goose, etc. are all doing quite well in this country/state. Some birds are on lists and in books others are not. My question is this, at what point do you count these birds? How many generations will it take, if ever, before they become part of a list of birds to see in this country/state? Looking for your thoughts. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]