World Trip Reports
How many people have seen over 200 different species of bird in the UK?
Having just reached 200 (201 with the Short-toed Lark on the Great Orme yesterday) on my UK life list, I was just wondering, at a rough estimate, how many people have actually seen over 100/200/300/400 and 500 different species of bird in the UK?
I know that in the birding community 200 is not really that many, but in terms of the average man on the street, I doubt if 95% of people even know there are that many species.
Any ideas?
Tim
Congrats on reaching your 201st 
I'm currently on 182 ( 183 if the Great White Pelican at Cresswell last month gets the nod LOL ) and was hoping to break through the 200 barrier this year but what with one thing and another *like moving house THREE times this year alone!* it looks like I'll have to carry that ambition over to next year.
I would imagine there are quite a few folk who are serious about their birding WILL have passed 200 easily, a few past 300 but 400, i think, is for the serious birder/twitcher. 
Couldn't agree more with your comment about a lot of non-birders not realising just how many birds we do have - most of my workmates ( actually, on second thoughts, make that ALL! ) haven't a clue about the natural world and would probably struggle to name more than 25 species!
My partner and I are now on 185 (thanks to getting 4 last week on a trip to Norfolk via Gibraltar Point - Long-billed Dowitcher, Red-throated Diver, Arctic Skua, Pallid Harrier). We've only been birding for slightly less than 2 years and can't do weekends - only holidays and a couple of days a month. The 200 will probably not come for us until next summer - and another week in Norfolk.
I suspect there are thousands on here who are well ahead of 200!
Someone at work this morning was telling me she'd seen a big brown bird eating a small bird. Told her it was probably a sparrowhawk, and she says she's never seen one before, so yes, most people wouldn't know very many.