Now, I have seen almost everything. Kelly Larson found a group called the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative that is offering "birder certification" for birders in Wisconsin. Mike McDowell made fun of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union because of the listing supplement they put out--"That's going too far, how many lists do we need? Is a life list of birds in your backyard bird bath really necessary?" I say, if you get you kicks from it, go for it. Mike thought it made us MOUers look dorky. Well, now we have Wisconsin trying to certify birders. I was thinking of taking the test for fun when I noticed this on the instruction page:

There is a penalty for failing a test. Although the total number of failed tests taken will not be recorded on this site, this information may be made available to employers, agencies, etc., upon request.

Man, that is one hard core certification. What worries me is that I have seen other "certification" programs, one even advertised in some well known bird related magazines. We looked into taking one of them at the bird store and after reading some of the questions, were dismayed to learn that they were clueless about backyard bird feeding. I will need to learn more about this group before I take their test.