If you are growing your life-list, you definitely need a good pair of bird binoculars Your life-list is quite simply a list of which bird species you have seen,and where and when, during your entire life.

Try it right now. Make a list of all the birds you know you have seen somewhere in your lifetime. Don’t bother to fill in the details about where or when yet. Just see how many you get without really trying.

When I first started birding, I did that and expected maybe a dozen or so birds.  But I was surprised to have many more than that because of childhood vacations to so many habitats.