Teddy Roosevelt’s Complete Checklist

Of all the politial leaders in the United States and Canada, Teddy Roosevelt is often first on the list of our most nature-attuned chief executives. The man was a dedicated conservationists, an avid outdoorsman, and apparently no slouch as a naturalist, either. We can add dedicated lister to his of accolades too.

Take, for instance, the recent publication at the political website Slate of a list Roosevelt compiled of the 93 species of birds he’d seen during his time in Washington, DC. A list good enough, as it was noted by Andrew Core on the ABA’s Facebook group, to put him 72nd on eBird’s top 100 for the District of Columbia.

The story behind the list is rather remarkable as well. Lucy Maynard, author of Birds of Washington and and vicinity, was in the process of updating her book and, knowing that the president was a naturalist, asked for a list of all the birds he’d seen around the White House. The story is best told in her own words:

“Why yes, “he answered cordially. “But I’ll do better for you than that. I’ll make you a list of all the birds I can remember having seen since I have been here.” Then he said I had better remind him, as he might forget it, and he told me how to address a note so that it would come directly to him, without risk of falling into a secretary’s waste-basket. I wrote the reminder, and it shows the President’s characteristic promptness that within twenty-four hours after mailing itI received this list of 93 birds in his own handwriting.

The full list is available here (.pdf), and includes some fascinating species like Ruffed Grouse and, famously, Saw-whet Owl on the White House lawn. It’s just a shame he didn’t include dates, numbers, and effort. No doubt Teddy Roosevelt would see the value of including this data in eBird.