Life List Competition Between Neighbors Enters Restraining Order Territory

A long-running life list competition between neighboring birders Malcolm Lifer and Dennis Ticker has escalated to the point where legal counsel has been sought, after Malcolm accused Dennis of positioning a bird feeder 'with tactical precision' to attract species exclusively to his side of the property boundary. The dispute began three years ago when both men discovered they maintained life lists and that Malcolm's stood at 312 species while Dennis's was 314. Since then, both have engaged in what their respective spouses describe as 'an arms race conducted entirely through bird feeders, bird baths, and binoculars.' The current conflict centers on Dennis's new feeder, a multi-compartment design offering nyjer seed, sunflower hearts, and suet pellets, positioned on a pole that Malcolm alleges is 'angled at precisely 15 degrees toward Dennis's kitchen window, creating a zone of attraction that systematically diverts birds from my garden to his.' 'The goldfinches used to come to me,' Malcolm said. 'I had regular goldfinches. Since that feeder went up, they cross the boundary and they don't come back. He's poaching my goldfinches. That is ecological gerrymandering.' Dennis has denied the accusation. 'The feeder is on my property, at a standard angle, offering standard seed,' he said. 'If the goldfinches prefer my garden, that is a market decision made by the goldfinches. I cannot be held responsible for avian consumer choice.' Malcolm has consulted a solicitor about whether a bird feeder can constitute a nuisance. The solicitor has advised that 'this is not really a legal matter' but has agreed to write a letter 'if it would make him feel better.' Both men's life lists now stand at 327 species. Neither is willing to disclose his current total to the other.