On Monday, November 25, 2002, at 05:41 PM, Guttman, Burt wrote:

> Please remember that it's the behavior of the _birds_ we're interested
> in, not the behavior of the _birders._

However one significant variable in the census is the observers. This
obviously is a signfiicant source of variation ('error' in more
scientific parlance) and without a more formal protocol which would
probably reduce potential observers enthusiasm it has to be accepted as
an artifact of the study.

The folks running the CBC are aware of this so while the study cannot
answer precise questions the sheer scale of the count provides valuable
information at a national level.

Stuart
--
Stuart MacKay, Seattle, WA
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