Well, I for one base the quality of the birding on the environment, not the
birds. I've been on countless great birding trips to the northern Idaho
forests in late summer when I didn't see a single bird and the only birds I
heard were a distant raven and maybe a few chickadees. For some of us,
birding is a flimsy excuse to go for a nice hike. Sewage ponds can be
pleasant birding areas, but, for me, only if they are far from busy roads.

Kelly Cassidy
Pullman, WA


> I think the Purdue survey is well-intentioned but asks the wrong
questions.
> I believe birders measure the quality of the birding experience by the
> quality of the sightings, not by the quality of the neighborhood. Some of
> my best sightings have been in sewage ponds and garbage dumps.
> Gene Bullock
> Poulsbo WA