Subject: [Tweeters] From the CBC Regional Editor: a modest proposal
Date: Nov 16 17:59:59 2005
From: Eugene and Nancy Hunn - enhunn323 at comcast.net


Mike,

Great idea. I always prefer to cover my territory on foot to the extent
possible. Maybe a prize could be awarded for the count with the most birds
(or species) per mile driven!

Gene Hunn
18476 47th Pl NE
Lake Forest Park, WA

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Patterson" <celata at pacifier.com>
To: "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 5:21 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] From the CBC Regional Editor: a modest proposal


>A modest proposal
>
> Those of you who know me, also know how much I like to sit down at a
> spreadsheet and
> generate statistics. Well, here's a dataset for you.
>
> In the 2000-01 Christmas Bird Count season, counters in Oregon logged
> 10560.8 miles driving
> around inside count circles. The average number of miles driven per count
> was 293.4 (with a
> range between 46 and 613). According to the Audubon Database there were
> 2022 count run last
> year (2004-05). Assuming the average miles from Oregon in 2000-01 is
> reasonable estimate
> for all counts last year, that works out to 593165 miles. If I further
> assume 25 mpg for
> the average vehicle used on these counts, that works out to about 24000
> gallons of gas per
> CBC season.
>
> Again using the 2000-01 dataset, Oregon count participants logged 837
> miles on foot, 20 on
> motorized boats, 10 on non-motorized boats, 4 on a bicycle and about 35 on
> skis. Hopefully
> most of you have figured out where I'm going with this.
>
> I would like to ask count compilers to look hard at their circles and
> identify ways to cover
> the same ground while reducing the number of car miles driven on their
> count. Are there
> routes that could be done as efficiently by bicycle? Is there a bus route
> that could move
> participants from bird spot to bird spot? Could a kayak or canoe cover an
> area as well as a
> car on a roadway?
>
> And I would like count participants to ask the same kinds of questions.
> Could I walk from
> birdfeeder A to Birdfeeder B rather than drive? Could I ask Team B to
> pick me up on the way
> to their area and drop me off at mine? Is there a non-automobile way for
> me to do my part
> in the CBC?
>
> I know what some of you are going to say... biking in December?
>
> I've been doing CBC's since the early-70's. I've done them in snow. I've
> done them in gale
> force winds with driving rain. I've done them while running a fever of
> 101?F. But I've
> also done them on days when I had to worry about getting a sunburn.
> Obviously this request
> is weather dependent. Not every participant is capable of spending the
> day on a bicycle or
> doing a 20 mile hike. Not every part of a count circle can be practically
> done by any means
> other than a car. But I can say from personal experience that much of
> what I choose to do
> by car could just as easily be done on foot or by bicycle.
>
> I can remember doing the Cottage Grove Count by bicycle way back when it
> still existed. I
> was the only person who found Hutton's Vireo and White-throated Sparrow
> that year and it was
> because, riding down the road, I could hear every chickadee flock, not
> just the ones at the
> official stopping places. On foot or on a bicycle, stopping is almost
> never a problem. You
> hear everything. Areas are covered more thoroughly, more birds get
> counted.
>
> I think it's time to evaluate the way we do CBC's and make changes where
> changes make sense.
> And to that end, I will be strapping my spotting scope to the luggage bar
> of my brand new
> bicycle and taking it along on the CBC's I do. I'm going to try to cut my
> miles by car in
> half, if not more. And only a gale force wind or a 101? fever is likely
> to get in my way.
>
> --
> Mike Patterson
> Astoria, OR
> celata at pacifier.com
>
> Book Review: _Rare Bird_ by Maria Mudd Ruth
> http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/003190.html
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