Re: Counting Crows
Norm Saunders (osprey@mtolympus.ari.net)
Mon, 17 Nov 1997 18:38:16 -0500
Howard Youth writes:
> AS the Tridelphia CBC draws closer, I have a question I know has
> been bandied around. I just don't know if anything's been decided on
> it. Here's the question: On December 20, as the first rays of light
> play across the fields at Layhill Park and other areas in Area 5 of
> the Tridelphia CBC, seemingly endless lines of fish and Am. crows
> will flap overhead, distracting counters. These birds, certainly
> from the massive Rockville roost, have probably already been counted
> at the site, right? So, if the birds don't stop in the fields or
> trees, should we disregard them? I'd appreciate any feedback. It
> would be a real time saver to know for sure that they don't need
> counting for Tridelphia.
I can't speak for how Rick is now handling the crow problem, but in
past years, the roost was generally counted in Area 6, Jay Shephard's
area. "Downwind" areas (pretty much all the rest of the circle)
would only get counted if they had reason to feel their birds were
from significant local roosts. This means that, for example, the
huge numbers of crows in David Holmes' area of the count were never
actually tallied since they all came washing out of Area 6.
Hope this helps...oh, and you stumbled on one of my all-time pet
peeves (as Darius and others will tell you...grin)--the count name is
Triadelphia, not Tridelphia...
Cheers,
Norm
===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net