Hello all,
I just scrolled through ebird's results from The Great Backyard Bird Count,
and I am very encouraged by what I saw. If you look at total species seen
by state, we came in at number 15, with 178 species recorded. This number
is respectable, but lower than I know it can be. That being said, if you
look at checklists submitted by state during the count we rank number 43,
with only 521 submitted. That means that with a very small number of
checklists we are spotting a good number of species. I feel like this is a
testament to the quality of birding our state offers. Now I am not a
numbers guru like J.R., but I am sure he can devise a simple plan to get
these numbers up for next year. I believe we can crack the top 10 with only
a fraction of the checklists that other states submit. As a proud resident
of the state of Mississippi, I want people to have to look twice when they
read the top 10 list next year. I want to peak people's curiosity about our
state and look into our natural treasures such as the barrier islands down
on the coast, or the huge diversity of hawks that winter in the delta. I'm
well aware that our state will never become a huge eco-tourism destination,
but I am sure we can draw in some tourists to come experience our little
slices of paradise around the state.
I will now step of my soapbox and go back to watching my feeders and
drinking coffee.
Sincerely,
Jeff Hill
