Thanks, jeff. I too think all birders in Mississippi should participate in this
count. Let's put MS on the map big time next year. If u send your message out
next year before the count on MISSBIRD and the other birding Facebook pages I
think we can up our participation. Mary
Mary Stripling
VP, Jackson Audubon.
Vicksburg, MS
Cell: 601.832.6788
Library@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Stevenswaterbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 4, 2017, at 9:23 AM, Jeff Hill <hill.jeff.r@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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