Greetings All:
This year's competition between Rich Kostecke and me is a no holds barred,
knockdown, dragout, rootin' tootin' bird fest pitting Kostecke's Fayette
County against Hewetson's Crosby County - weighted by cumulative (to date)
eBird totals.
In my corner, Crosby County weighing in at 902 square miles (2 of which are
water) of irrigated uplands, caprock transition, and riparian woodlands.
In his corner, Fayette County weighing in at 960 square miles (10 of which
are water) of whatever the heck he has down there - I know there is at
least one lake and an awful lot of trees.
Crosby County has an eBird list of 290 ABA countable species; Fayette
County has an eBird list of 264 ABA countable species. Hewetson's total
will be divided by 290; Kostecke's total will be divided by 264. Whoever
gets the highest number, weighted as described, wins a bottle of something
tasty!
Note: species not yet recorded in the counties still count. It's not an
attempt to see who can get the most previously recorded species for their
counties. It is, instead, an attempt to get the most species in their
respective counties ... as handicapped by eBird totals.
I think he's a gonna whup me this year. Proximity to the Gulf Coast has
got to top any kind of northern advantage I might have and I think that,
surprisingly, Crosby County has been a little bit more strongly eBirded
than Fayette County.
Of course, after the yard vs. yard debacle, Kostecke deserves a bit of a
break:)
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
