Like others I'm sure, I groaned when I saw where this latest discussion
wound up.
There is nothing in the CBC protocol that prevents observers from making
eBird checklists for particular locations in their CBC sector. Many are
already doing that.
There is also nothing to say you can't go outside of your sector to
twitch a rarity or check an interesting patch just outside the circle --
just so long as you don't count that as part of your time in the sector.
There is also nothing in the protocol that says you can't go back and do
a repeat count a week or a month later, if you feel like it.
However, experience indicates that without the efforts of local
compilers (nearly all of them volunteers) to stir up interest and
recruit other volunteers, few birders ever make it back to the locations
covered by some of Oregon's more remote CBCs.
Yes, the CBC protocol hasn't changed all that much in 100+ years. An
argument can be made that its main scientific value as an index of bird
populations comes from that very fact.
A bureaucracy? Hardly. Most people join CBCs because they're fun.
Have fun out there this winter ... hope to see a bunch of you in the
next few weeks whether at Upper Nestucca, Summer Lake, or even farther
afield!
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Regional CBC editor for Oregon
Currently in Daejeon, Korea where the egrets -- great, small, and
intermediate -- are thick.
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