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Update on the CBC count report



Folks:
    Last week Geoff LeBaron, the Audubon CBC editor, called me, and we
talked for 35-40 minutes. He was concerned about my note to
carolinabirds about the potential "shell" of a CBC count report, among
questions about how to improve subscription to the CBC report.

By now you should have seen his response, about the circulation of the
CBC issue last year -- a measly 1800 paid subscriptions, as opposed to
many more given out free to compilers, etc. Yes, Audubon loses money off
printing the count issue, with all of the birds reported on every count.

However, Geoff clearly told me that the upcoming CBC report (usually
arrives in our hands around October) will NOT contain the full species
lists for the counts. The counts will all be printed, but only with the
header material (weather, party-hours), boldfaced birds only, and
observers names. Basically, all non-boldfaced birds would be omitted.  I
re-iterated to him that this is unacceptable to me and to many others
who really care about the counts. I doubt many people will want to pay
for a CBC report with just the boldfaced birds. Many counts have no
boldfaced birds at all.

I also note from our conversation, and his letter, that no mention was
made about decreasing the price of the subscription, nor about dropping
the count fee. His letter, in fact, mentions that NO INCREASE in the
count fee will be made this year. I suggested to him that the count fee
should be dropped altogether.

I indicated that there are alternate ways for counters to find out the
results of their counts. Many, and perhaps the majority, of counters
don't ever see the CBC count issue, and all they may care about is their
own results.
1. Counts are printed in local newsletters.
2. Count compilers often send participants a summary of the species and
total numbers, through the mail.
3. I failed to mention this -- count totals can be, and certainly this
winter, WILL BE, submitted over the carolinabirds listserve, for the
many hundreds (or nearly 1000?) readers to see the results.

The fourth option is for the Chat to once again start to publish
Carolina totals. This was done for many years, even in the expensive
table format, but was stopped maybe 25 years ago as this was redundant,
with the totals published in the Audubon CBC issue. But, with Audubon
going to cease printing total results, this is an option.

I suggest that the CBC Executive Committee consider this matter at their
winter meeting -- the feasibility of printing full CBC results, in prose
format (not in tables), in The Chat.

Folks like myself, Robin Carter (see his note), and many others will
miss not being able to see the count results from across the country. Of
course, we might be able to see the results from ANY count by logging
onto the CBC website and reading or downloading the results say, of the
Nogales, AZ count. But this is tedious, and who really wants to do this?
Besides, you can't quickly look at many counts in succession this way.

I'm not sure what the course of action should be. I am not sure if I
want to pay my $5 when I go on a count. I am not sure that I will
collect the $5 fee from folks on the Cape Hatteras count. But, if I try
to submit the count data online, without a count fee, I believe that the
count will be rejected.

Certainly, there is much value in having all of the CBC data online,
where researchers can use the information. But, having participants go
out in the cold, often well before sunrise, and then paying $5 for this
pleasure, without any compensation for it, is not my idea of fun --
especially, those of us who go on numerous counts!

There are a lot of other issues to be addressed -- and I didn't even get
into the matter of compilers still having to send in count forms,
details, checks, plus having to enter data online. Last year, we
received a free copy of Sibley. This year -- there is no enticement.

The CBC's start up this Saturday. I hope some lively discussion will
ensue among counters over lunch or dinner at the compilations about
this. For those of you that do not ever see the Audubon CBC report, you
will wonder what the fuss is about. For those of us that do, this is a
major concern -- as I said in my previous posting, it is like continuing
your newspaper subscription (at the same price), but receiving only the
headlines, with no body of text. I have a difficult time dealing with
that, and wonder -- why bother with the CBC issue at all? Who will pay
for that issue?

Harry LeGrand
CBC editor for NC and SC
--
Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net