I agree with you Ian, and I think it is particularly likely to apply to
birds in "boring" places - I see many more sheets from wetlands and known
birdy spots than from grasslands etc, and only the most dedicated have
agreed to go out and do systematic surveys along long dull stretches of
road to fill in gaps and sparsely atlassed areas. Last time we tended to
have maps ruled up for 10 minute blocks and on any drive we'd say "OK now
we're in a new block, start a new list and see how many we can get before
we reach the other side". This time people appear to say "This looks like a
good place, we'll do 20 minutes here". So the birds that are less likely to
be in the "good places" which may well include Goldfinches, may be
under-recorded.
Margaret
At 11:40 AM 12/04/02 +0930, Ian May wrote:
Not wanting to be judged as a sceptic, the supposed changing status of
Goldfinch populations in SA could be a result of a variation between
methods used to record species in different Atlas surveys. What do
others think about comparison of results leading to assumptions of
decline when a different recording method was used in each survey?
Please note my new email address
Margaret Cameron
4 Connor Street
East Geelong, Vic. 3219
Australia
Phone 61 3 5229 9792
Fax 61 3 5229 1520
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