I have received several emails now seeking clarification of my statement that the Eurasian Coot was the most ‘abundant’ bird in COG reports last year.
This is not my word but a statement in the last Annual Bird Report, page 34.
While I am not statistically-minded, I take this to mean that more Coots were reported than any other bird. This is hardly surprising as there were reports of 20,000 + birds at Lake Bathurst, which must hugely influence any calculation.
The most reported bird, for example, was the Magpie with an average of 5 birds and a high of 133. It would take a lot of magpies to exceed the statistic for Coots! Hard to imagine 20,000 magpies!
It is true for my records. I regularly report 5 or 6 magpies but I also regularly report 650+ Coots at Yerrabi Pond. I am certain that if I were to add up all the birds I reported last year, that the Coots would exceed all the others.
