Date:         Sat, 1 Apr 2000 07:39:05 -0500
Reply-To:     Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sender:       Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From:         Mike Callahan <raptorsrule@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: A Featherbrained Proposal
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Hi Janet,

I love your sence of humor.  Thanks for the laugh.

Naturally,
Mike Callahan

>
> Here's an idea on how to attract rich and successful people to
> birding --
> you know, those folks who've been too busy becoming dot-com
> gazillionaires
> to take the time to stop and scope the mudflats. Wouldn't it be nice
> to have
> one of these tycoons supporting your local bird club? ("Leicas for
> everyone!")
>
> But there's a problem: ordinary birding just doesn't offer the
> adrenaline
> rush that high-powered types crave, or the satisfaction of totally
> stomping
> the competition. For example, keeping a life list (or a regional
> list, a
> year list, or whatever) is a relatively sluggish sport. Each new
> sighting
> increments the count by only one, and in most cases your maximum
> possible
> number (say, 700) will have merely three digits. Outside of
> expensive guided
> trips, it's tough to increase your list significantly in a short
> time. Let's
> face it, tracking your "score" in the stock market is a lot more
> exciting
> than tallying bird species.
>
> So how do we make birding more competitive and thrilling? My
> proposal is to
> assign POINT VALUES to different species of birds, based on rarity
> or
> difficulty of spotting the bird. Admit it, don't you already believe
> that a
> California Condor sighting is worth a lot more than a House Sparrow
> sighting?
>
> Under my system, the American Birding Association would assemble a
> committee
> to determine the national and regional point values -- should be an
> easy
> enough job! -- and soon you'll have birders boasting of 2500-point
> life
> lists, or 350-point yard lists ("...and it's only April 1st").
> Christmas
> Bird Count compilers could make use of a simple Excel spreadsheet to
> help
> tally the results: "Let's see, that's 200 Starlings at 1 point
> apiece, plus
> 25 Mourning Doves at 2 points each, plus 1 Merlin at 10 points..."
> Poorly
> documented claims of rarities would radically diminish if birders
> had to
> subtract points for egregious misidentifications.
>
> Sounds intriguing, hmmm? Feel those competitive juices flowing?
> Ready to
> scribble point values in the margins of your field checklist, then
> see how
> high your daily totals can go?
>
> Enjoy! I'm just kidding -- I think. Happy *April Fool's Day*,
> everyone!
>
> Janet Millenson
> Potomac, MD
> janet@twocrows.com
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
> "Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot
>
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