Nice sighting, Jeff, but let's hope it doesn't inspire imitators -- 
otherwise from now on we'll ALL be expected to report the *weight* of the
birds we see, not just the quantity, age and sex!

Imagine the effort required to convert the Christmas Bird Count database and
tally forms. Envision the new ways avid listers could compete with each
other: "Oh, yeah? Well, my 12 female Bald Eagles outweigh your 15 males."
Picture the frustration of traveling abroad and missing that rarity because
you were trying to remember the formula for converting grams to ounces.
Anticipate the scholarly articles in ornithological journals calculating the
gross weight of feathers during breeding season and molting. Cringe at the
shouting matches that will break out over how much water weight to disallow
when you find Anhingas drying their wings in the sun. Look for MD Osprey
postings that mention "a quart of Purple Finches at the feeder today," or "a
hundredweight of Turkey Vultures leaving a roost."

Tsk-tsk, now look what you've started.

Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)

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"Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot