Dear Mr. McDowell,
I am no statistician, but when you post numbers from a "survey" such as this especially when they may provide the basis for certain advocacy, you lay yourself open to critical remark that could in the end undermine important work! Be careful when venturing into such a project so as not to shut the door on future possibilities that could in turn be very beneficial to both man, animal and environment. Good luck!
Cordially,
Michael
Alright. I'm really struggling to understand what Michael is alluding to. If by publishing such survey results I'm opening myself (and possibly Curt) to criticism, I'm pretty confident that we can handle whatever comes our way. I wonder what merit such criticism might have; Curt counted some birds at a municipal airport and I published the results on my blog. So what? As for there being a potential problem for birds; the airport fields were being mowed earlier in the summer before Curt spoke to Rich Morey (airport manager). To my mind, one of the great benefits of sharing survey results of this kind is to raise awareness. All this unsolicited advice that comes my way! I'm just amazed whenever I manage to find my way to work in the morning.
