As Jay noted, these issues all are rather subjective, and I join everyone in
thanking Paul and company for their efforts.

The codes for the warblers that have been mentioned are really tough; it's
rather difficult to discern the difference between 1's and 2's in general.
(I don't mean on the lists in question, I mean *really *in general.  It's
sort of "easy to find" *vs.* "really easy to find;" what does that amount
to?)

But I do understand the Ruffed Grouse being a 4.  The difference in my mind
is this: if I go anywhere along eastern Lake Erie in the winter, I am
absolutely guaranteed to see greater black-backed gulls, thus the "1."  (Not
only are there GBBG's at every suitable location, but even distant ones can
be identified readily withe naked eye.  And they don't hide behind trees or
anything else.)  But I've certainly made trips to SE Ohio forests at
appropriate times and neither heard nor seen a grouse, and on other
occasions have heard them but not seen them.  So, in my experience, a higher
code does not seem unreasonable; indeed, a "4" seems about right to me given
my ratio of success in finding grouse.

Bob's experience is different.  That may be because of two factors: (1) he
spends a lot more time in appropriate habitat than do I and (2) his birding
skills are superior (a point that I would readily concede!).

Perhaps the way to think of these codes is not so much worrying about where
one lives or usually birds, but rather something like this: *if* you visit
the appropriate habitat at the right time of year, what are your chances of
finding the bird in question?   In the gull case above, the probability is
1.0 (100%); in the grouse case, it's less (for me, anyway).  Now how much
less....ah, there's the question.

In any case, a fascinating topic.

Bill Heck

On Dec 10, 2007 2:28 PM, Robert Royse <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I pretty much agree with Jay Stenger that the codes are heavily skewed
> toward the northern half of the state. He mentioned many of the things that
> stuck out to me too regarding the passerines. Tennessee Warbler, especially,
> stuck out glaringly at me too. There are sometimes days in May when they
> seem to outnumber all other birds put together. Great Black Backed Gull gets
> at 1 and Ruffed Grouse gets a 4?  HUH? I would give them both a "2"
> probably. I guess it's all subjective depending on where you live and like
> to bird. If you spend a lot of time in the forests in southeastern Ohio in
> the early spring and only go up to Lake Erie a couple of times a year, then
> you would definitely come up with very different numbers. I think I have
> seen a Least Bittern (a "3") twice in Ohio in the past 15 years, but I
> usually see Ruffed Grouse, sometimes a half-dozen or more, in March or early
> April in any of the state forests. Codes for the different parts of the
> state might be more appropriate, but that takes away from being a simple
> shecklist.
>
> Bob Royse
>
>
> Robert Royse
> [log in to unmask]
> www.roysephotos.com
>
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--
Bill Heck

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