Your counting example reminded me of the group at this year's post-CBC meeting that reported 1003 snow geese.  When everyone chuckled, they quickly pointed out that they had estimated one large group at 1000 and later 3 more flew overhead.  So the total was approximately 1000, plus exactly
3.  Makes sense to me!  We can't just ignore those last 3, after all.  At least it was worth a good laugh.

Ken Copenhaver
Fairfax VT

> Date:    Thu, 20 Feb 2003 16:37:16 -0500
> From:    Larry & Mona Rogers <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Counting Birds
>
>         I've always had a problem with lots of the very precise seeming
> numbers you get in things like Christmas Counts, Project Feederwatch, etc.
> I've been on Christmas Counts where we've seen a big flock of, say,
> starlings and decided that there were about 250 birds in the flock.  A
> little later we'd pass another somewhat smaller starling flock and say that
> it had about a hundred birds in it.  A little later we'll see something
> between 20 and 30 starlings flying, and call it 25.  Soon afterwards we'll
> see 12 starlings sitting on a wire, and later we'll count 7 at a feeder, and
> two more on the ground.  How many starlings did we see that day?  Why
> precisely 396 birds - not 395, and not 397.
>         There's something wrong here.
>
> Larry_in_Shoreham
>