A second answer on NABA 4JC

[Michael Gochfeld]

In response to Rick Mikula's statement.  The rest of the world doesn't 
have to revolve around the 4JC (or anything else for that matter, 
except perhaps, the sun).  Ornithology does not revolve around Christmas 
Bird counts. 

Indeed, it is my recommendation that the best census data would come 
from weekly censusing of one or more selected parcels throughout the 
season, thereby capturing the unique phenologic sequences of butterfly 
populations, which the 4JC inevitably miss.  Moreover, if we are 
preserving habitats such as parks, forests, or gardens, we should be 
using these as repeated census units, rather than the arbitrary 15 mile 
circles, which may have made sense for birds, but not for butterflies. 

The scientific value of the 4JC like in their widespread distribution, 
repeated timing, and in some cases 20+ years of data. 

M. Gochfeld