The evening count

Original non-fiction-style practice text.

The wildlife group's first count of the garden's visitors took place at noon. Volunteers recorded many small birds and declared that the feeding station served them particularly well. Mina, who looked after the garden in the evening, asked for another observation period before the report was finished.

The midday record covered only one part of the day. It also counted visits rather than separate birds, so an energetic individual could appear repeatedly in the figures. Finally, volunteers watched from the bench beside the gate, leaving one feeder behind a thick hedge outside their view. Mina had seen movement there after closing time, although she could not yet say which birds were using it.

The group added evening observations, marked the limits of its counting method and moved one observer to the far side of the hedge. The new report contained fewer confident statements. It also explained what had actually been observed, which was a better starting point for deciding where the next feeder should go.

Explain, using your own words, three limitations of the first count.