Hi Tony,
You wrote to David Andrew thanking him for pointing out "the
snobbishness which sometimes plagues our loved birdwatching/twitching
activities".
David was reacting to an e-mail of mine in which I said that it was "a
relief to find that a posting on this list does not result in a hoard of
twitchers".
I cannot see why (apart from the misspelt "horde") this should cause any
offence, let alone lead you to accuse me of snobbishness, particularly
since I was clearly twitching myself.
Perhaps it was the word "relief". You see I come from England where
thousands of twitchers may pursue a rarity/tick, leading to upset
landowners, problems in managing the crowd and, often, disturbance to
the bird. Personally I prefer to do my birding quietly, by myself or
with a few others, and in a way in which I can enjoy the setting as well
as the birds.
I had discussed this with David in private mail and he said that he
thought the record twitch in Australia involved no more than 12 people.
I rather hope it stays that way but, and this was the main point of my
remark, we ought to monitor the impact of mailings about rarities so
that we become aware of any emerging difficulties.
Michael Norris
|
