Ahh, the question of disclosing information about rare and endangered birds
arises again. I deliberately kept out of the discussion last time (and I'm
sure many will wish it remained that way).
I am always asking people for information about Regent Honeyeaters as this
information is of great value to the Recovery Effort for that species. I am
continually pleased about the number of people that let me know immediately
they come across Regent Honeyeaters yet also disappointed when I come across
people who, while knowing that we want the records, don't bother.
I reciprocate by trying to be helpful when people ask me about the locations
of Regent Honeyeaters. I do, however, use a fair bit of judgement when
giving out this information. At the moment there are plenty of Regent
Honeyeaters in the Capertee Valley. I have been directing people to the
birds on the Rylstone Road as they are easy to see and you can see them from
the road. Everyone is happy. There are also Regents elsewhere that I DO
NOT direct people to. These birds are on private property and the owner,
while happy for me to wander around, has made it clear that he doesn't want
birdwatchers traipsing about. While some people might not be able to fathom
where he is coming from I think it is fair enough. It is his land after all
and no-one is being seriously disadvantaged as there are Regents to be seen
elsewhere. I recently ran into a group of visiting birders that thought
they could march onto this site (I'm not sure exactly how they knew the
birds were there) and I think they were a bit put out when I told them that
they couldn't, even after explaining why. I did send them to the other site
where they will certainly have seen Regents but I still got the impression
that they were not happy with the situation.
There are other similar situations. In some years Regents are only to be
found on private property. I direct people to where they have the greatest
chance of seeing these birds explaining that there are birds around but they
are generally inaccessible because of access limitations. People,
generally, seem happy with this and take their chances and many do, indeed,
see Regent Honeyeaters. I discourage people from approaching landholders to
ask for permission as I know the score here. Most landholders are aware
that the area is a popular birding location and DO NOT want to be disturbed
by a potential stream of birdwatchers coming onto their place. There are
exceptions but these are not common. The rationale behind my approach is
that the local Regent Honeyeater Operations Group has spent years building
up a relationship with landholders. This could easily be upset by
birdwatchers not thinking about the ramifications of their actions.
I think I have come up with a workable situation in the Capertee Valley that
addresses the interests of both birdwatchers and local landholders. Most
people who ask me about Regent Honeyeaters end up seeing them (provided they
are around).
While this might be a slightly different case to the Red Goshawk it is,
perhaps a more pertinent issue given the number of people that have access
to these species.
By the way, keep those Regent Honeyeater records rolling in.
Cheers
David Geering
Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
P.O. Box 2111
Dubbo NSW 2830
Ph. Freecall 1800 621 056
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