birding-aus

NUMBERS OF BIRDWATCHERS IN AUSTRALIA

To: <>
Subject: NUMBERS OF BIRDWATCHERS IN AUSTRALIA
From: "Chris Armstrong" <>
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 00:33:53 +1000
Some ideas, but I s'pose no real answer...
Like others, how does one define 'birder' and 'birding'?
As with runners, not every jogger is a sprinter and not every racehorse will gallop in open company. Birdwatchers cover the full spectrum, from incidental to rabid, and there are thousands of us. Anyone from OS will first notice the amount of space we have in Aus, so noticing other birders is more by accident than design.....pop/sq. km is way down when you compare to UK. Birding in Aus is often damn hard yakka in difficult ambient conditions and you have to travel to do it properly. I know my local spp. well and hardly a day goes by when I dont pick up the bino's for something. In my town of approx 10 000, I know of 4 others who are members of 1 or more listed bird group (I belong to 2). Thats 1:2500 or 8000:20 000 000. I know of many who know their backyard birds and can tell you which spp. they see when they drive to Brisvegas or the Gold Coast. They wouldnt classify themselves as birders, though. They are just curious enough to have learnt what bird is what and no more. Like Colin, I have often wondered how many subscribers this archive has compared to the number who actually contribute?
Someone would know....
Regs
Chris A




<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU