> In no way am I suggesting that commercial birders are by nature
> unethical: far from it! I have absolutely no grounds to suggest that
> any commercial operators have caused distress to any bird species in
> this area or any other, and had no intention of doing so with my
> posting.
Hi Craig and others,
I also wouldn't suggest that all commercial operators are unethical,
however I would certainly go as far as to say that SOME are. I once
heard from a national parks staff member about a time they caught a
tour group where the leader had his tourists "beating" the bushes to
flush a Rufous Scrub-bird that had failed to emerge for them. Not to
mention those that constantly used taped calls on the Scrub-birds
until they no longer responded at all to calls. If that's not crass
commercialism in birding at its worst I don't know what is, and I for
one wouldn't want any specifics on Rufous Scrub-bird locations to fall
into those particular hands in a hurry. I think Craig's approach is a
sensible one - report "a" sighting, even the general location, to
everyone, and provide specifics for those you believe to be
trustworthy. With regards to the scientific aspects of threatened
species conservation, contacting the head of the recovery project (for
those who have one) such as David for Regent Honeyeaters, or Ian
Gynther for Coxen's Fig Parrot (to name just two) is a good place to
start. And as David says, who better to ask who to talk to than Chris
Tzaros, the head of the Threatened Species Network, about who the
appropriate person to inform of sightings is?
Regards,
Chris
Broome, WA
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