All I did was agree with one comment that was made.
On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 8:56 AM, Julian B <> wrote:
> Greetings David
>
>
>
> I’d hate to fall out with a fellow birder on so trivial a matter but I
> still cannot see, or understand, the connection between the two [to me]
> separate threads.
>
>
>
> Chasing after rarities, especially new records, is in the realms of
> TWITCHING; wildlife conservation [be it birds, reptiles or a elongated
> creepy-crawly] is a Government initiative. The two rarely coincide.
>
>
>
> Or are we to understand that if the likes of Mike Carter confirm the
> presence of a Lesser-spotted Oompahloompah on the Cocos Keeling Islands the
> Australian Government suddenly drops all other business in hand to assure
> the wellbeing of the creature - [and I have a lot of admiration for both
> Mike’s ability and willingness to drop everything at a moment’s notice and
> shoot off to “find” or verify a rare sighting]?
>
>
>
> The original question was, should these “exotics” be counted on an
> Australian List? We have heard arguments as to why not. We have been privy
> to reasons as why they should. I can’t help but notice that both Britain
> and the USA have Antarctic [and other] territories BUT you won’t find a
> penguin on the BOU list.
>
>
>
> I find your uncited reference to British neglect of past territories
> equally as puzzling. At one point in history almost half the known world
> [including Australia] was a British territory. Which territories in
> particular did you have in mind and how has the British Government been
> negligent in their avifaunal welfare? How does this compare with the
> abysmal Australian record on wildlife extinctions? And how is this related
> to whether or not a handful of birders travel to these exotic outliers to
> “find” or confirm rare birds?
>
>
>
> If we follow the argument that in recording the “new” birds of, say,
> Christmas Island, birders such as Mike Carter serve a worthy cause in the
> bird’s eventual welfare, how would you rate all the British birders who make
> the annual October [passage] pilgrimage to the Scilly Isles to record
> rarities from as far as the USA or even Siberia – always recalling that
> these islands are actually closer to France than to Britain and were the
> only British territory occupied by the Germans during WWII?
>
>
>
> Or how would you rate my old birding partner from Penkridge [officially
> designated as the largest village in England] who spends weeks of volunteer
> time on Barsdsey Island? Or the likes of Colin Shields [Bradford,
> Yorkshire] who is a continuous volunteer with American research stations
> [and, of course, this was also a former British territory]?
>
>
>
> We at least seem to agree that the bottom line in our pastime remains that
> each to her/his own.
>
>
>
> Personally I’d rather spend more time tracking down the Eastern Whipbird
> which appeared on our property two days ago and seems, at least for the time
> being, to be making itself at home.
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
>
>
> Julian
>
>
>
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