birding-aus

Re. Wetlands tourism

To: <>
Subject: Re. Wetlands tourism
From: "Simon and Alex Starr" <>
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:54:09 +1000
Hi Debbie, Laurie and Birding-ausers,

I have been running birdwatching tours in northern Vic for some 10 years now.

I average about 40 full days per year, of showing birdwatchers around the 
state,so it is certainly only a part time enterprise, however I am showcasing 
the natural wonders of Victoria to many people from around Australia and 
overseas.

The exceptional wet summer we have experienced here in Victoria in 2010/11, has 
been a boomtime for all wildlife, especially waterbirds that had declined to 
very low numbers over the last 10 years or so. Prime conditions for many 
waterbirds occur as the water levels in wetlands begin to settle and slowly 
drop.  This summer saw wetlands being continually topped up to very high levels 
again and again.  Conditions just began to stabilise later in the summer, and 
many species were breeding at this time.   Then of course the shooting season 
began and the whole scene changed dramatically.

Having studied birds for much of my life, it is clear to me that the 
commencement of shooting season strikes fear into every waterbird.  Visiting 
wetlands after the season has begun is a totally different experience. 
All the waterbirds are extremely skittish, and hard to observe.  Many have 
moved on from more accessable sites, and duck species particularly seem to 
start flocking for protection, and hence stop their breeding cycle.

I find it extremely sad that I feel I have to stop promoting the wonderful 
wetlands to potential visitors to the region, because I know that the peace and 
tranquility of our stunning wetlands has been completely destroyed. I believe 
that there are many many more people who enjoy our wild wetlands for the sense 
of wonderment, peace, and enjoyment,than there are people who like to shoot 
birds. 
I will not take visiting birdwatchers to wetlands in Victoria during shooting 
season because I know that the experience will be tainted. To me this is an 
absolute embarassment, particularly as Australia has a green image 
overseas.Most European countries are decades ahead of Australia when it comes 
to conserving their wildlife, It wont be until late winter/early spring that I 
will seriously think about taking visiting birdwatchers to our beautiful 
wetlands again. 

Sincerely,

Simon Starr,
Firetail Birdwatching Tours 
Pyramid Hill,
Northern Victoria,
===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
  • Re. Wetlands tourism, Simon and Alex Starr <=
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