Thanks for those comments Lloyd.
My understanding is that there are currently 2 published photos of the
birds in question. I think this debate would not have arisen if John
Young had made a third, unmodified photo available.
Something to bear in mind for future action.
Regards, Laurie.
On 14/10/2013, at 6:38 PM, Lloyd Nielsen wrote:
Someone asked for the truth in this matter so please read below. I
should add that I have known John for about 30 years, have worked
with him on many occasions and regard him as a close friend.
John finally got the photos of the Night Parrot with the help of a
birding friend who has accompanied him on many of the trips (and who
also saw the parrot during that time). After the night of
photography and some sleep was had, they packed up and headed for
home - a 15 hour drive. As soon as John got within mobile range, he
phoned me to say "We got it!" He was so excited that he could hardly
get the words out. They arrived back in Cairns late that night. Next
morning around 9.00 am John arrived up here at my place and we sat
at my kitchen table and spent a couple of hours going through about
50 or so of the best photos as well as the video. I was the first to
see them. I had already heard much of the sound that John had got on
previous visits but we went through some of that again. Over
previous years, I spent time with him out at some of the sites where
he has been looking for the parrot, including the one where he
finally got the photos. I have not been fortunate enough to see the
bird myself but know the exact site where he photographed it - in
fact the very spinifex bush the bird disappeared under!
As far as John altering the photo digitally is concerned, all he did
was to take a small spinifex twig off the birds back which was
spoiling the photo. I have just spoken to him again and he assures
me adamantly that before he sent the photo that is all he did (not
that I needed that assurance). The photo (a jpg!) was not for
scientific consumption but for PUBLIC consumption! What is the drama
over that? Some people seem to have problems differentiating between
the two - just read the debate on Bird Forum. It is something which
happens a million times a day in the publishing world. There are
another hundred plus original Raw files which will be available for
publication at a later date with a scientific paper if needed.
I really can't believe some of the comments and doubting from some
people which has made its way onto Birding-aus!! John Young is one
of the most remarkable and talented field ornithologists Australia
has ever seen and yet there are people out there (mostly those who
have never met him) who still try to put him down at every
opportunity.
And as far as the "debate" on the Bird Forum website is concerned,
after reading a few of those postings, I quickly hit the delete
button - I have better things to do than to waste time reading
discussion such as that which at times denigrates Australian birding
and birders, with some bordering on defamation. Why don't these
people take some notice of the Aussies? A few noted Australian
ornithologists made an attempt to convince them that the sighting
and photographs were genuine but that seemed to be ignored but a
number of contributors.
Finally, a message to the doubters and knockers - for goodness sake,
go take a cold shower and give the man a break!! Recognise his
ability, what he has achieved and what he is doing. Allow him to
make more data available in his own good time. He is already working
on the parrot and its welfare (voluntarily with no financial
remuneration) with others including some from the scientific
community. The object of this is to determine the status of the bird
etc etc, trying to locate it in other areas, to determine the best
ways to protect the bird, AND ways in which others might see it
without endangering the species. You are not helping either the
cause (especially when and if funds need to be raised at some time),
the future of the Night Parrot or the chance for others to see it!
And for those people asking (almost demanding) him to divulge all
that he has gained, discovered and learned so far - does one
immediately write a paper at first encounter with a species? He has
already conducted a public forum at his own expense for the benefit
of birders. Just remember this - John derives a living from
consultancy etc. in the natural history field (he does not have a
highly paid government or other job) and the quest for the Night
Parrot has already cost him more than 6 figures of his own money as
well as thousands of hours in the field for which he has received
very little remuneration to date. Are these people going to
contribute to some form of remuneration. Give the man a break!
Lloyd Nielsen,
Mt Molloy, Nth Qld
www.birdingaustralia.com.au
===============================
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
===============================
===============================
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
===============================
|
