birding-aus

Hot weather and birders

To: Birding-aus <>
Subject: Hot weather and birders
From: John Leonard <>
Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 13:28:06 +1100
If this is turning into a "what do birding guides do wrong?" thread I will
just add that the only real problem I have had with birding guides is the
ones who get too stressed when the target species don't turn up. Perhaps
this is due to their experience of (foolish) clients who get angry when
they don't see these species, but it has ruined a couple of days guided
birding for me in the past.

Nowadays I make a point of saying to the guide (if it's a small group or
just me) "I want to see these birds, but I won't be upset if we don't, I
don't expect birds to arrange their lives for my convenience".

John Leonard

On 25 October 2013 13:20, Denise Goodfellow <>wrote:

> Dave
> I'm sorry to hear you had such a lousy experience.  I'm copying in Bo
> Beolens here.
>
> Hearing loss was an issue raised by my PhD respondents as well.  It was a
> reason why birders preferred going out with their spouse, even if that
> person wasn't a serious birder.
>
> Regards
> Denise
>
>
> On 25/10/13 11:25 AM, "David Stowe" <> wrote:
>
> > Yes some people do find it hard to accept that others aren't as able as
> > themselves.
> >
> > Some years ago in New Zealand i went with a guide looking for Kiwi. I'm
> fit
> > physically but have moderate hearing loss and back then i didn't have
> hearing
> > aids. I was told to be super quiet and listen. The guide became
> incredibly
> > frustrated that i couldn't hear the birds rustling through the
> undergrowth
> > apparently right in front of us. I wasn't permitted to respond lest i
> scare
> > the birds away yet he kept frustratedly telling me how one was right
> there and
> > just took a dump. He kept telling me to "just concentrate really hard!"
> > He of course had super human hearing and couldn't understand that
> > "concentrating really hard" doesn't improve ones hearing, in the same
> way that
> > concentrating won't cause a paraplegic to start walking!
> > We did finally see a Kiwi but his attitude and lack of understanding did
> put a
> > real damper on the night.
> >
> > Cheers
> > Dave
> >
> > On 25/10/2013, at 11:56 AM, "Tony Russell" <>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Interesting that you have raised this Denise. I have been out with some
> >> guides , well known ones too, who seem to have no concern about or
> >> understanding of their clients limitations. Some of them race around at
> a
> >> pace difficult for others to keep up with and if the guide notices at
> all
> >> can become impatient and often instruct people to "keep up", not
> realising
> >> that this can be impossible for them.
> >> Others can command elderly people to "get down on the ground" ( to look
> >> under bushes), as though they were teenagers, and not acknowledging that
> >> this can also often be an impossible requirement, and that getting up
> again
> >> is usually a worse ordeal than getting down. I can recall two different
> >> guides who did this to people on trips I've been on. It puts one off
> from
> >> ever using those guides again or recommending anyone else to. Some
> guides
> >> unrealistically expect clients to be as physically active as they are.
> Some
> >> people may dismiss these problems as unimportant but a responsible guide
> >> should develop ways of showing consideration for their older clients and
> >> maybe generating some return business.
> >>
> >> Tony, the aging crock.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: 
> >>  On Behalf Of Denise
> >> Goodfellow
> >> Sent: Friday, 25 October 2013 10:19 AM
> >> To: Birding Aus
> >> Cc: ; Peter Wood; Ronda Green BSc(Hons); Robyn
> Stark;
> >> ; Maree Kerr; Kev
> >> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Hot weather and birders
> >>
> >> Recently the issue of tourism and hot weather was raised on Radio
> National.
> >>
> >> Quite often I've been in the field with other guides who've either taken
> >> people out in very hot, humid weather or who said they would have no
> >> problems doing so.  One was a bus driver (who'd just started guiding as
> >> well) who, if he'd had his way, would have taken a group of American
> >> university students on a hike around the Kakadu sandstone in such
> weather.
> >> The professor in charge agreed with him and it was only after I (their
> >> guide/lecturer) refused to go that he backed down.
> >>
> >> On another occasion a senior lady showed obvious signs of heat stress
> after
> >> a long hike, but the guide appeared not to notice.
> >>
> >> This issue is even more urgent now, with more hot days (we've probably
> had a
> >> record number of fire ban days this Dry Season).
> >>
> >> So please, if you're a visiting birder raise this issue with your guide
> or
> >> operator.
> >>
> >> Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
> >> PO Box 71,  Darwin River,
> >> NT 0841
> >> 043 8650 835
> >>
> >> PhD candidate, SCU
> >> Vice-chair, Wildlife Tourism Australia
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ===============================
> >>
> >> 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
> >> ===============================
> >
>
>
> ===============================
>
> 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
> ===============================
>



-- 
John Leonard
Canberra
Australia
www.jleonard.net

I want to be with the 9,999 other things.
===============================

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>
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