Susan:
Your reply to my last posting leaves me a little dumbfounded. The last
thing I expected was vitriol.
>> Are you sure? Looked okay to me BUT then I've never seen ANY hornbills.
I simply asked the question. I even admitted that I could not be sure that
it WAS the bird in question as I have never actually seen a hornbill - even
emphasized the ANY. Surely we are allowed to query calls of this nature. Or
would you suggest that we never query any call if we retain doubts?
You questioned the accuracy of the original id, I merely asked if you were
sure. Why the vitriole?
If you are confient in your call, fair enough.
A straightforward, "I am sure, Julian" would have sufficed.
I wrote:
>A knowledgeable lot
>> those Pom birders, many of who picked up the Lord Howe Island shot of
>"New
>> Caledonia". I know a number of Aussie birders who DID NOT pick up this
>error.
To which you replied:
>Not like us dumb Aussies;-)
I neither said nor implied that. I merely stated that some Aussies <I know>
didn't pick up the Lord Howe howler. The fact remains that in my experience
many visiting British, American, South African, etc. birders appear to very
astute about birds and certainly about Australian birds when they visit our
shores. BUT for all that the most astute visiting birders I've come across
(and I've hosted birders from around the world) remain the Scandinavians.
If I tell one child in my class that he/she is doing very well it does not
mean that I am, by omisssion, telling the others they are dumb.
The "dumb" was your interpretation. Your hang-up, not mine. I never said
that, nor do I believe that Aussie birders are dumb. If you wish to put
that interpretation on it, that, to me, suggests overtones of a reverse
cultural cring.
>Should we just pretend it didn't happen?
Again, I never suggested that. I simply asked you if YOU were SURE of the
error, sure of your call. I'd suggest that it was a reasonable query under
the circumstances.
>I wasn't being negative
In which case I apologise. The impression I got from reading your post was
one of negativity. It may be my background but I always thought that
POSITIVE criticism BUILT on what was presented and did not simply pick holes.
Julian
..............................
Julian Bielewicz
Past President
Queensland Ornithological Society
12 Florence Street
Kippa-Ring, Q. 4021
Australia
Tel: +61 7 3283 4921
Fax: +61 7 3889 4272
email:
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