Hi all,
First, let me state that in the vast majority of
cases, I see no reason why birders should not be given
full details of where to find birds. Many of these of
course are rare and/or endangered, and thus it makes
sense that there will always be a ready supply of
birders wanting to find them.
In general, this is a good thing. I'm aware I'm
treading over some old and muddy ground here, so I
won't labour the point, but in general, people should
be able to observe our wildlife at its best. This is
an appropriate reward for conservation of habitat. It
makes good economic sense and in some cases may assist
in the preservation of a species. Heightened awareness
of the plight of the Regent Honeyeater is a good
example of how birders can not only assist in a
species' survival, but also be of benefit to some
struggling rural communities (in this case Barraba and
Capertee).
There are, however, some cases where flocks of birders
(pardon the pun) may constitute a direct threat to a
species welfare. The Red Goshawk is certainly one case
in point. It is not bothered at all by people entering
its nesting territory; quite the opposite. That's the
problem. They are thus easy targets for egg collectors
and unfortunately there are still enough of them
around to cause a real problem. In areas where the
birds are especially scarce (south-east Qld), direct
persecution of the birds could have potentially
catastrophic results.
It is true that there seem to be an increasing number
of birders who have found their way inside the loop
and have been given directions on where to find this
species. I know, I was one of them. A bird David
Andrew found on the nest a few years ago in the NT
soon became as close to common knowledge as was ever
the case with this bird.
David told just one person about this bird.
A degree of protocol was maintained. This was that
only people actually going to the site were given
details of its whereabouts (and then at the last
minute). When I went, the birds hadn't been seen since
the last season. I was lucky: it was July and the
birds were back and preparing to breed at the same
nest.
Do you see the danger here? Red Goshawks are so hard
to come across in the field that birders gravitate to
nesting sites for the possibility of a "guaranteed"
sighting. And sure, I was privileged to be in that
loop and that rankles with a few people. Call me a
hypocrite perhaps, but I wonder and worry about the
fate of these particular birds. And it is simply not
possible in a country of this size to afford them any
protection against poachers.
Of course there are other examples other than Red
Goshawks. We should be wary of disturbing nesting
birds in general; beachgoers like Little Terns and
Hooded Plovers are obvious examples. But the general
point here is surely that THE BIRD'S INTERESTS COME
AHEAD OF THE BIRDER'S.
Most people don't need to be told twice. It's a shame
that some who (quite rightly) respect the rights of
landholders don't show their intended quarry the same
degree of consideration.
Cheers
AS
--- Robert Inglis <> wrote: >
Hello all,
>
> David Geering makes a good and important point in
> regard to disclosure of exact details of sites for
> rare and endangered/vulnerable bird species.
> It is very important to remember that a lot of these
> birds will be on privately owned land.
> When this is the case we all must respect the rights
> of the owner of the land.
>
> For this reason when people are reporting their
> sightings it might be a good idea to advise if the
> bird was seen on or from private land.
> And also to advise of any restrictions and/or
> procedures pertaining to access to that land.
> The birds may not be owned by the land-owner but the
> land is.
>
> Remember, a lot of gazetted roads in remote areas
> pass through land that is either freehold or leased
> and is therefore, in my mind, private land.
> These roads are 'public' land as is a small area
> either side. When there is a fence anything on the
> other side should be considered 'private'.
> I don't condone being on private land without
> permission but I see nothing wrong with observing
> from public land and encouraging others to follow up
> my observations within the same limitations.
>
> Having said all of that, I must admit it is often
> difficult to determine if land is private or public.
> A fence makes the determination easy but there is
> not always a fence.
>
> May a rare sighting make your day,
>
> Bob Inglis
> Woody point SEQld,
> 27 deg 15min 18 sec S; 153 deg 5 min 38 sec E
> E-mail:
> WWW: http://www.powerup.com.au/~inglisrc
>
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail ? Free email you can access from anywhere!
http://mail.yahoo.com/
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
