In response to Niven's gripe:
A number of locations in Thomas and Thomas are places that I told them
about. Some I found alone, some with other people, and some were probably
already known by others. A good many of the sites in the Top End were
'collected' by the late John Entwhistle.
Over the years I have been heavily indebted to those who have shared their
information with me, so in return I am happy to share my knowledge. It is
true that one becomes attached to favourite haunts but I think it is really
a good thing that so many people have derived so much from visiting sites
in the various bird location guides. If people make the effort to write a
book it seems unavoidable that they, as authors, become tagged to the
information that they publish.
On the up side, if a location becomes a destination for international
travellers perhaps it has more chance of survival in regard to clearance
etc. So many places I know of which are good sites for birds, frogs and
plants etc have no protection status whatsoever. It is actually terrifying
to think that one day I might wake up and find that they have all vanished!
I only wish I had the time to campaign for their protection.
Perhaps, this forum has a role to play. If we begin to nominate areas
large or small that we are concerned about this would create a national
register. Others on the list could check these places out on their
travels, post reports and thus document the value of these sites. This
information could then be passed to the appropriate authorities or accessed
via the web pages.
Should I start the ball rolling by nominating the now infamous Cowan
Marshes near Grafton. This now has deomonstrable national importance as a
wetland area. Future posting from visitors to the area would constitute
concrete evidence of their recreational, conservation and economic value.
cheers
Milburn
Dr.P.J. Milburn
Biomolecular Resource Facility
The Australian National University
GPO Box 334 Canberra ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA
Phone No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
Fax No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
E-mail Address
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
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