Hello Marilyn and others
You are correct when you call cannon netting
questionable? I should not attempt to describe how it
is done because somebody better qualified than me can
do this. I must say that when participating at Broome
i did not see any decapitated birds although one had
its wing torn off and others had their wings broken.
Most of the dead birds were just plain dead when the
nets were retrieved and did not have obvious injuries.
T Phillips
--- Marilyn Davis <> wrote:
> Hello Birdoes
>
> I think Tom Tarrant's comments are informative and
> should not be construed
> as veiled criticism about any group. Rather though,
> it appears to be about
> the obviously questionable practice of cannon
> netting. It is clear that from
> the discussion so far posted, there should be much
> more debate about this
> activity. Why is it that nearly always when a
> controversial subject
> discussion is raised, there is an outcry of demand
> to ban some members who
> have a contrary view or because they post relevant
> information those others
> may prefer to bury. Surely we can just use our
> delete key if we find a
> thread so objectionable.
>
> I recently visited Melbourne and near Altona we
> observed a Red-necked Stint
> in flight dragging what appeared to be some seaweed
> trailing from its tail
> covert area. As it landed close to me it crashed
> and toppled over and when
> i looked at it with binoculars, something that
> looked like the stomach
> lining from a small fish tangled with seaweed could
> be seen wrapped around
> its leg which also carried an orange flag above the
> knee. The bird hobbled
> and toppled until it took flight with some of its
> mates. It couldn't stay
> with the small flock and was conspicuously
> labouring. This is what banding
> can cause and I think it should be questioned. I
> don't know what cannon
> netting is but it sounds atrocious. Could somebody
> describe it please?
>
> I wish to thank you all for the fascinating
> discussions. Apart from being
> informative and interesting the banter and wit makes
> me laugh and sometimes
> it makes me think more seriously about some of the
> bird welfare issues such
> as this current discussion about cannon netting and
> injuring birds. As I
> have said before, my father told me that one of the
> great human qualities is
> the ability to appreciate another point of view. It
> doesn't mean I have to
> agree with it!
>
>
> Marilyn
>
>
>
> >From: "Andrew Geering" <>
> >To: <>
> >Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Cannon netting of waders
> >Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2001 08:48:08 +1030
> >
> >I feel compelled to enter the debate on cannon
> netting, to redress some
> >factual errors. Yes, fatalities do occur, but in
> the hands of an
> >experienced team, nothing like 4%. I can count on
> one hand the number of
> >times I have seen a bird decapitated. Decapitation
> is generally a sign
> >that the bird was too close to the net at the time
> of firing, and extreme
> >caution is taken to ensure that this does not
> happen. From my experience,
> >the great majority of fatalities result from two
> causes: capture myopathy
> >and drowning. The Queensland Wader Study Group
> (QWSG) has taken measures
> >to minimise both causes of death, and it is very
> rare for us to have a
> >single fatality. Certain species are more prone to
> capture myopathy, such
> >as Bar-tailed Godwit and Great Knot, and we wont
> fire a net if a flock is
> >too large. Mesh size has been altered to minimise
> tangling of feathers,
> >and thus reduce stress. At the first sign of
> capture myopathy, birds are
> >just released. Handling is kept to a minimum.
> Only in exceptional
> >circumstances will a net be fired into water, and
> then only if the team is
> >large and experienced.
> >
> >I think you just have to open a copy of The Stilt
> to see some of the
> >benefits of the work. The leg-flagging program has
> been extremely
> >successful. For example, from leg-flag sightings,
> a large body of data has
> >been collected in the last couple of years showing
> the link between
> >breeding Bar-tailed Godwits in Alaska and wintering
> birds in Australia.
> >
> >I think some of Tom Tarrant's veiled criticisms of
> the wader study groups
> >are unwarranted (who else could he be speaking
> about? No one else in
> >Australia has a permit to cannon net waders). The
> QWSG has not cannon
> >netted for a couple of years, and is not likely to
> do so in the forseeable
> >future. However, the group has remained extremely
> active, doing such
> >"boring" activities as running a monthly count
> program, lobbying to save
> >roost sites such as those at Manly and Dux Creek,
> doing comprehensive
> >surveys of the Great Sandy Straits (data used for
> Ramsar nomination) and
> >the Gulf of Carpentaria, running workshops and
> monthly field id days,
> >producing educational signs for sites such as
> Boondall and Karumba,
> >participating in various environmental managment
> committees, and the list
> >goes on and on. The same can be said about the
> AWSG. Two of our members
> >have been on the AWSG excecutive, and they have
> literally spent hundreds of
> >voluntary hours working towards habitat protection
> etc. One has to look no
> >further than page 1 of yesterdays Weekend
> Australian to see some of the
> >results of the AWSG work. Amanda Hodge cites AWSG
> data - the 90% decline
> >in shorebirds in the Coorong. Cannon netting is
> the highest profile
> >activitiy of the wader study groups, as it makes
> good television viewing,
> >but it is by no means their sole activity, nor even
> the most important
> >priority.
>
>
_________________________________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at
> http://www.hotmail.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
>
__________________________________________________
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35
a year! http://personal.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
|
