Hello Robert and others
Thank you for your invitation to comment re: the suggestion to band the
SIPO. I am taking your message at face value and hope that this is not just
a "come in spinner" question.
After reading your message, I tried to imagine a bright orange or purple
SIPO. It would be easy to identify, for sure. Alright, I must admit that it
would be interesting to see an accurate description of the SIPO written up
in a revised field guide after you lot had finished with it. Seriously
though, I can't claim to speak on behalf of other anti banders. These
comments are my own from the point of view of a concerned bird watcher who
wishes only to protect birds.
I think it is reasonable to say that compared to the peril faced by small
migratory waders when being handled and fitted with multiple leg flags, a
large bird such as an Oystercatcher fitted with only one plastic leg band
would have a much greater chance of survival. Assuming that is, that the
Oystercatcher was not killed or injured during the catching process.
Before anyone goes banding the SIPO, surely you would try a series of
coordinated field counts covering all its known locations in an attempt to
locate them. Your proposal to photograph individuals for id is a good idea
although i concede that molt variations would be difficult to deal with.
During June 2000, we spent several days at Lauderdale Tasmania. There were
hundreds, perhaps thousands of Pied oystercatchers feeding on exposed tidal
flats on the eastern margin of Ralph's Bay and also at other suitable areas
south to Opossum Bay. I never knew there were so many Pied Oystercatchers. I
kept quiet at the time because i was worried there would be a high tide
roost nearby where the cannon netters would have a go at them.
Among the many birds were some short legged, short billed Pied
Oystercatchers and i wondered about SIPO's. It was too early for juveniles
but it was very wet and windy most of the time and i never had a really
satisfactory look. I wondered what an observer with a scope might find,
after all it is relatively closer to NZ. Have you looked around Tasmania for
them?
Forgive me for being controversial but i have to say this. Its probable that
some might support an idea to mark a "hard to identify" vagrant bird only to
enable its easy identification so they can twitch it. If your reasoning is
to observe range expansion, why don't you go band Sarus Cranes and Cattle
Egrets or perhaps Common Mynahs first. Perhaps before you mark the SIPO we
should all agree that "In regards to counting any bird in the total of a
life list, it is unethical to record (twitch)a banded, flagged or colour
marked bird". This should be a golden rule for twitching anyway. If this
rule was introduced, we would soon see how much "genuine" support there is
for marking the SIPO.
In regards to the birds movements, would it not be more surprising if the
SIPO "does not" move up and down the coast? Surely the best way to protect
this bird is to train more observers to identify it and then watch the
expansion of its range from sight records.
It bothers me that the finders and watchers of a vagrant bird can claim some
sort of ownership that leads to a right to decide on actions that might
endanger it's welfare. We have a responsibility to help protect the SIPO not
kill it.
Cheers
Marilyn Davis
Katherine NT
From: "Robert Inglis" <>
To: <>
Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Re: Re: SIPO sighting at Ballina, Jan 2002
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 20:34:01 -0800
Hello all,
In the context of a genuine interest in gaining more knowledge of one of
the
most recent additions to the list of birds for Australia I wrote:
"It seems to me that an attempt should be made to mark or label SIPOs seen
in
Australia to help solve this mystery by making it easier to track the
movements of this new-to-Australia (?) bird."
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