Sorry, with all due respect to Michael Mules, I have to disagree vehemently
with his viewpoint. It's nonsensical to suggest that the only people who
need know about a bird are those that manage it and unreasonable to suggest
that certain methods of birding are better or worse than others.
Why jeopardise the enjoyment that birding gives to large sections of the
community and the incalculable conservation benefit of encouraging an
interest in nature, just because a few rogue elements make mistakes -
especially when some of these mistakes are borne of ignorance rather than an
intent to disturb rare breeders. And why brand all of us 'non-professional'
conservationists as potential threats and design policy to limit our ability
to observe nature.
I'm reminded of a situation in the UK when the local group kept a rare
breeding colony of birds from the public. When the colony was destroyed by
developers, the group was devastated. An important lesson was learnt. Had
the wider birding community known about this colony, then the so-called
conservation authorities may have been alerted to them as a constraint and
acted.
Surely a degree of common sense should (and does) prevail. Most of us are
quite aware of the risks associated with disclosing sites. I have tried to
search Birding-aus for sites for species in the past. It's almost
impossible. This is because most birders know to keep such information out
of general public circulation. But it shouldn't discourage us from being
part of a conservation community. As for the 'official' conservationists;
when they can provide the resources to constantly and seasonally survey and
monitor all the rare bird sites in the region, then perhaps they can afford
to stop enthusiasts from pursuing their hobby and sending reports into Birds
Australia or the Atlas of Victorian Wildlife.
...and one other thing. Surely birding is the least of our concerns for rare
birds. What about, pyro-mania, deforestation, dirt-bikes...the list goes on.
Regards,
Simon.
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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