There is literature on this. I have a paper by Richard Lyon (at least he's
one of the authors) which I can't put my hand on right now that deals with
this question. Another similar paper, albeit on mammals rather than
birds, is
Van der Ree, R. and Loyn, R.H. (2002) The influence of time since fire and
distance from fire boundary on the distribution and abundance of arboreal
marsupials in eucalyptus regnans-dominated forest in the Central Highlands of
Victoria. Wildlife Research 29, 151-158.
One thing that struck me during the Christmas 2001 fires was the amount of
footage of displaced wildlife on the news. We don't seem to be getting
this footage this time - perhaps because the fires aren't in Sydney and
there are fewer news crews on the ground. It seems to me that this is a
perfect opportunity for Birds Australia to come to the fore and present
themselves as an authority on Australian birds to the public. I think it
is pretty well established that Birds Australia need to promote themselves
more if they are serious about increasing membership among people with an
interest in birds but not necessarily birdwatchers (in the manner of the
RSPB in Great Britain).
This is a perfect opportunity for BA to have a public face on the news and
current affairs programs offering suggestions as to how the public can
minimise the impact of fires on wildlife. Just what advise they offer is
up to BA - I assume that have a position on this matter. Such a campaign
would need to be sustained and could also incorporate the impact of the
drought. A single identifiable figure is required. The EPA in NSW has
John Dengate while the NSW Fire Service has John Winter. It doesn't need
to be someone immediately identifiable, just a person that becomes
recognised as an authority on the subject (whether they are or not is
unimportant - they are the face of the organisation). With time the media
gets to know that if they want information on a bird related subject then
BA is the place to go.
It would be nice to see BA trying to promote itself and the cause of
birds.
Cheers
David Geering
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