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Hi Birders,
I would like to ginger up the debate
on bird hides and so ask the question, is the proposed bird hide necessary at
all?. This question must be asked in the beginning when one is proposing to
install a hide, because in many places that I have been to where hides have been
built, I have been able to see all the birds without going into the hide! There
are some areas where a hide is useful, like in cold and wet climates (like
Melbourne in winter?) or where a lot of effort has been made to totally screen
the people entering the hide, but in the majority of cases in Australia,
possibly because hunting birds is not a major issue, the birds are not to
worried about human approaches.
Certainly unless the bird hide is
in a secure place, it will be subject to vandalism, and having a hide for
which access is via a key available from a local shop 3 afternoons a week or
whatever is a waste of time. There may be some value in
constructing viewing areas that have a cover to provide shade for birders
but not a full hide.
I believe that too many authorities,
particularly local government, are happy to built hides at great
cost, rather than spend the money managing the environment and controlling
the foxes and the weeds and enhancing the wildife values. It is easy to see the
results of your funds in bricks and mortar (especially if the hide is named
after some local hero) rather than to see that the wildlife habitat has been
enhance. I for one am generally opposed to bird hides and would rather see the
funds spent on enhancing the local wildlife habitats.
So Debbie Colbourne consider my views
too!
Alan
Morris
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