David Geering wrote:
> I'm often curious where the people who put these "fact" sheets together get
> their information.
Me too! A 2 page note about Ricketts Point, a top Bayside Melbourne birding
spot, says "....Black-browed and Shy Albatrosses, Giant Petrels and
Short-tailed Shearwaters are regularly seen from the point. There can be few
cities in the world where these birds of the wild open ocean come so close."
Hah! In about 200 visits over 12 years I've seen over 130 species in the area
but only one albatross and no Giant Petrels.
Never mind the quote helped to persuade me to move to Australia and so was a
good (??) thing.
Incidentally it was written, in 1986, by some people called Stephen Garnett,
Brett Lane, Martin Schulz and Kevin Wood.
Numerous other misleading snippets can be found in 'Local Birds of Bayside' (M
Norris ed 1994)....
One lesson is to treat with suspicion any statement about a site and its birds
which is written in the present tense.
Leading to a plea for everyone to make a new year's resolution to put the fine
publication date on all those brochures, web pages etc. etc.
Michael Norris
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