I can assure you Chris that BOCA (head office and many of our branches, and
probably our affiliates as well) have plenty of things for volunteers to do.
We do a number of surveys in Victoria and Queensland, run a library in our
National Office, have a magazine to distribute, are entering historic BOCA
data into a database - I am sure we, like BA, can make use of volunteers'
skills in many ways!!
2008/5/23 Chris Sanderson <>:
> Hi all,
>
> I have been following this debate with some interest - I feel that the nail
> was hit on the head when it was suggested Birding-Aus is providing an
> alternate and more convenient venue for people to "publish" unusual
> sightings. I think Stephen possibly needs to find a way to harness that
> power if he wishes AFO to continue to be relevant to birders and amateur
> ornithologists.
>
> However that is by-the-by. While I'm sure Evan may have been made to feel
> some guilt for not "contributing more" in the past, I was a little alarmed
> that no one has offered a counter-example. I agree people should not be
> made to feel guilty for enjoying their hobby, and also that it is not
> practical for every birder to write down every bird they see every day. It
> can be extremely rewarding, though, to feel like you are giving something
> back to the birds. There are lots of ways of doing this. You could record
> birds you see on a bird walk and contribute this valuable data to an Atlas.
> You could volunteer to be part of a threatened species survey. You could
> help plant some habitat with a local revegetation project. You could offer
> some of your time or expertise to one of the national bird groups (I can't
> speak for BOCA but Birds Australia often needs people to help with data
> entry and folding envelopes for mailouts, and regional groups always
> appreciate people who can provide skills for them such as accounting). To
> suggest that everyone who does this is somehow being guilted into it is not
> only wrong, but a little offensive. There are many wonderful people out
> there who I deal with who feel that contributing something back to a hobby
> they get so much pleasure out of is the least they can do. If that's not
> for you, that's ok, but for those who want to give their time, and passion,
> it is not expected, but is greatly appreciated.
>
> Regards,
> Chris
>
> On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 1:18 PM, Evan Beaver <> wrote:
>
> > This whole nonsense of 'blaming someone' for a perceived lack of
> > scientific output from birdwatchers holds no water with me at all. I
> > know of no other hobby (and I've been heavily involved in a few) where
> > so much guilt is levelled at others for not pursuing their hobby in
> > the prescribed manner. So what if there are birders out there purely
> > enjoying looking at birds? I can't think of a better way to wring the
> > joy from my experiences than the thought of writing up every
> > observation or atlassing every trip. If you think there should be more
> > science output maybe you should work harder? Otherwise, let us enjoy
> > our hobby in the way we see fit.
> >
> > Except for Twitchers, who are clearly evil and responsible for almost
> > every problem we face today.
> >
> > EB
> >
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