Economic maybe not, but social benefits are another angle - councils spend a
lot of money on things which have little or no economic return (libraries,
sportsgrounds, art galleries) but which enhance the general "community".
Bird hides - like nature trails etc - can also enhance the community. Some
places do it really well - I recently visited the Las Vegas sewage works
which have a magnificent hide staffed by volunteers - no econonic return
there but is widely used both by locals and visitors.
And of course if there are good facilities locally maybe the local birders
will not travel to the next town (and spend some money there) to use their
hide!
2009/7/20 Peter Shute <>
> I guess there's no economic benefit if only locals use it. How hard would
> it be for a visitor to access the proposed hide?
>
> There is the same problem with maintaining hides once they're built. Hides
> may have been in use for decades without anyone ever collecting any evidence
> that they have ever been used. Some have log books, but these aren't
> practical everywhere - they'd just provide kindling for the vandals.
>
> Peter Shute
>
> ________________________________________
> From:
> On Behalf Of Tim Hosking
> Sent: Monday, 20 July 2009 9:08 AM
> To: Birding Aus
> Subject: RE: [Birding-Aus] Birding economics
>
> I'd be very interested in any Australian-based bird tourism economic stats,
> particularly inland NSW - the Field Nats here in Dubbo are about to present
> information to Council to fight for a bird hide at the Dubbo STP as proposed
> by Council engineering staff.
>
> We're in for a good fight, I think, as the councillors don't see any
> 'value' in such a (self-sustaining, low maintenance) facility.
>
> Regards
>
> Tim Hosking, Dubbo
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Denise Goodfellow
> Sent: Sunday, 19 July 2009 5:06 PM
> To: Alan McBride; Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
> Cc: Birding Aus
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Birding economics
>
> Dear Alan
> I've been aware of such statistics for a long time, which is why I tried so
> hard to get the NT government to take the market seriously.
>
> In 2006, 23 million Americans stayed away from home overnight for the
> purposes of watching birds.
>
> In my experience these people tend to do more than just feed birds. But it
> does take some digging to find how knowledgeable they are. And women, the
> majority of American birdwatchers, may understate their level of knowledge.
>
> My PhD is on American birdwatchers who travel internationally. I hope to
> release preliminary results in a couple of weeks.
> Denise
>
>
> on 19/7/09 2:36 PM, Alan McBride at wrote:
>
> > Keith et al,
> >
> > These would be great figures and the document for all of us to send to
> > councils for birding activities, opening of Sewage Ponds, etc.
> >
> > Simply search Google (or whatever) for articles on this story and send
> > off to all (non)-interested parties:-)
> >
> > Glad it helps.
> >
> > Alan
> >
> >
> >
> > On 20/07/2009, at 14:59 , Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge wrote:
> >
> > Thanks for those links Alan. We are trying to convince the local
> > tourist authorities of the value of birdwatching so these articles are
> > great!
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Lindsay & Keith,
> >
> > Keith & Lindsay Fisher
> > Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
> > RN 6 Mt. Kooyong Road
> > Julatten QLD 4871
> > Ph : (07) 4094 1263
> > Fax : (07) 4094 1466
> > Web Site: www.birdwatchers.com.au
> > Blog: http://kingfisherparkbirdwatchers.blogspot.com/
> >
> >
> > Alan McBride wrote:
> >> Amazing numbers: can't imagine what Britain's numbers are like:-)
> >>
> >> May be just useful too to fight the "gun lobby"!
> >>
> >> http://tinyurl.com/kj5eno
> >>
> >>
> >> BIRDWATCHERS: THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!
> >> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines 1 in 5 Americans are
> >> birdwatchers
> >>
> >> Look to your left. Look to your right. Now prepare yourself, because
> >> there's a solid chance that one of those people is<gasp<a
> >> birdwatcher! According to a study conducted by the U.S. Fish and
> >> Wildlife Service, 1 in 5 Americans participates in birdwatching.
> >> That's 20 percent of the population, or about 48 million people.
> >>
> >> Which is shocking, because I've never met even one birdwatcher in my
> >> life. By here they exist, a silent but powerful lobby with the cash
> >> to push their avian agenda into the mainstream: The USFWS reports
> >> that birdwatchers contribute over $36 billion (billion!) to the U.S.
> >> economy. They're not going anywhere, either<the birdwatching
> >> percentage of the population has remained steady over the last ten
> >> years, despite the introduction of multiple alternatives to
> >> birdwatching.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> *****************************************************************************
> >> ******
> >> Alan McBride, MBO.
> >>
> >> Photojournalist | Traveller | Writer | Birding Guide +
> >> Member: International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance
> >> American Writers & Artists Inc.
> >> Travelwriters.com
> >>
> >> http://web.me.com/amcbride1
> >> http://www.worldreviewer.com/member/alanmcbride/
> >> http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmcbride
> >> http://www.twitter.com/alanmcbride
> >>
> >> Good planets are hard to find; until we do, please, be green and
> >> read from the screen
> >>
> >> Tel: + 61 419 414 860
> >> Fax: + 61 2 9973 2306
> >> Skype: mcbird101
> >>
> >> P O Box 190 | Newport Beach | NSW 2106 | Australia
> >>
> >> This e-mail and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and
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> >> of it should be reproduced, adapted or transmitted without the prior
> >> written consent of the copyright owner.
> >>
> >>
> *****************************************************************************
> >> ******
> >
> >
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