I found little such ignorance in my 2.1/2 months in the USA. However, I did
meet birdwatchers who, although they may not have seen a large number of
species, knew the birds of their particular area inside out. Plus just
about every other living creature as well. Many, mostly women, just didn't
talk about how much they knew.
One example was 84 year-old Muriel Horacek, of Los Angeles who never ceased
to amaze me with her knowledge . Whatever garden bird I asked about knew
the species and its habits.
Another friend, Ros, living outside of Boone, North Carolina, also knew her
birds, plus mammals, butterflies and trees. Her report of a Mississippi
Kite, the first for the area, was dismissed, until she produced a photo.
Another friend living in the Smokey Mountains, Tennessee, was a plant
enthusiast, and mentioned little about birds until I asked. Yes, she knew
most of those in the area. They just weren't her primary interest.
One woman I met in McAllen was once an erotic dancer, then a real estate
agent, and now manages Quinta Mazatlan, part of the World Birding Center.
Colleen hasn't been birding that long, but she quickly identified an Olive
Sparrow among other birds. Without her verve and guts, birding in that area
would probably have lost out to the authorities who are more interested in
another tourism market - Mexicans flooding across the border to shop!
Incidentally, many of the "snowbirds" who attended my lecture at QM, had
been to Australia. Most, like almost every other audience I had consisted
of senior women and couples.
Too often there is a sense that birdwatching is for the experts alone. One
woman even told me that she'd been "corrected" when she referred to herself
as a "birdwatcher"! By the term she meant that she was interested in more
than just listing.
Some years ago I decided not to work with international bird tour operators
after experiences where tour leaders raced off ahead with a few clients,
leaving the majority standing bewildered and leaderless. When one tour
leader demanded to know why I hadn't gone ahead too, I told her that most of
her group was not interested in chasing a single bird. She retorted that
they shouldn't have joined her tour if birds weren't their sole interest
(meaning, I assumed, listing). I pointed out that if she made that a rule
she would lose over 2/3 of her clients. Now bird tour operators are
realising that to survive they need to adopt a more holistic attitude.
Lastly, I wrote my "Birds of Australia's Top End" to suit my clients, most
of whom are American. Yet it was dismissed by some Australian birders as
"not a true birder's book". One reason was that it contained humour, sex
and anecdotes. I took that particular comment to some American birders I
dined with in Texas. They didn't agree. One of them, probably the best
known researcher of US avitourism, then offered to be a reviewer for my
PhD.
And yes, Alan is right about the economics. Everywhere we went in the US,
there were bird feeders. And then there were the "snowbirds" who travelled
long distances both to escape the northern winter and see to migratory
birds.
And children were welcome at places such as Warbler Woods. It was wonderful
to see seasoned birders, both men and women, taking the time and patience to
involve them. So good on you, Alan. So far my little neighbours are only
interested in the dead snakes I keep in my freezer (until they go to the
museum), but I hold out hope
Denise
Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
PO Box 3460 NT 0832, AUSTRALIA
Ph. 61 08 89 328306
Mobile: 04 386 50 835
Birdwatching and Indigenous tourism consultant
PhD Candidate
http:// www.denisegoodfellow.com
http://web.mac.com/goodfellowdl
http://www.earthfoot.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baby-dreaming
http://www.ausbird.com
http://birderstravel.com
on 19/7/09 2:53 PM, Alan McBride at wrote:
> Steve,
>
> It's absolutely irrelevant!
>
> The story is on the economics of "bird watching" and not on an
> individuals capabilities with or without bins, scopes, etc. Whether
> they can tell a snipe from a goose is absolutely irrelevant (pun
> intended):-)
>
> Where it is useful is to show councils, such as Cairns, the benefits
> of mudflats for example, the "economics of bringing bird watchers to
> an area" and just what that is worth to them. Sometimes one has to be
> subtle for the birds sake!
>
> I would say there are more than 350,000 Australians that say such
> things as " ooh you're a bird watcher then? You should come to my
> garden.....". They may not belong to BOCA etc., but they can talk for
> hours on loikeets, magpies, etc., even 7 year olds next door can!
>
> Regards.
>
> Alan
>
> On 19/07/2009, at 15:10 , Steve wrote:
>
> G'day Alan et al.
>
> It depends on your definition of birdwatcher. In the USA there are
> millions of folk who have feeders for birds in their backyard. Many
> also put out Purple Martin nest boxes. I suspect these are all being
> counted in the survey. Many would not know a Robin from an Owl and
> wouldn't go elsewhere to watch birds. The bird seed feeding industry
> is huge over there. I met many people in Texas state parks etc who
> had no idea what birds they were looking at. I only bumped into a few
> serious birders with binoculars and fewer with scopes.
>
> In the UK the RSPB has over 1 million members. This is about 1 in 60
> citizens. BOCA and Birds Australia would have to have 350,000 members
> to be on par. Again though a lot of people who join the RSPB would
> not really be what I would call birdwatchers - just citizens
> interested enough in their environment to part with cash. I wish we
> had more here.
>
> Cheers
> Steve
>
>
> On 19/07/2009, at 2:48 PM, 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
>>
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