G'day Julian,
I don't recall anyone claiming that "we already have something better,
brighter and more efficient than the Poms, or Dutch for that matter, could
ever dream up". Birding in the UK and Europe is way ahead of anything
happening in Australia, from any angle you care to look at it and it has
been that way for decades. There may well be a place for a pager-like system
in Australia and I would be surprised if a system didn't eventuate some day.
But from a practical point of view as you have already mentioned the
distances in Australia present an entirely different situation than that you
which you encountered in the UK. A more comparable situation would be if
your pager had of covered all of Europe and the White stork was in Poland
(not that a White Stork in Poland would set of an alarm but you get my
drift). A pager system in Australia would not just be for the local patches
like the Western treatment Plant in Melbourne but would be for those of us
who have the resources to jump on a plane when a rarity turns up at Broome
or Christmas Island for that matter and the numbers of people in that
category is definitely growing and will someday reach critical mass to
justify a pager system, it's inevitable some day. The alternative, which
would be more in keeping with your "within driving distance" experience in
the UK would be a number of State based systems along with a national one,
and a subscriber would determine their level of involvement. There are lots
of practical and cost issues to consider in all of this.
So let's keep our comments in this discussion accurate and avoid false
accusations.
Cheers Jeff.
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Julian Bielewicz
Sent: Sunday, 1 November 2009 12:14 PM
To:
Subject: pagers
Greetings Birders
Perhaps I've missed some of the postings on this subject but certainly the
ones I've read seem to have missed the point of IMMERDIATE COMMUNICATION
with pagers.
Back in the 1990s when Fay and I were revisiting the UK we had the loan of a
pager from Chris Padley of The Old Bakehouse, Little Walsingham, Norfolk.
While travelling north to visit family and friends the pager alerted us to
the sudden appearance of White Stork [Ciconia ciconia] south of Birmingham.
Having a little earlier "ticked" White Stork in Poland we decided to ignore
the call. The alerts continued over the next hour at regular intervals. By
the time we were abreast of the location, but some 50km east, we succumbed
to temptation; it was, after all, a new "tick" for our British list. We
duly arrived, searched, "ticked" and continued on our way to the
family/friends reunion.
That's immediacy. No ERERMAEA, WILDIARIES or any other form of
computer/Internet communication would have served us with that proficiency.
By the time Fay and I arrived at my sister's house and logged on to my
"Hotmail" account, the White Stork was gone - albeit to reappear several
miles further west the following morning
Throughout the duration of our UK visit we were regularly alerted to "rare"
birds across the width and breadth of the country. Most we ignored as we
had pre-determined destinations miles beyond the advertised location but on
a number of occasions we were able to divert to the sighting and thus add to
our Life/British list. Indeed, on one occasion, when the birders of
Cornwall were becoming rather excited about the presence of Little Egret
[Egretta garzetta], we were able to add to the buzz when we found a pair at
the Copperhouse, Hayle.
Further not only did the pager alert birders to the presence of a new rarity
in the UK but also notified them when the bird had left the advertised
location, thus saving "twitchers" the cost of a fruitless chase.
Modern technology could provide alternatives. "Blackberry" with email and
an audible alert that a birding message is coming through?
It may well be that given the vast distances involved in Australian birding
- the tyranny of distance- a pager/email system would be impractical but
let's not retreat behind that old defence mechanism that we already have
something better, brighter and more efficient than the Poms, or Dutch for
that matter, could ever dream up.
Cheers
Julian Bielewicz
Nanango, Q.
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