I agree, Peter,
We have certainly "ticked" Rainbow Lorikeet here in Ulverstone, while working
with the Department of Primary Industries, Water and the Environment for over
12 months to try to eradicate them (with little success to date). I also went
and saw the House Crow when I was passing through Sydney some time back, but
would have been supportive of the authorities removing it as well.
I agree that it is the people who like to 'feed the pretty birds' that
generally cause the most problems, not those bird-watchers who have more
understanding of the ecological problems some species may pose, while at the
same time being happy to collect a 'tick'. There are people here who feed the
Rainbow Lorikeets, and won't have a bar of their eradication, not realising the
threat they pose to Swift Parrots, among others.
Surely, whether or not to tick an established feral species has little to do
with whether or not to try to eliminate them.
Happy birding (and looking to the needs of the LOCAL bird populations),
John Tongue
Ulverstone, Tas.
On 29/11/2009, at 6:15 AM, Peter Shute wrote:
> Are you saying that ticking discourages a negative attitude to these species,
> and that has some bearing on how much pressure there is to eliminate them?
>
> Could be true, but I often read of people's concerns about it here. Chris
> Baxter, to whom Rosemary replied, was pretty clear he wants Peafowl off
> Kangaroo Island.
>
> Are you suggesting people refuse to tick any exotic species? That might have
> the side effect of people not recording them either, then we'd have no idea
> where these populations are at all. I agree the birding community could push
> harder on this issue, but I think the real obstacle is "bird lovers" who feed
> and encourage them, and object to any culling.
>
> Peter Shute
>
>
> --------------------------
> Sent using BlackBerry
>
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