I'm wondering how many people did go to the water's edge as described, and
whether they knew what they were doing. Perhaps it was done out of ignorance.
It seems like the logical thing to do - if you can't see it, get closer and
search the spots it could be hiding in.
I'm not suggesting there aren't people who would do such things to get a closer
photo. Just that if you aren't familiar with a site, and you don't know the
bird's habits then you would arrive with barely a clue where to start looking.
If you aren't a local then you'd probably only have one shot at it and have to
leave.
You might feel silly going all that way and leaving without a sighting without
having tried everything to see it.
So one way to reduce this problem, rather than not reporting the bird, could be
to provide precise instructions. Where to stand, where to look, when to go,
etc. Posting diagrams and site photos could eliminate the doubt people might
have that they've done what was necessary for success, and they can leave
knowing it was only bad luck that the bird was elsewhere at the time.
And it doesn't have to be the original discoverer who does this, anyone who
comes along after and has some luck can let the rest of us know how they did it.
And the more siting reports, with details, the better. It gives people a better
idea of the times of day the bird is around, etc.
A good example is the Painted Snipe at Edithvale in Victoria a year or so ago.
The bird fairly reliably sat motionless under the same bush during the day,
then around the same time each evening would move out to feed.
Without knowing that, you might feel the need to get in there and hunt around,
as one or two did. But with that information you could just stand in the right
spot at the fence to get an obscured view, then just wait till it moved out.
Peter Shute
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