I'd like to thank Simon Mustoe for his very sane and sensible contribution
to the discussion about the disturbance of the Ruff at Pitt Town lagoon by
(we presume) over-eager birders or twitchers. We can add this discussion
into the increasingly emotional and bulging birding ethics file. I'd like to
make some additional points, about which I've been mulling over for some
time. I expect they will spark off a new round of discussion and that's the
intention, but my general observations are based on my personal experience
only. They aren't directed at anyone personally. I have many wonderful
friends in the birding community (hopefully I don't have too many less after
this post), and I enjoy their company in and out of the field.
I am 38 and have been birding for close to 30 years. In that time, birding
has been a constant source of pleasure, contentment, and joy. When I was
younger, it helped me become comfortable in my own company and helped forge
my personal and political identity. I'm sure many others will relate to this
experience. However, it's not the only thing in my life, nor the most
important anymore, and hasn't been for some time. Birding is an important
part of me, but does not define me.
When I was 12 or 13, I was lucky to meet some birders close to my own age
(but a little older - crucially, they had drivers' licenses). They were
cool. Birding was cool. Birding was fun. I wanted to go birding for a
living. But that wasn't to be, and my life and career moved in another
direction. Birding was to remain forever my hobby; a way to engage with the
natural world in a positive and personally meaningful way. And still fun.
Now I'm wondering - where's the fun gone? Simon summed up my feelings quite
well when he wrote: "Birders are unique in that they value the environment
but because we are cliquey, 'high and mighty' and offensive to outsiders
(even those perceived to be outsiders within the birding community e.g.
twitchers!)"
Birding now comes with a sort of implied pressure. To record everything;
submit Atlas records; BARC reports; to volunteer; you name it. All these
things are undeniably valuable, contribute to our sum of knowledge and can
be useful in providing information that helps persuade governments conserve
habitats and/or areas of natural significance. What they shouldn't do is
turn a hobby into a chore, which is what birding could end up becoming when
everyone is telling you that you "should" do these things. One shouldn't be
made to feel like less of a birder if they don't. This is a separate issue
to that which has sparked this discussion, but has increased my overall
feeling of alienation from the wider birding community.
Closer to the source of this discussion: there are things I did in my
younger days as a birder I wouldn't do now. There are certainly times I
would have crossed onto private land; other times I might have
unintentionally encroached too close to roosting waders causing them to
flush; and I know that on occasions I have used tape recorders to attract
birds. These days I don't do the first, do my level best to avoid the
second, and almost never employ the third. While there was always a loosely
commonsense code of birding ethics, the subject was not in my recall as
"live" a discussion years ago as it is now. Even without that, as you get
older and more experienced most of us hopefully become wiser, more
considerate and more aware.
Many of the people on this list are relatively new to birding. I don't
actually think "naming and shaming" those that make mistakes of the kind
witnessed by Mark is going to do very much to prevent poor birding behaviour
in the future. It might help release some angst, but I query its usefulness
as a re-education tool. Rather than work ourselves into a foaming lather,
maybe we could remind ourselves: we are all birders of one kind of another,
most of us do care about the environment of which our birds and other native
animals are a part, and demonstrate the way things should be done by example
and through civilised discussion. That to me is a kind of good contagious
virus.
Could we please take a step back from all this self-righteousness. I am not
seeking to defend anyone who causes harm to a bird's welfare by their
actions and I understand the frustration and anger that causes, but making
outcasts of people who should be our friends won't solve the problem. We
ought to be trying to find ways of encouraging more people to take up
birding in a way that gives them the maximum amount of enjoyment while
causing the minimum possible disruption to the environment. A prevailing
attitude of moralistic high-handedness is no way to achieve that goal.
Andrew Stafford
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birding-aus.blogspot.com
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