I'd also recommend tracking down the couple of DVDs Chris Hassell has had
produced about waders on Roebuck Bay and banding efforts there. I have not
seen these DVDs myself, but I'm sure they will answer a lot of questions.
From my own experience at the occasional cannon netting session in Broome, I
find it hard to believe that these people are doing it purely for their own
gain - they go out day in, day out for three weeks, in stifling heat and
humidity from dawn to dusk working to net and band these birds in the most
efficinet and strees-free way possible. It is an awesome experience, but I
wouldn't really call it fun.
It would also seem that the team leaders such as Clive Minton and Chris
Hassell are far more concerned about the welfare of the birds than for any
of the humans involved. The people can care for themselves, the birds need
all the help they can get to be transferred to the most stress-free
environment possible while processing (dark, shaded pens - hot sand must be
scraped away to reveal the cool beneath), and to be processed in the
fastest, most effiecient way possible.
Belinda Forbes
Stirling
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