I am always annoyed by the standard so-called Minsmere hide - basically
a dark box with narrow hatches opening above a shelf (to rest elbows)
and a fixed bench to sit on. You come in, it's dark, and you trip over
the bench and bark your shins. The usual wooden floor is noisy as well.
(Could cheap synthetic matting or carpet be provided?)
The hatches are not always the right height and the bench is seldom at
the correct distance to sit comfortably - and if you're my age, it's
tricky to climb over it to sit down. The bench/shelf/hatch problem is
particularly bad for children and small people.
I would prefer to see a part of the wall adapted for those who wish to
/stand /and look out, from small children to those over 6'6" in height,
with many openings at different heights from the floor. This might make
things easier for scopes. And there is the problem of the wheel-chair
bound.
It is absolutely essential to face the hide so that one does not look
directly into the sun - the glare off the water at the Spectacles Hide
at Point Cook (Vic.) makes it very hard to use on a bright day. Birds
are silhouetted against bright water.
Observatory-type windows are good for children (and others) because many
can look out at once. Sloped one-way glass seems to conceal people from
birds (but tinting annoys photographers). However if you have a notebook
or Field Guide close to the glass and turn over pages, the movement will
scare the birds. Another advantage is that bird movements can be seen
as, say a flock flies in from a distance, or a raptor sweeps in and
startles everything into flight.
Anthea Fleming
On 2/02/2013 1:31 PM, Simon Robinson wrote:
BirdLife Southern Highlands is working with the NSW National Parks and
Wildlife Service to install a hide at Cecil Hoskins Reserve, a RAMSA site
near Moss Vale, NSW. We have a number of guidelines, including BOCA's 'Bird
Hides and Boardwalks' by Bob Shanks, but we'd value any comments,
observations or 'views by members of the list.
Simon Robinson
The Bower
9B Garland Road
BUNDANOON NSW 2578
02 4883 7186
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
