birding-aus

Dutch Birder Throws Spanner in Conservation Campaign Works

To: Greg Roberts <>
Subject: Dutch Birder Throws Spanner in Conservation Campaign Works
From: Carl Clifford <>
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 18:25:58 +1100
Well, it is not his country and probably does not plan to come back, so why 
should he care. Pity the property owners did not call the police and have him 
done for trespass.

Carl Clifford


> On 8 Dec 2014, at 5:32 pm, Greg Roberts <> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> The irresponsible behaviour of a visiting Dutch birder has seriously
> compromised efforts to protect a valuable wetland and waterbird
> habitat on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
> An impressive list of species that are rare in south-east Queensland
> for the Yandina Creek Wetlands includes Eastern Grass Owl, Red-backed
> Buttonquail, Large-tailed Nightjar, Australian Spotted Crake,
> Australian Painted Snipe, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Lewin's Rail, King
> Quail, Black-necked Stork, Australian Little Bittern and Black-tailed
> Native-hen. The extent and richness of the wetlands was unknown until
> recently, when I stumbled upon a large area of marshland while
> surveying the boundaries of two sugar cane farms that I have
> permission to bird on. I submitted an application to the Sunshine
> Coast Regional Council for the acquisition of three properties
> covering 200 hectares under its land conservation program. Various
> birding and environmental organisations supported the application and
> efforts were underway the identify the owners of the properties to
> seek their permission for a comprehensive survey of the area by a team
> of experts.
> I published some of the interesting bird records to draw attention to
> the site, and several people contacted me to seek information about
> visiting. I explained why there was no public access at this time. 
> This information was conveyed in no uncertain terms by me and other
> locals to a visiting Dutch birder, Pieter De Groot Boesma. However,
> Pieter decided to ignore that advice and enter the properties without
> permission. He was found by the owners and when questioned, he told
> them the site was being used for birding tours. This information was
> false but the owners, upset that people were trespassing and
> apparently using their land for commercial purposes without
> permission, have placed a ban on any birders entering the properties.
> Worse, the owners have refused permission for a team of experts to
> survey the area, and have indicated they are not interested in
> negotiating a sale to the council. Those interested in protecting the
> area were deprived of the opportunity of first contact to establish a
> good relationship with the property owners.
> Pieter has enjoyed the hospitality of several Australian birders
> through birding-pal. It is disappointing that he repays that kindness
> with behaviour of this kind. I notice today that Pieter posted
> photographs of mine from Saturday's Sunshine Coast pelagic on social
> media without acknowledgement, so the lad has form if nothing else.
> Greg Roberts 
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR> 
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR> 
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU