The way I see it, it's mainly other big year participants who want proof. It's
true that no one wins a million dollars, but they'll want to protect the time
and money they've invested in their year.
Peter Shute
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eric Jeffrey
> Sent: Friday, 20 May 2016 10:43 AM
> To: Peter Shute <>
> Cc: Kim Sterelny <>; Birding Aus <birding-
> >
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
>
> The real question is why we place these increasing demands on participants.
> It is not as if the winner gets crowned king or wins a million dollars. If
> they are
> lucky, perhaps they will be featured in a book that gets made into a movie.
>
>
> Eric Jeffrey
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On May 19, 2016, at 8:33 PM, Peter Shute <> wrote:
> >
> > Kim, my point wasn't about the morality of big years, but about the
> decreasing practicality of them. Apart from the increasing cost due to the
> higher counts required, the burden of proof required for such a high stakes
> game may be getting too difficult to meet. Do you have to photograph every
> bird now, where once only one's word, or the occasional photo was
> sufficient? And do you also have to prove that you took the photos yourself,
> at the place and time your claim to have taken them?
> >
> > Peter Shute
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Birding-Aus On
> >> Behalf Of Kim Sterelny
> >> Sent: Friday, 20 May 2016 10:04 AM
> >> To: Kim Sterelny <>
> >> Cc: 'Birding Aus' <>
> >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
> >>
> >> People
> >>
> >> I have never done a big year, nor have any intention (or the skills) to do
> so.
> >> But can folks please stop moralising about the choices of how other
> >> people spend their time and money. If people want to go on a holiday
> >> chasing birds, or have a gap year doing so, that is their choice. If
> >> you think it is interesting and fun; read their books; follow their
> >> blog (I'll certainly be looking out for Kingbird Highway); if not,
> >> don't. But unless you never go on a holiday; never spend money
> >> renovating your house; never fly; cycle or walk everywhere; remember
> >> that you have a carbon footprint too; you could donate to charities
> >> more; and so forth. As choices about how to spend your life go, bird
> chasing is pretty harmless. So respect others' choices.
> >>
> >> OK: that probably counts as moralising too! But I'll risk it Kim
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Kim Sterelny, School of Philosophy, Research School of the Social
> >> Sciences, Australian National University, Acton, 0200, ACT, Australia
> >> or
> >>
> >> 61-(0)2-6125-2886
> >>
> >> ________________________________________
> >> From: Birding-Aus <> on behalf of
> >> Tony Russell <>
> >> Sent: Friday, 20 May 2016 8:45 AM
> >> To: 'Peter Shute'; 'Anne Brophy'
> >> Cc: 'Birding Aus'; 'Tim'
> >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
> >>
> >> Were they ever practical ? Or of any use whatsoever ? Surely only
> >> the attention seeking misdirected aspirations of the person with too
> >> much time and money to expend are involved. It's just a silly " I'm better
> than you"
> >> game and the money would be better given to a deserving charity ( and
> >> for the person to get a job).
> >>
> >> Tony.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Birding-Aus On
> >> Behalf Of Peter Shute
> >> Sent: 19 May 2016 21:11
> >> To: Anne Brophy
> >> Cc: Birding Aus; Tim
> >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
> >>
> >> I haven't read Kingbird Highway, but I see that it's set in 1973. I
> >> believe Roy Wheeler and Kevin Bartram, who did their Australian big
> >> years not that long after, also didn't drive.
> >>
> >> I think it would be impossible to break the record these days without
> >> a driving licence, and a lot of time and a lot of cash, let alone the
> >> organisational and birding skills and luck that have always been required.
> >>
> >> Given the increasing difficulty of breaking the record, can these
> >> attempts continue indefinitely? Surely a time will come when the
> >> personal cost won't be worth the tiny chances of beating the record.
> >> And surely, as the record gets harder to beat, the temptation to take
> >> "shortcuts" will increase, and with it the need to provide the proof
> >> that is being asked of John Wiegel. It's a big ask to expect someone
> >> to get a photo of every bird, and as we saw in a recent Victorian big year,
> even a photo can be insufficient proof.
> >>
> >> Are big years becoming impractical?
> >>
> >> Peter Shute
> >>
> >>
> >>
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