birding-aus

John Weigel

To: 'Peter Shute' <>, 'Anne Brophy' <>, 'Denise Goodfellow' <>
Subject: John Weigel
From: Tony Russell <>
Date: Fri, 20 May 2016 00:19:44 +0000
Who is this wiggle person anyway?

-----Original Message-----
From: Birding-Aus  On Behalf Of 
Peter Shute
Sent: 20 May 2016 09:11
To: 'Anne Brophy'; Denise Goodfellow
Cc: birding-aus; Tim
Subject: John Weigel

It might be true that Kaufman's attitude changed, but from the tiny relevant 
snippet of the book that I can see in the google search, it would appear that 
his attitude only changed after he'd beaten the previous record. I wonder if it 
would have changed if he hadn't.

Peter Shute

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Anne Brophy 
> Sent: Friday, 20 May 2016 7:44 AM
> To: Denise Goodfellow <>
> Cc: Peter Shute <>; birding-aus < 
> aus.org>; Tim <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
> 
> Hi Denise & Peter,
> 
> I found the nicest part of the story was the gradual change in 
> Kaufmann from being driven by the one goal of 'numbers' to the 
> inability to separate these 'numbers' from the magnificence of birds 
> and nature as a whole. I'd expect, or hope, many who do a big year 
> would have such a revelation. Maybe that was left in the 70's though...
> 
> His description of Sky Larks on San Juan and his time spent on 
> Gambell, are worth the price of the book alone!
> 
> Kind regards,
> Anne
> 
> On 20 May 2016, at 12:19 AM, Denise Goodfellow 
> < <> >
> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>       And is the effort always worth? Kenn Kaufman wrote (p. 284) that “the 
> larger (his list) grew the less important or even interesting it seemed.”
> 
> 
>       Denise Lawungkurr  Goodfellow
>       PO Box 71
>       Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841
>       043 8650 835
> 
>       PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW.
> 
>       Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia
>       Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International  Ecotourism 
> Award, 2004.
> 
>       With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this 
> continent becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>       On 19 May 2016, at 9:10 pm, Peter Shute < 
> <> > wrote:
> 
> 
>               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
> 
>               Sent from my iPad
> 
> 
> 
>                       On 19 May 2016, at 3:12 PM, Anne Brophy 
> < 
> <> > wrote:
> 
>                       Have just finished reading 'Kingbird Highway' by Kenn 
> Kaufman. What 
> a wonderful tale of an early 'big year' and the culture of American 
> birding it describes. What more, the whole year was completed when the 
> author was barely in his twenties and he hitchhiked the whole way. 
> Highly recommended read!
> 
> 
> 
>                               On 19 May 2016, at 1:12 PM, John Harris 
> < <> 
> >
> wrote:
> 
>                               Hi Alastair,
>                               I thought the whole "Big Year" was about not 
> putting it out there 
> publicly
>                               that you are doing it!! Having read "The Big 
> Year", it seemed that 
> the best
>                               strategy was to remain quiet about whether 
> "you" were doing a big 
> year and
>                               let others who may be doing one also make up 
> their own mind about 
> your
>                               intentions.... So much different to over here, 
> where birding folk 
> are happy
>                               to get on board with someone's efforts as was 
> shown with Sean 
> Dooley's "Big
>                               Twitch" and John's own efforts.
> 
>                               Cheers.
> 
>                               John
> 
> 
> 
>                               *Yours in all things* "*GREEN"*
> 
>                               *John Harris BASc, GDipEd*
>                               *Croydon, Vic*
>                               *Director - Wildlife Experiences Pty Ltd*
>                               *Principal **Zoologist/**Ecologist*
>                               *Nature Photographer*
>                               *Wildlife Guide*
> 
>                               *www.wildlifeexperiences.com.au
> <http://www.wildlifeexperiences.com.au>
> <http://www.wildlifeexperiences.com.au>*
> 
>                               *www.facebook.com/wildlifeexperiences/
> <http://www.facebook.com/wildlifeexperiences/>
> 
>       <http://www.facebook.com/wildlifeexperiences/>*
>                               
> <>
> <
> <> >*
>                               *www.flickr.com/photos/wildlifeexperiences
> <http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildlifeexperiences>
> 
>       <http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildlifeexperiences>*
>                               *0409090955*
> 
>                               *Past President, Field Naturalists Club of
> Victoria*
>                               *(www.fncv.org.au
> <http://www.fncv.org.au>  <http://www.fncv.org.au/>)*
> 
> 
> 
>                                       On 19 May 2016 at 11:14, A Smith
> < <> > wrote:
> 
>                                       G’day Tim,
> 
>                                       Thanks for the link.
> 
>                                       I think you may be over stating things 
> a bit. I have followed 
> Olaf since 1
>                                       January and nothing that I have read 
> has slandered John. Like 
> anyone doing
>                                       a big year Olaf wants to know who the 
> competition is. That said, 
> I assume
>                                       John (like me) is a fairly novice North 
> American birder  and 
> therefore he
>                                       should expect to have his sightings 
> queried. Great that he has 
> the photos
>                                       and hopefully he’ll find time to blog.
> 
>                                       Regards
>                                       Alastair
> 
> 
>                                       On 18 May 2016, at 20:17, Tim
> < <> > wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>                                       Hi All,
> 
>                                       As some are aware but others may
> not be John Weigel is doing an
> 
> 
>                                       American big year in true Weigel
> fashion. He has not been home since late
>                                       December and won't be until January 17. 
> You can follow his blog 
> here
>                                       although at present it's simply a 
> running list as his time is 
> consumed by
>                                       chasing rarities that has not stopped
> http://www.birdingfordevils.com/?m=1
>                                       !
> 
> 
> 
>                                       He hadn't published his list until 
> several days ago and since 
> doing so
> 
> 
>                                       it's fair to say he has been slandered 
> by his competition who 
> wasn't aware
>                                       John was doing the big year 2016 and Is 
> perhaps caught a little 
> by
>                                       surprise. He has even had his
> sightings questioned! See here
> 
>       http://olafsbigyear.blogspot.com.au/2016/05/free-nipple.html?m=1
> 
> 
> 
>                                       Johns previous Australian 'big years'
> have left no doubt about his
> 
> 
>                                       credibility.  He photographed almost 
> every single bird! He has 
> done the
>                                       same this year but has been unable to 
> edit his 40,000 photographs 
> and post
>                                       them. He will in due course.
> 
> 
> 
>                                       The year is shaping up to be the stuff 
> movies are made of!! He's 
> also
> 
> 
>                                       raising funds for Devil Ark (Tasmanian 
> devil breeding facility) 
> throughout
>                                       the year).
> 
> 
> 
>                                       John is currently on the world famous 
> Attu chasing Megas and 
> cannot
> 
> 
>                                       respond at present. I encourage
> Australian birders to follow the action and
>                                       support John!
> 
> 
> 
>                                       He is a great bloke and I trust this 
> group will enjoy following 
> and
> 
> 
>                                       Aussie take it internationally!
> 
> 
> 
>                                       All the best!
> 
> 
> 
>                                       Sincerely Tim Faulkner
> 
> 
> 
>                                       Sent from my iPhone
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