Barney
I think you make some valid points here. Bird tourists and bird tour operators
(who, of course, have a financial interest in the venture and an interest in
having happy clients) who advocate for access to rare bird habitat need to be
accountable for their behaviour and its consequences. I think you will find
that most are happy to stay within limits to put the interests of the birds
first. The question is - how do we know what those limits are? If I recall
correctly, rangers in NZ started feeding kakapos in tough seasons to get them
through only to later discover that this affected the sex ratios from breeding!
An entirely unexpected result (people who know more about this, feel free to
correct me).
On the other hand, the point has already been made that night parrots are
likely flushed by passing kangaroos and cattle. Their nests are raided by
snakes. They have survived to this day by being resilient - despite the
desolation of the cattle industry over the decades. The ground parrot has been
equally resilient - given some suitable habitat and appropriate fire regimes,
it will hang on. I feel confident that BHA and its expert advisors can
establish some sensible limits within which visitors will stand a real chance
of seeing and/or hearing night parrots without unduly disturbing them. Tourists
will need to be supervised but will be sensible about the chances of a dip.
Birding-aus is a pro-science forum, by and large, and the scientists are
telling us we are entering a mass extinction event (in 1999, Harry Recher
predicted that Australia will lose over half its terrestrial bird species this
century). Get used to more discussion about endangered species management. A
lot of that discussion will be the usual BS about “we can’t afford to save it”
when we can always afford to send massively expensive jets to bomb villages in
the Middle East and to publicly fund dubious dirty coal projects at home.
Regards
Andrew
> On 26 Mar 2017, at 10:46 am, Barney Enders <> wrote:
>
> How are they going to show someone a Night Parrot ?
>
>
>
> Walk in a line and kick every Spinifex bush to flush one.
>
> Sit in a group and run playbacks all night .
>
> Or tell them "Sorry you should have been here last week, they were here
> then "
>
>
>
> It took weeks if not months or years to see and photograph them before.
>
> If they are going to take them to the exact spot they are nesting or where
> they camp during the day isn't that defeating the purpose of trying
>
> to protect them.
>
> It will only disturb them and make them shift to another location perhaps
> outside the area preserved for them, not many bird live their life in the
> one area.
>
>
>
> I think the suggested raffle idea is the best, $5 or $10 a ticket, most
> people would consider it a donation and if you are lucky enough to win it
>
> give them a week with the crew working out there with the bird.
>
> Run one every 6 or 12 months till the debt is cleared or at least the
> interest is paid for.
>
> I think more than just bird watchers would throw in for a ticket.
>
>
>
> I can see the present idea is just defeating the purpose and they are on the
> track to stuff up all the good work that has been done.
>
> They have lived for hundreds of years without being disturbed, how do we
> know how they will react to people trooping around their territory, it might
> only be on
>
> rare occasions but that might just be enough.
>
> Barney
>
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