I just returned from a week of deer hunting in the mountains of northwestern
Virginia and was greatly entertained by the lively debate that has taken place
on this issue. I too spent a lot of time watching birds and all my data go
into eBird and (when at the house on appropriate days) PFW. Too bad that some
people see a conflict. I never have. From about age 12 on, I have stalked the
woods and fields with rifle or shotgun and binoculars and have many memorable
sightings, including lifers, while hunting. I spent my career in the
environmental protection/conservation field and represented my agency on both
PIF and
NABCI steering committees and did what I could to bring bring bird
conservation into my agency and some of its resources into bird conservation.
Funny that
Aldo Leopold didn't seem to lose sleep over this one. But times change and
the inexorable shift from a rural population with rural values to an urban one
is probably largely responsible. And by the way, I learned my love of nature
(birds, other animals, plants, geology, climate, land forms, evolution, etc.)
from my dad who also taught me how to shoot and hunt, though by the time I
came into his life he had hung up his gun. Too bad some of the commenters
didn't
know someone like him. I guess I was just lucky. Hope you all had a
wonderful Thanksgiving.
Dave Davis
Arlington
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