As the coordinator for the Yaquina Bay CBC I am very upset and profoundly
disappointed at the way Oscar and Hendrik were treated after this year's
count. I offer them my most heartfelt apology and hope they know that the
couple who passed out the brochure to them in no way represents the views
and opinions of anyone else involved in the count.
The Yaquina Bay CBC enthusiastically welcomes Oscar and ALL birders back to
our count. However, individuals who make use of CBC gatherings to harass
other birders based on their ethnicity, color, National origin, and/or sexual
orientation will not be welcomed back. Simply put we come together to
bird....not to force our beliefs on others. Furthermore, this type of
behavior serves to drive away volunteers which is counter to the purpose of
the CBC which serves to bring birders together in the spirit of collecting
data to assess the health of bird populations and help guide their
conservation.
*Dawn Harris*
