I'm not on Facebook, but I get the sense that there was a robust and
somewhat unpleasant discussion of the Dusky Thrush situation.
Realizing that many of those people will not read this or ignore it, I
agree with Dave Irons and Mike Patterson on this issue, and to
illustrate an example of what happens and why people, including
potentially myself if a really rare bird showed up in my yard, don't
necessarily want birders chasing a rare bird in their yard (can you say
Red-flanked Bluetail?), read this latest tidbit from the Birding Newsletter:
*ACCESS MATTERS: LAZULI LESSONS*
A regional rarity in Ontario, a rare Lazuli Bunting in an Ottawa
backyard offers another classic access problem along with some attendant
birding lessons.
When Denise Smith, a grandmother and 30-year daycare provider, did not
recognize a small songbird on one of her feeders in late January, she
had no idea what would eventually transpire. The bird turned out to be a
Lazuli Bunting, a bird that should have been wintering in Mexico. Lazuli
Buntings have only previously been found in this part of Ontario 11
times, and never in winter.
Once word of the rare bunting got out, the pilgrimage to the Smith
feeder began, with numbers of birders visiting Ottawa's Pinecrest Creek
area and viewing the frequented backyard feeder through the adjacent
National Capital Commission woods. Dedicated birders stationed
themselves with binoculars and cameras under a willow tree and waited,
even as the temperatures plunged below minus-20 degrees with the wind chill.
First it was a handful of observers, but quickly the numbers swelled.
Jon Ruddy of Eastern Ontario Birding was involved from the beginning,
sending out messages informing birders of the proper place to park, how
to access the area, and advice about how to show courtesy to the Smiths.
But the situation was gradually getting out of control.
Birders were asked to stay out of site of the house - a house with no
curtains on the rear windows - as much as possible in order to give the
Smiths complete privacy. The neighbor to the north was also getting
"grumpier and grumpier" from all the local birder traffic. And a nearby
alternate ground-feeding site (with mixed millet) was even created, but
without success.
Jon Ruddy had a "gut impression that over 95 per cent of the visiting
birders were sensitive" to the situation, but in the end a few managed
to ruin the situation for many. On 5 February, Ruddy recommended that no
further visitation to the site be made. Ruddy said the Smiths "had had
enough with breaches of their privacy."
Even though birders were given sensible access guidelines in this
situation, these were sufficiently ignored to eventually spoil the
situation. And when that happened, circumstances for a welcoming
visitation were withdrawn. In should be remembered that access options
are ultimately the decision of the actual "hosts," not the visiting birders!
You can read more details here, from /The Globe and Mail/ for 11 February:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-rare-lazuli-bunting-attracts-bird-watching-frenzy-to-ottawa-womans/
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As Rich Hoyer once said to me, you can be part of the solution or part
of the problem. Don't be part of the problem. If you really want to
see a Dusky Thrush, you could consider a trip to Eastern Asia. No one
has any rights to see any rare bird anywhere. Be thankful.
Cheers
Dave Lauten
