I felt that some would appreciate this current news item from north Texas.
In early February, personal media pages such as Facebook were suddenly
filled with news of a Mandarin Duck (male) being seen in Centennial Park in
Irving. Obviously most of the excitement was from self-described 'nature
photographers' flocking to the park. A friend of mine is a professional
portrait photographer and he shared some of the postings on his Facebook
newsfeed. I read statements like "this is the most photographed bird in
Texas." By mid-February, Fort Worth Audubon board members were hearing about
this incredible discovery.
The local Fox news station was the first to run a segment on a nightly news
program. At that time I welcomed this wildlife ambassador as he was
attracting many non-birding folks to come out and visit nature.
Then, last Monday or Tuesday, I tuned into the ABC affiliate's 10 PM news.
By coincidence they were running a segment about the duck that night. The
reporter was interviewing a gentleman (dressed out in camo and cradling what
looked like a DSLR camera with 400mm lens) while the background video showed
a sleeping Mandarin Duck on the pond behind him. I smiled at the thought of
how poorly his camo clothing blended in with the manicured lawn surrounding
the pond.
The information being shared was mostly correct, a species from far east
Asia, beautiful plumage, and the probability it is an escapee from a local
collector.
But then he launched his attack on bird watchers.. The reporter asked if
the gentleman has seen many local bird watchers and Audubon chapter members
coming to see the bird. The guy answered "No, the Audubon's position is this
bird is not on the list of accepted species and that he personally was told
that Audubon members were planning to kill the duck to remove it."
Within 48 hours we (Ft Worth Audubon) received a request for an interview
regarding our position by a local news-talk radio station. Friends who saw
the segment asked me with glares if this was true. I was surprised something
wasn't said at either of the political debates in a call to regulate these
rogue naturalists!
Perhaps FWAS, Audubon Dallas or Audubon Texas, all located in the metro
area, should have set up a booth every day and handed out literature and
answered questions.. And on a positive note the Mandarin has caused an
increase in conversation about bird watching in Texas.
Oops, gotta run. The water for my rice side dish is boiling.
Jim Jones
Bedford, TX
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