[texbirds] Re: Photo documentation vs. a mob
- From: "Stevan Hawkins" <shawkins4@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 12:50:18 -0500
Tony:
The Jabiru that was in Corpus Christi's Oso Bay in the early 1980s is
probably the rarest Texas bird that was seen by the highest number of
people. Even my non-birder parents saw that bird when they went to Corpus
Christi. That Jabiru was featured in numerous newspapers and was the
feature of many pieces on a good number of television stations. Given that,
I don't doubt that national news programs had items on that bird. That
bird's appearance was a very positive thing for birding in Texas and the
nation.
Given the above, I have been disappointed by the behavior of some of our
cohorts. Some of those have acted like paparazzi in their quest to get the
ultimate photo of this rare bird or that rare bird. Others have trampled
rare birds hosts' yards, cut flowers from those hosts' yard, entered state
parks and never paid the entrance fee, etc in the process of antagonizing
land owners. Such people forget that everything we do in the outdoors
creates an impression with everyone we encounter. This includes our
behavior during Christmas Bird Counts. Birders should always try to create
a positive impression with landowners, property supervisors, and the public
in general
Onward!
Steve
Stevan Hawkins
San Antonio TX
-----Original Message-----
From: texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Tony leukering
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2013 10:29 PM
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [texbirds] Re: Photo documentation vs. a mob
All:
I have to, respectfully, disagree with Fred et al. I use this example
frequently, but it's the best example I know of how ignorance (note: NOT
stupidity) and the mob effect can wreak havoc with bird ID.
Way back when, someone in Maine found a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. The
hordes (or, what could be considered the hordes for birders for that state
so long ago) descended and gleefully ticked the species on their state
lists. Eventually, Davis Finch and Will Russell showed up to ogle the bird
(apparently the first ones with neotropical birding experience to arrive)
and corrected the ID. We now know that a flycatcher with streaks below
might be Variegated Flycacher, the first ABA-area record of which was found
in Maine way back when.
Tony Leukering
Smith Point, TX
http://smithpointhawkwatch.wordpress.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/
http://www.aba.org/photoquiz/
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
Other related posts:
