I, too, feel sad about the birds harmed by storms, and also those harmed in migration, and those harmed by towers, windows, oil spills, cats, deliberate habitat destruction by humans, unthinking habitat destruction through climate change, natural predation (yes, the shock of witnessing death turns my stomach even when it is to feed another bird), the high mortality of young birds, the lost migrants who may die because they flew the wrong direction or may never refind their breeding range or a mate. Ever since Malthus we've known that vast numbers of creatures die senselessly. I'd go crazy if I dwelled on it all, but I would like to change some of the human causes which the birds seem less adapted for. I suspect many of my fellow birders agree with me, and don't feel it's necessary to add the above as a disclaimer to discussions of these aspects of birding. Meanwhile I do enjoy the living birds I find and even to an extent the dead ones. I certainly enjoy and learn more about birds in their native range and habitat, but I cannot afford to travel to other continents or even to other parts of this continent very often, and I am reluctant to fly anyway because of the high ecological impact, so seeing a rare bird here is a special thing for me. And I really appreciate the work by Dave Nicosia and the other folks at eBird toward our knowledge of birds' ranges, migration habits, and how they interact with the weather.
--Dave Nutter
On Oct 27, 2012, at 09:35 AM, Marie P Read <m...@cornell.edu> wrote:
I tend to agree with Steve and Susie, I feel very sorry for birds affected by these extreme weather events, and view birders' excitement over such rarities as the frigatebird that showed up in the Cayuga Basin a couple of years back (and subsequently died) as rather mawkish. Give me a bird in its native habitat any time.
Marie
(currently in CA watching Pinyon Jays in their native habitat!)
Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY 13068 USA
Phone 607-539-6608
e-mail m...@cornell.edu
http://www.marieread.com
***NEW*** Music of the Birds Vol 1 ebook for Apple iPad now available from iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/music-of-the-birds-v1/id529347014?mt=11
________________________________________
From: bounce-69406086-5851...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-69406086-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Susan Fast [sustf...@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2012 6:12 AM
To: 'david nicosia'; CAYUGABIRDS-L; 'Bluewing'
Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential
Why the unbridled glee over “maximum birds”? Sure, you may get a chance for a few tick marks on meaningless lists, but this storm will be far from an enjoyable experience for millions of birds. Disorientation, cold, wet, lack of food, even survival. Check out what Nature sends our way, but employ a little perspective and empathy for the birds.
S. & S. Fast
Brooktondale
________________________________
From: bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of david nicosia
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:02 PM
To: Cayugabirds- L; Bluewing
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential
All,
The forecast track of Sandy is highly unusual and could make
for some very interesting birding in its wake. It will all depend
on where the center of the storm tracks relative to central NY.
Latest model guidance and the hurricane center's forecast track
show that by Tuesday into Wednesday the storm's center will be nearly
stalled from north central PA to central NY. The storm rapidly moves west
from off the east coast back toward our region Monday/Tuesday and then stalls out
and weakens over our area. The storm spends all its time out over the open ocean
until its rapid westward motion to our area. Will Cayuga lake/Whitney Point Dam
and other inland lakes/rivers see pelagics, tropical-like birds etc?? Tuesday will be bad with
high winds and heavy rains given this track...Wednesday conditions
improve...so either Wednesday or especially Thursday could present a unique
opportunity for mega rarities in our area if this forecast pans out. I can't overemphasize
enough to be safe first!!!!
E Bird has a nice website on all this.... http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hurricane-sandy
Check it out and let's hope we make it through the storm with minimal damage
and maximum birds!!!
Dave Nicosia
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