Well said Dave and Eric. I think that the numbskulls need to be outed and treated as the pariahs they deserve to be. If I'm doing something stupid like that I expect to be called on it. I hope the morons who are doing it here and other places get called out in public. Ira Sanders Golden, CO
On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 9:24 PM, Eric DeFonso <[email protected]> wrote: > Austin, > > Please, do NOT blame yourself for the bad behavior of others. And please > do NOT begin a habit of keeping outstanding birds like this American > Woodcock to yourself the next time you, Fawn, or anyone comes across one. > Just because one or perhaps several people do not understand or practice > ethical birding behavior should not result in a complete swing of the > pendulum of openness and sharing in the other direction. That would > unfortunate, perhaps tragic. (The British have a term for not reporting > one's rarity sightings, but it escapes me at the moment. If someone can > remind me it, please do.) > > I for one do not want to bird in a community where the new norm is that no > one shares their good fortunes with others. The problem in this case was > not that you, as Dave put it, innocently shared the sighting on CoBirds. > The problem is like Dave described, treating the habitat and the area as a > zoo, or actually even worse than one (since when are you allowed to pester > a hiding or secretive animal at a zoo just to see it, in the same way that > some jerks bother the birds in the field?). It infests lots if not all > extraordinary bird sightings in Colorado or pretty much anywhere else in > the world, irrespective of the good intentions and unassailable character > of people like yourself and Fawn. > > I am very grateful that you and Fawn found this bird and that you reported > it, and that numbers of others have continued to provide updates on its > presence and location. Because of generosity of spirit, I'm going to make > an effort to look for this bird tomorrow morning (my first opportunity to > do so), in much the same way I went to look for the Woodcock down at > Fountain Creek last year. I failed to find it there, and I sincerely hope > that a few people's numbskull behavior and selfish attitudes haven't > already doomed my efforts to spot it. > > However, if I personally can't find this bird, I'll accept the outcome as > just another example of the beauty and enigma of nature. I don't view the > natural world or birds as *owing* me a tick on my lists, simply because I > make an effort to look for them. When I can get that tick, sure, I'm > thrilled and grateful, but if the woodcock decides to stay silent or out of > view, or has moved to quieter creekbeds elsewhere, that's the breaks and > I'll just have to wait until next time. > > Thanks, > Eric > > > On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 7:19 PM, Austin Hess <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Dave...I'm very sorry if posting to COBirds when I found out was not >> smart of me. I realize that it attracted such a large amount of people...I >> probably should of known better. Too bad to hear that it has gone over the >> line. I wish I would of thought over everything better and just kept the >> bird to Fawn (who is a good friend of mine) and myself. >> >> Austin Hess >> Fort Collins >> > > -- > Eric DeFonso > Boulder, CO > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAFjVA_bPjH6o-1rKWhREaDdCQs3YD2WxSjhacmZy94-MGHWsqw%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAFjVA_bPjH6o-1rKWhREaDdCQs3YD2WxSjhacmZy94-MGHWsqw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Ira Sanders Golden, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CABF3siH%3DxTb7Sq1cEvnJCkXiHxzTXh%3DBFENU%2BYt%3Db4n-Gs9jcg%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
