Steve,
no offense taken about my bird rescue work! there ain't no park literature
promoting pigeons or mourning doves or starlings or sparrows! the literature
also doesn't tell about the very best birding spots: glass buildings beside
parks where migrating birds by the thousands crash and burn. Seen some pretty
beautiful dead species in this way on my macabre birding excursions...
Jenny
ENTS-
Today my oldest son and I returned to the Cuyahoga Valley to investigate some
sites for potential reports. We didn't spend much time measuring, rather just
hiked to explore unfamiliar areas(did measure a white ash to 132', and a
sycamore to 13' 10'' cbh and 113'). The neatest thing we observed was a snowy
owl, perched in a tree in an area of larger trees. It's very unusual for one to
be in Ohio, but my trusty Peterson's guide says it can happen---which brings me
to the primary question of this post: Why are more people, generally,
interested in birding than observing and measuring trees? I think we all can
attest that on a trail we would more likely encounter a birder with a
$800-$1200 Zeiss binocular around the neck than a tree measurer with a $200
Nikon rangefinder and $100 inclinometer. I'm in no way anti-birding, but
knowing the woods seems so much more basic--the types of trees determine the
species of birds and mammals present. The avian-centric position seems to be
expressed in the promotional literature of park systems also, where rare or
unusual species of birds present are stressed, without mention of the forest
community that attracted them. And Jenny, this in no way is meant to disparage
your rescue efforts in NYC.
Steve
--
Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org
Send email to [email protected]
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en
To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
--
Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org
Send email to [email protected]
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en
To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
