To anyone still interested, I would gladly accept the censure of all here if I knew that people were also picking up the phone and encouraging the Columbia Land Conservancy to take some interest in their least bitterns.
(Columbia Land Conservancy Executive Director Peter Paden: (518) 392-5252, ext. 213.) Perhaps I wasn't clear enough in pointing out that the City of Hudson is putting the tidal wetlands to either side of itself at peril. If you think that the DEC is rushing in to protect these habitats, think again. Deals are being made as I write, and they are all bad news for marsh dwellers. Yet the ire seems reserved for myself alone. I'm not above being challenged, but by seeing the larger picture we might end up helping the bitterns in the long run - habitat - and in the short run - their privacy. And if anyone thinks that they can simply locate fledgling bitterns in a cattail forest they must be newbies (and welcome to birding). Criticize me, yes, but please pick up the phone, too. Timothy O'Connor
