These are interesting comments that should concern us all. Jim Williams Wayzata
Begin forwarded message: From: "Ted Lee Eubanks" <[email protected]> Date: June 7, 2005 7:18:26 AM CDT To: <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [Conservationthroughbirding] "Loving" Birds To Death The recent note (included at end of this message) from Sheri reporting the demise of the Arizona Slate-throated Redstart is, unfortunately, hardly surprising or unexpected. Perhaps birders had a fatal impact, perhaps not. But the lesson to be learned is the same. A growing (and visible) segment of birding has become increasingly single-species focused, placing concerns for habitat and biodiversity in subordinate positions. I spent this past weekend in Ithaca, attending various Cornell Lab board meetings. On Friday the staff briefed us (exhaustively) about the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. While a marvel of scientific research and application (although the rediscovery came about by chance, the steps taken to confirm that discovery and secure the birds protection are the products of deliberate effort), the wild card in this deck is the way in which the recreational public will react to the news. In Tim Gallagher's new book, The Grail Bird, he quotes George Lowery as follows about an earlier rediscovery: "I have told no one where the observation and photographs were made...you know what would happen if the information became general knowledge. There would be two hundred amateur bird watchers on planes from all corners of the United States descending on the area tomorrow. And I think that would be the worst possible development so far as the birds themselves are concerned." For the past year we have been working with the World Birding Center in South Texas, and we have faced a number of the issues related to the discovery of rare birds (particularly this past winter). The closing of Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park to vehicular traffic is a classic example of steps that needed to be taken to protect the resource from the recreation. Even today there are birders who remain steamed that they actually might have to walk to see the birds in their natural habitat (rather than drive to a feeder). The Valley has become a testing ground for finding ways to immerse recreationists in the resource without placing that resource at risk. In my opinion, this is still a work in progress. Birders (or at least a certain segment of birding) have become fixated on the single bird at the expense of the many. "Drive-by birding" has become an accepted (even preferred) practice. Birding has no version of "Fair Chase." In birding, anything goes. The fear expressed by Rob and others related to a fundamental disconnection between the recreation and the resource is well founded. For the past year Bob Ditton, John Stoll, David Scott, and I have published a series of papers on the recreation of birding. For the most part these papers have been carried by middle-tier journals, since the human dimension of wildlife conservation has always been considered of marginal value (not "on-the-ground" conservation). The final paper is in press at this time, and addresses this very topic. In Nebraska we surveyed a broad population of wildlife viewers who were attracted to the Platte River by the massing of Sandhill Cranes in the spring. The survey included a contingent valuation model. We asked viewers about their willingness to pay for conservation of Sandhill Cranes, as well as their interest in paying for the conservation of Platte River biodiversity. Here is a quote from that paper - "While it is well-known that biodiversity is integral to ecosystem stability and health (Wilson 1992), it is clear from these estimates that our respondents were most interested in the abundance of Sandhill Cranes and had little interest in species diversity." In addition to this disconnection between recreation and resource, we also found differences between avidity levels in birding. We found that self-determined skill level is contraindicative of willingness to pay. The more skilled the birder (at least self-determined skill) the less willing they were to pay for conservation. David B. Klenosky, a professor at Purdue University, recently published a paper titled "The Impact of Negative Environmental Factors on Recreation Choice Behavior." Klenosky compared two recreations: golf and birding. In his research Klenosky found that "in particular, as one's birding ability increased, the importance of the other environmental factors became secondary to the quality of birding in area." In other words, as long as the rarities are present the environment becomes wall paper. Remember the avid birders who opposed Teaming with Wildlife? Birding needs to mature, to grow up. The time has arrived for birding to shoulder its social responsibilities. Given Sheri's latest report, I see we still have a long, long way to go. Ted Eubanks Writing from Slate Run, Pennsylvania ========= Message from Sheri Williamson: The Slate-throated Redstart that has been the subject of much excitement here in southeastern Arizona since its discovery on May 26 was found dead this morning. The following is the report from the Arizona-New Mexico listserv (BIRDWG05): > Jay Hand just called to report that he and Shawneen Finnnegan found > the Slate-throated Redstart this morning, unfortunately it was > dead. They found it about 200 yards downstream from where the wet > stream crosses the trail. They guessed it died sometime in the last > 24 hours. The cause of death was not determinable as the bird > seemed in good condition with no marks or signs that it had been > attacked by anything. The specimen will be sent to the U of A. > Bill Scott Tucson AZ [email protected] Prophetically, this message was sent to BIRDWG05 yesterday evening: > Fellow Birders, I have been following this story of the Slate-Throated > Redstart for some time now, and quite frankly it's getting a bit > bizarre. Reports now of 50 birders scrambling about, > actually running down the Comfort Springs Trail, which is no trail > to be running down, and near traffic jams on Carr Canyon Road, a road > that can be dangerous even when there is no traffic! I think > at times we love these poor critters to death, or in this case > will certainly love it right out of Carr Canyon and back to > wherever it came from. I enjoy sighting a rare or uncommon bird as > much as anyone, but I am coming to the opinion that WE ARE ALL A > BIT NUTS! I would really like some feedback and opinions of others > who subscribe to this service concerning how we are interacting > with the critters we are supposedly devoted to, and the habitats > that they depend on. > Pete Sockness > Stump Canyon, Huachuca Mts. > [email protected] We will likely never know the precise cause of death of this very special bird nor what, *if any*, role the presence, number, and behavior of observers may have played in its demise, but this incident should serve as a reminder of the potential for our activities to harm the birds we pursue and the environments they need to survive. Sheri Williamson Bisbee, Arizona [email protected] http://tzunun.home.mindspring.com
