Dear John et al, Well done John Thank you!
What did JPHILLIPOBRIEN not here that the three of you said LOAD & CLEAR and I quote! "so we advised him that he could get a better look down the nearby preserve's trail, where it terminated at the border of private property". Also on his blog, JPHILLIPOBRIEN writes he also climbed up a ladder into a tree. HINT, JPHILLIPOBRIEN, don't you think this would indicate that one is now on private property! Absolutely Shameful JPHILLIPOBRIEN! Clearly you are not a photographer or a birder in the real sense! HONESTLY! Mardi Dickinson Norwalk, CT On Feb 22, 2011, at 11:34 AM, John Askildsen wrote: > to all, > > this is a long post and to those who object for the length, i > apologize in advance. please feel free to depress the delete key. > but if you take the time to read it, you may well be quite impressed > with how moronic/self-centered some people can be about their needs > vs. the welfare of wildlife and property rights concerns. believe > me, this is a unbelieveable read..... > > Last night i was informed by (my) local bird club members up here in > Dutchess, about the conduct of a visiting birder (JPHILLIPOBRIEN) to > Stissing Mtn for Golden Eagles. And last night, i was so 'steamed' i > wrote the 'rant' below, which i saved as a draft, to review this > morning when perhaps my cooler head would prevail. and in fact i was > going to trash the 'rant' and chalk up the perpetrator's > (JPHILLIPOBRIEN) actions to just some stupid greenhorn who does not > know his "A from his E". but then i got another e-mail from my > local bird club members who sent the "perp" letters of protest, > which included his reply. his response was nothing less than mind- > blowing to me. and at this point, i think he needs to be 'outed' and > taught a lesson by the court of public opinion from within the NYS > birding community. with the recent buzz on this list concerning > birding ethics, i think my entire e-mail thread is appropriate > discussion. perhaps i may well sound a little harsh, but i don't > think so. you be the judge... > > what i wrote and then saved last night and intended to trash the > post below: > > it is very rare these days that i sound off about poor behavior > exhibited by other birders as i find the disputes on line to be > distasteful. but this time i feel compelled to comment strongly, > based on a personal account written by some idiot who goes by the > name of "jphillipobrien2006" and posted to ebirdsnyc and on his > personal blog. > > yesterday (Sunday), while tom burke, gail benson and i were watching > bald and golden eagles at stissing mtn in pine plains, dutchess > county, some idiot-and i make no apologies for using the descriptive- > idiot, came speeding up in his car and blurted out a dozen rapid > fire questions to us about what we were looking at, were they > eagles, where are they, etc. we acknowledged that both species of > eagles were present and he seemed anxious to get a closer look. so > we advised him that he could get a better look down the nearby > preserve's trail, where it terminated at the border of private > property. so of course he zoomed off and bolted down the trail. > > according to his blogsite, he went down the trail and crossed into > the cornfields, all of which are closely guarded private property > and posted to that effect. then in his own words, he goes on to > describe how he scaled the mountain and pursued the eagles up on top > of stissing mountain ! the mountain is also private property and > restricted as it harbors endangered and threatend species, in > addition to being just plain old private property.he has posted > point blank photos of the immature golden, which he apparently > spooked off of the ridge when he got these photos. > > now, my message to this idiot is this: number one, the birding > community here in dutchess county goes to great lengths to maintain > a respectful, cordial and delicate relationship with landowners. and > just because you are 'upstate' and what you are about to crossover > is a cornfield and not someone's backyard, that does not change the > definition of "NO TRESPASSING". what you did goes beyond a flagrant > disregard for property rights. what you did as a birder is > reprehensable-to disturb a rare situation like harrassing resident > wintering golden eagles and nesting bald eagles in the northeast. i > hope that someone who recognizes your name from this e-mail, will > set you straight about what is unacceptable and selfish-make that > illegal, behavior. > > in the meantime, the NYSDEC has been notified by local birders and > perhaps we can reach out to USFWS and The Nature Conservancy > (requesting that they please shut down the preserve to visitors) as > well with your contact information. and if this means the end to any > access at all to wintering eagles at stissing for the birding > community at large, you may credit yourself with that "badge of > stupidity". may i suggest that you stick to watching (harrassing) > ducks at jamaica bay wildlife refuge and spare us your presence up > here in dutchess county. > > end of post from last night > > below is his response on 'ebird' to criticisms he received last > night via e-mail (not mine). i think he is still under the effects > of altitude sickness stemming from his ascent to the top of > stissing. maybe forest park is as 'high' as he should get into the > cloud layer in the future. and yes, i am being sarcastic and snarley > over this whole situation . > > Here is (JPHILLIPOBRIEN)'s reply to ebirdsnyc, below: > > I've been getting some hate mail from people saying Im unethical, > that Im a law > breaker and that Im selfish for posting my Golden Eagle sighting > here. So as a > disclaimer let me just add: > 1) I did not willingly or deliberately trespass to get those pix. I > followed > the trail, the trail disappeared and I continued on. > 2) No eagles where threatened, alarmed or in any way endangered or > disrespected. > The fact is no eagle will let you get within 1/2 mile of it if it > doesn't want > you around. > 3) Take the time to actually read my blog post before you send me > any more > snarly emails, it will be clear that this was a ONCE IN A LIFETIME > event and I > am in no way encouraging anyone to follow my example. The back > country there is > very dangerous and covered in 2 feet of snow and ice so trail > markers, signs or > any other symbol of human presence are absent. > 4) It is the END OF THEIR SEASON, and in 2 weeks the Goldens will be > gone. I > deliberately waited till the end of their Wintering time so that > those who are > truly motivated to see them will get a plan (a must) together for > next year. > 5) Last and not least, if you know anything about Arthurian Legend, > the quest > for the Holy Grail began because Arthur had violated his pact with > the Land and > it had begun to decay (Sound familiar?) Arthur sent the Knights > forward on > their quest not for his own glorification, but to renew that Sacred > bond. This > was my motivation--to renew the pact between ourselves and that > which remains > most Wild. > > "Arthurian legend? "Knights" ? "Holy Grail" ? "decaying land" ? OMG > grow up, pal...... > > JPA > > John Askildsen Millbrook, Dutchess County, New York -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
