Subject: Re: amateurs in research
Date: Oct 19 13:10:28 1995
From: kraig at wln.com - kraig at wln.com



Stuart MacKay says:

>There is also the sobering realisation, coupled with my experience at
> Montlake Fill, that birding is not necessarily about finding more
>about birds, conservation, etc, etc. Something I already knew though
>I'm kind of bummed about it. I suppose it's no real surprise given
>the large number of people involved and therefore the spectrum of
>interest is going to be quite wide.
>
>FIRE HAZARD AHEAD - NO SMOKING, NO NAKED LIGHTS !!!!!!!!
>
>The next paragraph is 'evocative' rather than 'provocative' - if you
>don't know the difference stop here :-)
>
>Maybe we could start another thread on the subject "Why birding is
>not necessarily good for birds ?" or "What are birders going to do
>when there are no species left to list ?". Before everybody jumps
>down my throat, consider the point that the overwhelming sources of
>funding to bird conservation organisations in the UK comes from
>people who like birds but are not birders. I expect the same
>situation occurs here. All the money spent on telescopes,
>binoculars, field guides, clothing, cars, gasoline, fast food,
>roads.....>
>
>END OF FIRE HAZARD

Okay, I was provoked by the above, but I took a deep breath and
revoked, and instead evoked a memory of my childhood. I was five
years old, back in 1963, and I'd just learned to read, mainly by
repeatedly going through Peterson's western guide. My dad mentioned
to me that some people kept lists of all the different birds they'd
seen. Something clicked in my brain, and we had to rush out and buy a
spiral notebook so I could start my "life list".

Now, thirty some years later, maybe I should dig deep into my
upbringing and figure out what went wrong. What deep character flaw
causes a person to actually enjoy keeping track of the birds they've
seen over the years? Then again, maybe I shouldn't...

Over on the BirdChat list, there has been enough rancor lately that
the list owner has had to start moderating the list. Besides "the cat
topic", much of the debate came as a result of the "anti-birder"
postings from Byron Butler. Mr. Butler draws a dichotomy between
"birders" (rabid listers) and "bird-watchers" (dedicated amateur
biologists who study bird behavior). Apparently one can't be in
between. I learned to ignore this particular peeve of his, and enjoy
the rest of his generally informative postings.

Now Suart is "bummed" that birding has aspects that he doesn't enjoy.
Why? Isn't the birding community big enough to encompass a range of
interests? Are we all either "birders" or "bird-watchers"? Should we
start a thread on "Why some people feel the need to dismiss the
avocations of others"?

Hmmm, I guess my provocation revocation wasn't entirely successful.

Eric Kraig
Olympia
kraig at wln.com