Subject: Great Gray, mortality, and banding
Date: Feb 27 12:34:55 1996
From: Raymond Korpi - rkorpi at clark.edu
On Tue, 27 Feb 1996, Thomas Cotner wrote:
> I would like to address a parallel thread--are we as tweeters placing so
> "public" an owl in danger by interferring with its ability to hunt? I
> ask this as I have heard, I hope incorrectly, that the Great Gray owl
> seen by great numbers of people up in Vancouver DIED, apparently having
> starved to death. I will be honest in stating that I have never considered
> that one of the potential consequences of chasing a bird might be its death.
While I think the concern about stressing a bird through over-chasing is
a viable concern (memories of the 1986 ABA Convention where three
busloads of people harassed a buff-collared nightjar so badly that the
convention committee said the nightjar would not be looked for any more
comes to mind), isn't it true that many of these birds like Great Grays
which irrupt like this often do so because of lack of food to the
north? The bird was a younger male as was noted; perhaps it moved to
find more food and was already in a state of emaciation when it reached
our area--this is conjecture of course, but it adds another factor to the
discussion.
This goes further in light of recent discussions of overbirding
in Arizona affecting the reproduction of trogons and other Arizona
specialties as they had been so constantly looked at and disturbed. All
of these concerns on our part show that we do care about these creatures
and have their best interests in mind (or at least we think we do).
Yet, I think the tagging and banding efforts in both cases are
justified if done in appropriate and professional ways. I have been a
part of banding crews who have done both studies and who have gone to
feeders hoping to catch that one redpoll coming with a flock of
goldfinches (a nice bird in the hand by the way as opposed to the
insidious and nasty chickadee). In both cases, we acted in the same
manner in dealing with the birds. While some people may have concerns
about people banding and radio-tagging rarities in the area, we also have
to remember that services such as Tweeters add to the knowledge of these
birds, therefore the opportunity to study and in some cases, band and
tag, but we may also be adding to the stress of the birds as more and
more people see them.
One thing we all have to remember is to act ethically when we
seek these birds--keep in mind all that has been discussed in the variosu
threads over the past couple of weeks. And remember, if you miss it,
that's okay--gives you something to look for another day.
I now resume the Clark College Swallow Watch--none as of yet have
returned, though they were over downtown Portland today (first time I
haven't seen them over water this spring).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Korpi "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."
Hm: Portland, OR --from "Birches"
Wk: Clark College by Robert Frost
Vancouver, WA
rkorpi at clark.edu