Chris Hill:
>I think the appropriate metaphor here would be that the bander(s) took their
>ball and went home. Except I'm not sure it was ever their ball in the
>first place.

Or, perhaps, after the ball was found, the banders stumbled across
the folks playing with it. They asked if it was OK if they could
take it with them, breaking up the game. When many of the group
said "no, we have some other friends coming over to continue the
game and aren't done with the ball". The group which found the
ball momentarily turned their back, and the banders took off
with it.

Leaving a wiffle ball in its place.

RR:
>> I am sure that there have been no violations here that would require a
>> review of anyones permit. I'm sure it is talk like that, that keeps
>> banders pushed to edges of our community.

>Excuse me, but as a bander myself, I am not afraid of openly discussing
>what I do with birds and why. These anonymous banders caught a bird
>that's an international celebrity for crissakes, concealed the facts of
>the capture, and hid information learned from the capture from all but a
>few observers. This is not typical behavior for any bander I have worked
>with, and personally, I find it bizarre that anyone would expect to be
>welcomed into a community if they behave like that.

And, I band, too, though I'm not a professional ornithologist. I
hardly feel "pushed to the edge of our community". On the other
hand, though some may find this difficult to believe :), I was
raised with a sense of good manners and polite behavior. I
think banding the CCLO after the long discussion here, where it
seemed clear that there was strong and well-reasoned sentiment
against doing so for the purposes stated (sexing it, primarily)
was simply rude.

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, more at http://www.xxxpdx.com/~dhogaza