Hi Tweets,

Cathi Pelletier writes:
>The perception of fewer birders may not be a false one. According to the
> last U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report (FWS-News) I received on the
> subject, there ARE fewer birders (in the U.S. anyway), despite the fact
> that we spent more money.

then quotes:
>>Meanwhile, the number of bird watchers, wildlife photographers,
> >and other nonconsumptive participants 16 years and older dropped
> >17 percent during the 5-year period to 63 million from 76 million

That's an average drop of 2.6 million people per year in that period, from
around a third of the US population to a quarter in only five years, a
significant demographic alteration. I'd be interested in seeing if the rate
was constant over that period, or how its dynamics worked (with the nasty
feeling that the rate's accelerating if the local scene is indicative). So
13 million people in five years is a significant loss. Any comparable change
for consumptive participants, such as hunters and anglers? Any reasoning
behind such a large drop?

and Jack Bowling writes:
>I don't think one can make a blanket statement on this. When it dies off in
one
> area, it likely picks up in another. There are sundry reasons for people
> spending less time in the field. Myself, I just seem to have way too much
on my
> plate these days to get out birding as much as I would like.

To move from the particular to general is always dicey, so I'm--well,
certainly not happy to see suggestively supportive US figures. As well, a
number of local birders besides myself have all noted--with varying amounts
of surprise--why the local hotspots (Boundary Bay, Roberts Bank, Iona, Point
Roberts, Blackie Spit) seem to be deserted of birders most of the time in
the last couple of years, even at peak times. Except there's blips when a
rarity shows up. Maybe people just stay at home doing other things until one
of the handful of regulars locates a migrational incompetent, then come out
in force to see it. Birding isn't life, after all, and the number of
hard-core enthusiasts is always going to be a relatively small part of the
general community. It's when the general community seems to have gone south
that one wonders what's going on. With the kind of percentage variations as
above, blanket statements become sociology, economics and politics,
therefore accessible to discussion.

Cheers

Michael Price The Sleep of Reason Gives Birth to Monsters
Vancouver BC Canada -Goya
mprice at mindlink.net