Message-ID: <3564FD77.7DB7 at televar.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 21:22:15 -0700
From: Jerry & Sandy Converse <sanjer at televar.com>
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To: avocet at halcyon.com
Subject: Re: To twitch or not to twitch - that is the question!
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Is this a "Troll" question?? :-)

We have been birding 6 1/2 months--have seen 217 species of birds--have
went all over the place to get them--and we are really ENJOYING it.
Isn't that what it is all about?

I hope some committee doesn't set some kind of standard on how we are to
find and observe birds. It is one of the few things left in this country
that we can do with few restrictions (don't tresspass etc.)

Most of the credit for the birds we have seen goes to all the people who
have posted their sightings on tweeters. If we birded only at home our
total would be 52 yard species.

I think all birders should be able to bird the way they enjoy the most.
No guilt trips.

I am putting on my flak jacket at this moment in preparation for the
incoming mail. ;-)

Jerry Converse
Grand Coulee, WA
Teresa Michelsen wrote:
>
> Dennis writes:
>
> After all these years, I finally get to report a rare bird on tweeters!
> The Bristle-thighed Curlew was the bird I most wanted to see in the world,
> but because I have a policy of "no SOBs" (no stake-out birds), ...
> _____
>
> I'm glad I'm not the only one! I really enjoy birding, but somehow I just can't get motivated to run around the state looking for birds that (often) don't belong here. No offense to listers (I always keep a list myself), but to me the real pleasure is seeing a bird in its actual habitat, and watching it do what it normally does. I'm a little bit curious what makes a birder jump out and go see a scissor-tailed flycatcher in WA, when they can be easily seen in Mexico in their normal habitat.
>
> Now, I'm not speaking of birds you might never get to see otherwise. If your budget, other constraints, or the bird's normal difficult-to-reach habitat makes it probable that you would never see the bird otherwise, then it makes sense. Another exception would be birds that do belong here, but are just very rare (only visit occasionally in migration, for example). From the sound of it, Dennis' BTCU may fit into one of these categories.
>
>
>
> Looking forward to some interesting replies... also wondering if anyone else has "rules" or preferences about which birds they will go and see.
>
> Teresa Michelsen
> avocet at halcyon.com