After reading the messages regarding the pros and cons of
revealing the location of interesting birds, I find that I have to
disagree with those who are against publicity. Of course, publicizing the
location of birds could cause some harm to the birds, but in general, the
more people who see interesting birds, and get excited about it, the
better for birds in general.
A couple of years ago a Snowy Owl spent a day on the UW campus,
seen by a whole host of students. Since it was perched just outside my
lecture building, I sent my whole biology class out to see it. Subsequent
talks with many of these students convinced me that it was the right thing
to do. Most of them had never seen an owl before, and were really turned
on by the experience. They wanted to know more about owls, and talk about
them.
As a result of the publicity in the papers, many of my neighbors
went down to Capital Hill to see that same owl. This brought home to many
of them that owls are not just something one reads about in relation to
logging, or sees on PBS, but that they really do exist, and are
magnificent animals. I would wager that this owl did more for the
environmental movement here in Seattle, than all the articles in the
Audubon magazine that same year!

************************
Robert Cleland

Professor, Botany Dept. Box 355325
Univ. of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-5325
Phone (206) 543-6105; FAX (206) 685-1728