Hey tweets, The most egregious example of unthinking birder behavior that
I've seen in a long time occurred when my husband and I were birding in San
Diego in December. We had gone to a wetlands preserve known to harbor
California gnatcatchers (which we did see, much to our pleasure). On the day
we went, a Harris's sparrow had been reported on the hotline. So a number of
CA birders showed up to locate this rarity. We were heading back to our car
when we came upon a clump of locals who had scopes out. Several birders had
big scowls on their faces, and I (as an ultra-polite Seattleite) worried
that my husband and I had somehow caused the bird to flee. We were about to
offer a global and abject apology for our very existence when we noticed
that two of the birders had brought along their dog! The other birders were
thinking about escalating their disapproval to more than just killing looks
but hadn't progressed much farther than mutters about bringing domesticated
predators onto a site reserved for wildlife. We left them to it.

The human species is a diverse collection of all types. Our diversity is
probably our greatest strength as a species. However, as the ancient Greeks
always said, your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness. Because
we're a species that epitomizes the aphorism, "it takes all kinds to make a
world," there are always going to be a few yahoos among us whose main
purpose in life seems to be to screw it up for everyone else.

In my opinion, I believe that I have two responsibilities when it comes to
dealing with yahoos in the field. My first and most important responsibility
is to try my very best not to be one of them. My second, and no less
serious, responsibility is to try to stop them when I find them. In my
experience, the best way to handle these unfortunate expressions of
Darwinian evolution is to try to come up with a selfish reason for why they
should change their behavior. For example, when people let their dogs off
leash at the Fill, I let them know that the ticket for doing so costs $79
and that UW security officers are in the area.

However, in the case of the man who set his dogs onto the bean geese in
Hoquiam and flushed them, never to return, I confess that I wouldn't have
been so saintly. In fact, had I been able to move my frozen legs and
ice-encrusted body fast enough to catch that man, I would have given him the
piece of mind he so obviously lacked. Other, more physical, consequences
occurred to me as I hobbled after him, but my hopes were all in vain. He got
away. I do think that if he had waited around for me to meet him, I would
have changed his life. At least I would have tried. This is my only feeble
consolation whenever I obsess about those bean geese, which (I now see) is
way too often. Fine.

Having said that, I will also admit that I find it very difficult to speak
up when I see birders behaving in ways that are unfriendly to birds and/or
other birders. I'm not fast on my feet, figuratively. I tend to think of
just the right thing to say about two days too late. However, I strongly
believe that I should try to overcome my shyness and defend wildlife when
necessary. Who will speak for the birds if we remain quiet? - Connie,
Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com