Joe (and Tweeters)

In 1993, as I am now, I was a very active member of the Vancouver
birding group. The story of the Dusky Thrush, as you've described it,
is not quite accurate.

The bird was present, as I stated, for over 3 months-- from January 2
to April 9, 1993. It spent much of its time (but by no means all its
time) in one particular yard which had a couple of large holly trees.
With patience, it could nearly always be seen from the public road
(like the Olympia Redwing). However, the owners of its favorite yard
allowed birders, for several weeks, to walk down their driveway to get
closer views of the bird. Nearly all the birders I am aware of were
well-behaved and respectful, and the place was not in any way
"trashed", to the best of my knowledge. However, after several weeks
of non-stop visits by birders, the property owners wearied of all the
attention, and asked that birders not enter their yard. (This happened
about March 1, I believe). They also asked that the bird be taken off
the RBA, which it was. The bird continued to be easily seen from the
public road.

Situations like this-- when permission to enter private property is
first granted, and then later withdrawn-- are difficult to deal with.
(I certainly sympathized with the non-birding property owners, who had
no idea of the length of time that they would be subjected to non-stop
visits by birders.) However, I believe the situation could have been
handled better than it was. Some birders who had entered the yard with
the owners' blessing in January or February came back in March or
April for a second (or third, or fourth) look at the bird, not
realizing that permission to enter the yard had been withdrawn. It
would have been far better, in retrospect, to have left the bird on
the Vancouver RBA, and emphasized that persons looking for the birder
should do so from the street, and not enter the yard.

The number of visits by birders undoubtedly did decrease somewhat
because of the bird not being on the RBA, but word of mouth was still
quite effective in letting people know that the bird was still there.
Had the bird stayed on the RBA, it's likely that closer to 2000
birders would have seen it, but that people would have stopped
entering the yard, as the owners wished.

So if there is a "Dusky Thrush Syndrome" (I've never heard the term
used in Vancouver-- you must have invented it, Joe), it just means
that people with a very rare bird on their property can expect a lot
of attention from birders for an unknown period of time-- not that
birders are going to "ignore all birdwatching ethics and common
courtesies". That does happen, but it tends to be fairly rare.

In the case of the Xantus's Hummingbird near Gibsons, BC (which was
present for a full 10 months in at least 2 different yards), and the
Olympia Redwing, I am not aware of any abuse of private property or
conflict with property owners. In the case of the Redwing, the only
conflict I heard about was between birders and other birders. When
informed of property owners' wishes, the vast majority of birders will
(and should) behave in a polite and appropriate manner.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net




----- Original Message -----
From: <Joemeche at aol.com>
To: <dgranstrand at charter.net>
Cc: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 6:22 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Olympia's Redwing vs. Vancouver's Dusky
Thrush(was:Saying Goo...


Tweeters all,

I remember the Dusky Thrush and the ensuing hullabaloo (for lack
of a better word). We heard about it while, coincidentally, observing
a Brambling on the Lummi Flats, northwest of Bellingham. We left
the flats and drove north toward Langley, BC, and into the teeth of a
blizzard! By the time we reached Blaine, it was a full-blown whiteout.
We followed precise directions and by the time we reached the correct
address and viewed the Dusky one, there was a foot of snow covering
the ground! 4WD rules!

That Siberian visitor was at or near the same location for some time,
and
from what I've gleaned from BC acquaintances, the property owners
"vowed" that they would "never let this happen again." Apparently,
from
first-, second-, and third-hand accounts, some birders (from as far
away
as Nova Scotia) ignored all birdwatching ethics and common courtesies
and "trashed and trampled" the property owners' yard in pursuit of
this
bird. I've had occasion to use the phrase, "Dusky Thrush Syndrome,"
whenever people wondered whether or not they should alert others as to
a rare bird that might be on their property.

The location of the Great Gray Owl in Whatcom County the past three
winters remains a secret because of....the Dusky Thrush Syndrome.

Of course, no one who subscribes to Tweeters would be guilty of this
kind of aberrant behavior, but it's those "other guys" we have to keep
an eye on.

Cheers, for the remaining winter birding months,

Joe Meche
Editor, the Avalanche / Birding Programs Coordinator
North Cascades Audubon
Bellingham, WA