Subject: [Tweeters] protocols
Date: Jun 16 08:39:33 2008
From: Marc Hoffman - tweeters at dartfrogmedia.com


Well put, Connie! I have at times been guilty of the problems you
describe, and your reminders have helped me stay more aware.

Marc Hoffman
Kirkland, WA
http://www.dartfrogmedia.com
mailto: tweeters at dartfrogmedia dot com


At 03:46 AM 6/16/2008, you wrote:
>Hey tweets, while I believe the entire tweeters community
>appreciates all the work the photographers among us contribute to
>our pleasure in birding, I would like to remind folks about the
>protocols at the Fill. Yesterday, there were five photographers
>off-trail in the field near the Lazuli Bunting, trying to get a
>close shot. There are no trails at all through that field, except
>for one that goes to the weather station - it is off-limits to
>nonscientists, due to CUH's attempts to bring back prairie-breeding
>birds. Right now, Savannah Sparrows are in there doing their best to
>produce more Savannah Sparrows. The people who were wading through
>the prairie grass to get to the bunting were not looking at their
>feet to see whether they were disturbing ground-nesting birds. They
>were totally focused on getting their pictures. I do not believe
>that the benefits of getting a good picture outweigh the risks to
>breeding birds.
>
>There is another factor to consider as well, when it comes to the
>Fill. The Fill is a natural area sited in the heart of a city of
>half a million people. There are very few natural areas in the city
>- most areas that have wild nature are city parks. The purpose of
>parks is to serve people. The purpose of the Fill - the Union Bay
>Natural Area - is to serve wildlife and science.
>
>Most people who go to the Fill are not naturalists or birders. They
>are ordinary people who do not necessarily understand the purpose of
>UBNA. They think it's a park. So they do park things there: they
>walk their dogs, jog, ride bikes, have picnics, push strollers, and such like.
>
>When these people see photographers making their own trails through
>tall grass off trail, they get the idea that it's okay for them to
>go off trail, too. So they let their dogs off leash, they flatten
>the tall prairie grass to set up picnic cloths, they let their kids
>ride mountain bikes anywhere they please, etc.
>
>Each person who does such things causes only a little harm. But the
>Fill is a little place. A fragile little place. A fragile little
>place surrounded by half a million people. Small harm done by a few
>people can quickly escalate and accumulate, driving away the very
>wildlife we are trying to watch and photograph. Bitterns used to
>nest at UBNA. I haven't seen one in years. Too many people, too much pressure.
>
>We can't do anything to restrict the number of people who go to the
>Fill. But we can control our behavior, can't we? I suspect that all
>of us have gone off-trail now and then - myself included. But more
>and more, I am coming to think that we have reached a tipping point
>at the Fill. That unique and beautiful place will work for all of
>us, but only if we all follow the rules and respect nature. Even if
>that means sacrificing our own desires to see a bird or take a
>picture. - Connie, Seattle
>
>constancesidles at gmail.com
>
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