Subject: [Tweeters] Hawk Owl's Demise
Date: Jan 11 09:59:57 2016
From: Kevin Black - kevblack787 at gmail.com


My issue with statement "I believe the birding community bears a modicum of
responsibility for this birds demise." Is that unless you were in the area
when every single birder saw the Hawk Owl and observed birders not being
ethical you have not direct evidence to make such a generalized statement.

Furthermore the bird was first seen on 12/30, the email on tweeters came
out about the land-owner on 1/6. A couple tweeters emailed who came and
observed the hawk owl on 1/7. The emails said "do not take photos" and
cautioned others about the land-owner. Two days later 1/9 the Hawk Owl was
strung up dead. What happened between 1/7-1/9 is unclear. Birders could
have came out and took pictures though they were warned. Neighbors walking
on the road could have took pictures of the bird. The resident could have
changed his mind about his statement about being "OK with bins and scopes"
per email on 1/7.

Thus, your statement "However, if we birders didn't hang around for long
periods of time when the land owner really didn't want all the
attention..." assumes that you know that birders hung around for a long
period of time. In which you or I do not know that. My wife and I did not
hang around a long time when we saw it. We did see the land-owner leave his
house but he did not communicate with us. There were no signs stating "no
lingering or no loitering in this area." We did not do so nevertheless.

When you begin emails with "What I say here will probably create a
firestorm..." statements following such should be filled with objective
evidence not generalized negative criticism of a community which
create feelings of blame and shame between individuals.

And to address "the welfare of the bird needs to come first" we are
assuming this land-owner is somehow rational in his actions in retaliation
to birders taking "pictures of his property" and "hanging around for long
periods of time." I am assuming the land-owner is irrational and that we
cannot pinpoint the actions of birders as a specific trigger for the demise
of the bird as we do not know for certain that birders were spending a lot
of time at the site. ESPECIALLY since no one knew that the land-owner was
so sensitive until 1/7 (that's over a week after the bird was first
observed). Furthermore we do not know if people in the birding
community trespassed, who can say whether it was a curious neighbor who
spotted the owl as I said before.


Kevin Black
Vancouver, WA


On Sat, Jan 9, 2016 at 10:50 PM, Roger Moyer <rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com>
wrote:

> What I say here will probably create a firestorm but I feel it needs to be
> brought into this discussion. I believe the birding community bears a
> modicum of responsibility for this birds demise.
> I've been birding the better part of 40 years and being a lister and a
> small time chaser I understand the desire to see these types of rarities
> and add them to your lists. I've even been in the position of the birders
> after this owl. I've stopped on the public right of way to watch a bird
> and had a land owner get upset with me when I didn't move on.
>
> It is reprehensible that the bird was killed if it indeed was shot by the
> land owner. However, if we birders didn't hang around for long periods of
> time when the land owner really didn't want all the attention the bird
> would still be alive. I would further expect that there were some
> photographers who still hauled out their cameras even though the land owner
> expressly asked people not to. Causing just that much more angst. To often
> we birders only look to our wants and not the desires of those around is.
> When this is done it can sometimes have dire consequences. In the future
> it might be a good idea to pay more attention to the desires of the land
> owners and not stop for long periods of time. Just because one can
> legally do something doesn't mean on should. Above all else we should
> remember one of the primary rules of birding, "the welfare of the bird
> needs to come first."
>
> Roger Moyer
> Charlotte, NC
>
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone
>
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> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
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>
>
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