Hi all, First off, thanks to everyone for all the supportive comments and kind words following my last post. I had not opened my email again since posting till last night and it was a pleasant surprise! (still not finished reading them all). What an interesting discussion this has been... so many points of view. And credit goes out to everyone who maintained an air of civility during this heated debate.
On a personal note, I finally went out to see the Breezy Point Snowy Owl earlier this week. I went twice, late in the day on Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather on Tuesday was cold and sunny with a brisk breeze. Judging from the footprints in the road to the beach, there had been no recent visitors on Tuesday and only one other person besides myself on Wednesday. I found the owl sitting alone, way out in the dunes, fluffed out and hunkered down against the wind and looking like a nearly shapeless snowdrift against the sand. There was nobody else... just me and the owl and that vast dune landscape, and absolute silence except for the sound of the wind and the waves. It was eerily awesome to see this bird just sitting there spending its days in this desolate, seemingly lifeless wilderness (or as close as we can get to wilderness within the shores of NYC). I thought about how far this bird had traveled and how far it had yet to go on its journey back north. I also noted how there were no photographers, no tripods, no scopes... no people at all. Just the wind, the sand, the sea, and this owl. Which got me thinking. Perhaps the problems that arise happen mainly on the weekends, when most folks have time off. On weekdays it seems the owls (or other "hot" birds) are more or less left completely alone. These birds, you must admit, must be pretty tough to endure these long journeys and their harsh environments. While I'm in NO way advocating that unethical birders and photographers be allowed to continue their behaviour, I'm wondering if they are truly having the negative impact on the overall health of these birds that some people on this list imagine. If these birds are being left to live their lives in solitude and peace for, say, five out of seven days in a week, with only a handful of inconsiderate people causing them discomfort on the other two days, perhaps we need not worry so much. After all, how often do we inadvertently flush juncos or white-throated sparrows or other more common winter migrants as we pass by them in our walks? Could this also be seen as harassment? But we rarely give these species much thought. Yet the process, and its impact, can be seen as the same whether it concerns the smaller passerines or the "star quality" raptor species. I'm not saying it's OK to get close to the Snowies, or any other owl or wild creature. All these animals deserve our respect and our best efforts to minimize our impact on their environment. But armed with the information to report the "bad guys" to the proper authorities, it may be wise to look at the bigger picture before making the call. Being trigger-happy serves no-one well. Redirect and educate where possible. And perhaps above all, understand that these birds on the whole can, and do, survive much more than we give them credit for. The challenges they face are much greater than that of the occasional inconsiderate human being. Cindy Wodinsky -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
