Liam et alInnocuous reminders of ethics by Tom is not the issue. The vitriol against those who post photos of owls, or pass along their location as a consequence is the problem. Time and again I have witnessed amateur photographers ( despite possessing rather expensive equipment) crowd and or chase owls, and some nitwits cut branches to get better shots. There are bad actors who result in limited publicity of these birds and Gus may frustrate them. And they may take this frustration out on him. It has been laughable to me to see people railing against others getting too close to an owl in central park, while non birders were walking much closer, talking loudly, and had dogs in tow. ...perspective...FWIW birding Bob in my estimation overuses tape. But it annoys birders FAR more than any perceived injury to the birds. I wish people behaved better, but they don't. It would be great if we didn't have to worry about the ill informed doing harm, but thats the reality. I myself was berated by an random adjacent birder who chastised me for using a laser to point out a bird. The beam was nowhere near the bird, but he felt strongly that i was going to blind it. No. Not at all. People need to chill. I hope that Gus's fears and issues are unfounded, but nowadays, probably not. Gus: sorry to hear it. Tom is really not the issue though IMHO. Arie Gilbert Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device -------- Original message --------From: Liam Brock <[email protected]> Date: 1/11/21 10:13 AM (GMT-05:00) To: Gus Keri <[email protected]> Cc: Thomas Fiore <[email protected]>, NYS Birds <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] N.Y. County (NYC), 1/10 & prior days: L. B.-b. Gull, 2 W. Tanagers, E. Phoebe, etc. Just so I understand the position you're taking here, Gus—you truly believe that someone posting innocuous ethics reminders at the end of listserv emails is radicalizing people and putting you in danger?On Mon, Jan 11, 2021, 9:59 AM Gus Keri <[email protected]> wrote:I think the moderators of this list should learn from what happened in Washington DC on Wednesday and block Mr. Thomas Fiore from posting on this list ever again. (or at least ask him to change his style)
Here is why. After I joined this list, I became fond of his emails because of the valuable info he provides about the birds of Manhattan. I also noted that at the end of every email he thanks the birders who follow birding ethics focusing on few issues: minimizing disturbance to birds, not playing recorder and not disclosing roost location. At the beginning it didn’t bother me and I reached a point when I stopped reading that paragraph. But lately, it started to bother me because I found out that when you repeat certain “propaganda” over and over and over again, it will lead to radicalization of people. Ask President Trump about that. I remember when Mr. Robert DeCandido wrote an email telling people that he was assaulted by one birder because he was playing birds songs in Central park. This is one form of radicalization. Birders think they are entitled to do anything to protect birds, even violence against another human being. I am also a victim of this radicalization. Because I post photos of owls on twitter, I was subjected to what I call a “cancel culture.” Some birders started boycotting me and started to spread false rumors about me that I am a danger to birds. They even apply their “cancel culture” on any person who is perceived as a friend of mine, to the point that some people who have nothing to do with it started to avoid me. What happened to Mr DeCandido and what I am hearing being said about me behind my back made me worried about my own safety. I became very cautious when I go birding especially that I do all my birding alone. I became afraid of birders. It is unbelievable, I know you would say that. But this is the truth. I became very withdrawn and started avoiding all birders, except those who I know they are friendly to me. I think you got my point on why Mr. Fiore should be blocked. His persistence in writing these things help radicalizing birders. But you might say promoting good birding ethics is a good thing. The problem is that there are significant number of birders who don’t agree with these ethics and some of them are very big in bird watching and birding research. It doesn’t matter what side you are on. The attack on the Capitol on Wednesday was committed by the radicalized right. But the radicalized left is also capable of similar acts if they have a chance. It is the radicalization that is the problem. And there is so much radicalization in the birding community, I am afraid. Some people might consider me radical when it comes to posting photos of owls or consider Mr DeCandido as radical in using songs playing but at least I don’t resort to violence or cancel culture or spreading false rumors and to the best of my knowledge Mr. DeCandido doesn’t do either. So, please, Stop the radicalization and block Mr. Fiore. Thank you Gus Keri ---- On Mon, 11 Jan 2021 05:59:01 -0500 Thomas Fiore <[email protected]> wrote ---- > Extralimital, south of NY and reported on Tues., Jan. 5th as “headed north”, a nicely-photographed Red-billed Tropicbird off Ocean City Inlet, in Maryland, is quite a sighting for mid-winter especially that far north; report in eBird: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ebird.org_checklist_S78709999&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=MNtTHtxS6IWnVgmB59pJROAbjL5cDXzwpvYdMg0-FBs&e= > . . .New York County (in N.Y. City) including Manhattan and Randall’s Islands. > It seems there are no newer reports of a Greater White-fronted Goose for N.Y. County since Jan. 7th at Central Park’s reservoir, when more than 50 observers saw this bird at various times. There have been, at times, ongoing good numbers of Canada Geese, in various flock-sizes, moving about Central Park, and also ongoing around Randall’s Island. > A good find on Wed., 1/6 was a Lesser Black-backed Gull, photographed by J. Keane at Randall’s Island, off the southeasterern edge; it is possible this gull might be lingering. > Both Western Tanagers that have been, respectively (one) near & sometimes on West 22nd St. in the Chelsea neighborhood, and (one, other) mostly in & near Carl Schurz Park off East End Ave. & adjacent to E. 86th St. (nearest park entry to where that 2nd tanager’s been most-often seen) have continued, albeit both having become trickier to find with ease, as each is wandering a bit more with a search, most-likely, for enough food the primary issue at each of the 2 areas (which are separated by several miles). The Carl Schurz Park tanager has, at least several times in recent days, gone to the eastern parts of the park to locate some food, despite the now-available ‘goodies’ such as a suet-block & at least 3 types of fruits, plus food more suited to seed-eating species, in the western edges, all south of the E. 86th St. park entrance. In addition, that tanager has been making ongoing forays not just to trees along E. End Ave. but also up on to buildings there, & possibly on to the nearest streets, at times. Similarly, the 'W. 22nd St.' (other) tanager in Chelsea has been ranging about & has gone across Tenth Ave. as well as up to at least 23rd St. & by the High Line, movements that were also seen by that bird even some weeks ago, if not too regularly then. Thus, the increased difficulty of locating either of these as often as had been previously possible. So far, neither seems to have one particular ‘new’ location that is fully reliable; however I found each on Sunday, 1/10, with a fair amount of effort. The Carl Schurz Park bird was not as tough, but still some several hrs. were put in at that location. The Chelsea tanager was seen on both Tenth Ave. (briefly, where I had seen it a few previous times, not in street trees but in flight) and up along W. 23rd, but then again at W. 22nd, just across from Clement Clark Moore Park (which is primarily a children’s play area). > The Eastern Phoebe that was found on the Manhattan (portion of) the Christmas Bird Count turned up in the same area, at Stuyvesantown off First Ave. in Manhattan’s almost-lower east side, on Saturday (1/9), & seen again Sun. 1/10; re-found by Ron Lulov. This is virtually certain to be that same bird from Dec. 20th, a full 3 weeks+ later. > A Tennessee Warbler has again turned up on Randall’s Island, after not being seen for some weeks, on Saturday 1/9 (separate sightings by G. Stankovic, D. Aronov), and that warbler was still present at least as of Sunday, 1/10. On 1/8, an Ovenbird was found (C. McRae) at Madison Square Park in Manhattan. At least one Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler is also lingering at Randall’s Island in an area where one had been. There may possibly be a few other warblers around that (so far) survived into this winter’s colder times. > A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has been ongoing at the Little Hell Gate saltmarsh on Randall’s Island. A female-plumaged N. Pintail was found at Swindler Cove / Sherman Creek (east & north of the eastern terminus of Dyckman Street in Manhattan) by G.&T. Plowman on Sat., 1/9, the latter location where a Pintail had been in the fall also. A drake Wood Duck has continued on the Central Park Meer this month, and to Sunday, 1/10. > A lone Rusty Blackbird has been regular for some time in the Central Park Ramble. Among other species being seen in the past several days in N.Y. County are: Canada Goose, [Atlantic] Brant, Wood Duck (mostly at the Central Park Meer), Gadwall, American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Greater Scaup (rivers), Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye (from Randall’s Island, albeit often in non-N.Y. County waters), Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser (rivers, harbor, etc.), Ruddy Duck, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Great Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle (multiple individuals including flyovers of Central Park, & far more often along Hudson river), Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk (seems to be at least one wintering at Inwood), Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Ring-billed Gull, [American] Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, ['feral'] Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, American Kestrel, Merlin (occasional sightings), Peregrine Falcon, multi.owls, Belted Kingfisher (several locations incl. Randall’s Island), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (dozens are present on Manhattan island now), Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Blue Jay, Common Raven, American Crow, Fish Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher (multiple locations), House Sparrow, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Towhee, Slate-colored Junco, American Tree Sparrow (in the multiple, & in multiple locations), Chipping Sparrow (several - wintering), Field Sparrow (1), [Red] Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow (at least 3 wintering in 3 different parks), Swamp Sparrow (multiple), White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Finch, House Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, and likely at least a few others. > ..Back on Jan. 2nd, a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly was found in good condition & photographed by M. Freeman with 3 other observers, at the Conservatory Garden of Central Park. > . . . . .Good birding to all - and thanks to the many who also keep the birds’ best interests at heart when out in the field - and limit any possible disturbances to the birds’ requirements for food, shelter, & safety, including for the many migrants a safe passage on their often long journeys as well as birds now on roost sites. > Tom Fiore,manhattan > > > > > > > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds ABA Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.NortheastBirding.com_NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=mxNQmaP8gR_7h-ndMxgyVlpZ3xjUxO-5Us2EXJ9gZIA&e= https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.NortheastBirding.com_NYSbirdsRULES.htm&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=A2oCWWVbC7L1siHZMHWESV5gkfzVDpHMtV2eIYz0EpQ&e= https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.NortheastBirding.com_NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=STh2wRAXDsEnjV1uNCjXtjTniuVhMerULGuEe-zzTqo&e= ARCHIVES: 1) https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_nysbirds-2Dl-40cornell.edu_maillist.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=Wfe7z6mOXA6y2vG0q2LQcDAID48P--SoT5hfR4fzM6U&e= 2) https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.surfbirds.com_birdingmail_Group_NYSBirds-2DL&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=Sx2P4GUg01sIaL-5pLtgZ2hHscTVoUKaRFyNwrK-JOk&e= 3) https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__birding.aba.org_maillist_NY01&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=7qzzRNu_xnewwZnbZFOi_3lYarvKvwg2bhFtrPOjVkg&e= Please submit your observations to eBird: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__ebird.org_content_ebird_&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=7nwfbHWZRim8f0lnbG90YA&m=rh3DeM7tMjTYyd3hOvLBNH48TR2eBUqeU-34pcQXhFI&s=1JagSin6Rdz8rkTnAx0GFRu4Km1tbYEwHqwzIlnGhFU&e= -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds ABA Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
