Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife Drive :(

2014-08-04 Thread Lisa Welch
I find it counter-intuitive that a large, motorized, polluting, loud, deadly 
vehicle is preferable to a human being on foot, or on a bicycle.  Perhaps it's 
people AND cars that scares the birds.  :-) 


On Saturday, August 2, 2014 7:47 PM, Bard Prentiss prenti...@frontiernet.net 
wrote:
  


I don't remember anyone addressing this long standing annoyance in the manner I 
mention below and I think its worth a try:
Perhaps the bird clubs in the region could each submit thoughtful  petitions to 
the director of mnwr requesting a policy change. If Chris didn't mind one might 
also originate with this list serve. It would be difficult for a public servant 
to ignore several hundred signatures behind a group of thoughtfully worded 
letters and It should at least generate a response and get a dialogue going.
Bird Hard Bard

Sent from my iPhone

 On Aug 2, 2014, at 6:08 PM, John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:
 
 Meena, this is exactly the kind f discussion I was hoping to instigate. I am 
 not against a change in policy, but I am for enforcement of policies.
 Dr. John Van Niel
 Professor of Environmental Conservation
 Director, East Hill Campus
 Finger Lakes Community College
 
 From: Meena Madhav Haribal [m...@cornell.edu]
 Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2014 5:59 PM
 To: John VanNiel
 Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
 Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the 
 Wildlife Drive :(
 
 Hi John and all,
 My question to you is were the birds disturbed by so many people being out. I 
 have been to MNWR for more than 20 years. When I started birding MNWR there 
 was no restriction of being in the car. We could walk around on the drive.
 I have been to many NWR refuges, nowhere there was restrictions as to be in 
 car. I have seen shorebirds and other birds from as close as few feet from 
 me. Birds get used to human beings if we are not shooting them or harassing 
 them. So why there is so much fuss about disturbing the non_existing birds on 
 the wildlife drive.
 I am for the one who believe in opening the drive to foot traffic.
 I agree if someone is harassing the birds they should be stopped. If someone 
 is digiscoping that means birds were  far anyway, so why complain about them?
 
 I vote for wildlife drive should be open for foot traffic!
 
 Cheers
 Meena
 
 John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:
 
 
 Many Caspian Terns along the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma this afternoon. I 
 very much enjoyed trying to photograph them in flight. (Now the rant..) What 
 I did NOT enjoy were all the people out of their vehicles. Every single 
 person in the five cars ahead of me were out of the vehicles. A young couple 
 were digiscoping with a nice spotting scope on a tripod. Another woman with a 
 large telephoto lens was parked in the middle of the drive and was excitedly 
 taking photos. Two elderly women were down at the edge of the water snapping 
 pictures of the mallows in bloom. I could go on  I moved to Seneca Falls 
 19 years ago and have been a regular visitor since. I cannot recall a year 
 when the foot traffic was as bad as I have seen it this year. There are two 
 signs that instruct visitors to stay in their vehicles that drivers pass 
 before entering the drive and a third reminder after the big left turn before 
 Benning Marsh. However, I can understand how visitors
 would miss seeing them. I think this is a problem that needs a solution. I 
would like to speak to the Refuge staff formally about it.  If anyone would 
like to join me or have me relay his or her thoughts, please contact me 
offline. Thank you for your time.
 Dr. John Van Niel
 Professor of Environmental Conservation
 Director, East Hill Campus
 Finger Lakes Community College
 
 
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[cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife Drive :(

2014-08-02 Thread John VanNiel
Many Caspian Terns along the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma this afternoon. I very 
much enjoyed trying to photograph them in flight. (Now the rant..) What I did 
NOT enjoy were all the people out of their vehicles. Every single person in the 
five cars ahead of me were out of the vehicles. A young couple were digiscoping 
with a nice spotting scope on a tripod. Another woman with a large telephoto 
lens was parked in the middle of the drive and was excitedly taking photos. Two 
elderly women were down at the edge of the water snapping pictures of the 
mallows in bloom. I could go on  I moved to Seneca Falls 19 years ago and 
have been a regular visitor since. I cannot recall a year when the foot traffic 
was as bad as I have seen it this year. There are two signs that instruct 
visitors to stay in their vehicles that drivers pass before entering the drive 
and a third reminder after the big left turn before Benning Marsh. However, I 
can understand how visitors would miss seeing them. I think this is a problem 
that needs a solution. I would like to speak to the Refuge staff formally about 
it.  If anyone would like to join me or have me relay his or her thoughts, 
please contact me offline. Thank you for your time. 
Dr. John Van Niel
Professor of Environmental Conservation
Director, East Hill Campus
Finger Lakes Community College


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Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife Drive :(

2014-08-02 Thread Meena Madhav Haribal
Hi John and all,
My question to you is were the birds disturbed by so many people being out. I 
have been to MNWR for more than 20 years. When I started birding MNWR there was 
no restriction of being in the car. We could walk around on the drive.
I have been to many NWR refuges, nowhere there was restrictions as to be in 
car. I have seen shorebirds and other birds from as close as few feet from me. 
Birds get used to human beings if we are not shooting them or harassing them. 
So why there is so much fuss about disturbing the non_existing birds on the 
wildlife drive.
I am for the one who believe in opening the drive to foot traffic.
I agree if someone is harassing the birds they should be stopped. If someone is 
digiscoping that means birds were  far anyway, so why complain about them?

I vote for wildlife drive should be open for foot traffic!

Cheers
Meena

John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:


Many Caspian Terns along the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma this afternoon. I very 
much enjoyed trying to photograph them in flight. (Now the rant..) What I did 
NOT enjoy were all the people out of their vehicles. Every single person in the 
five cars ahead of me were out of the vehicles. A young couple were digiscoping 
with a nice spotting scope on a tripod. Another woman with a large telephoto 
lens was parked in the middle of the drive and was excitedly taking photos. Two 
elderly women were down at the edge of the water snapping pictures of the 
mallows in bloom. I could go on  I moved to Seneca Falls 19 years ago and 
have been a regular visitor since. I cannot recall a year when the foot traffic 
was as bad as I have seen it this year. There are two signs that instruct 
visitors to stay in their vehicles that drivers pass before entering the drive 
and a third reminder after the big left turn before Benning Marsh. However, I 
can understand how visitors would miss seeing them. I think this is a problem 
that needs a solution. I would like to speak to the Refuge staff formally about 
it.  If anyone would like to join me or have me relay his or her thoughts, 
please contact me offline. Thank you for your time.
Dr. John Van Niel
Professor of Environmental Conservation
Director, East Hill Campus
Finger Lakes Community College


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RE: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife Drive :(

2014-08-02 Thread John VanNiel
Meena, this is exactly the kind f discussion I was hoping to instigate. I am 
not against a change in policy, but I am for enforcement of policies.
Dr. John Van Niel
Professor of Environmental Conservation
Director, East Hill Campus
Finger Lakes Community College

From: Meena Madhav Haribal [m...@cornell.edu]
Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2014 5:59 PM
To: John VanNiel
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife 
Drive :(

Hi John and all,
My question to you is were the birds disturbed by so many people being out. I 
have been to MNWR for more than 20 years. When I started birding MNWR there was 
no restriction of being in the car. We could walk around on the drive.
I have been to many NWR refuges, nowhere there was restrictions as to be in 
car. I have seen shorebirds and other birds from as close as few feet from me. 
Birds get used to human beings if we are not shooting them or harassing them. 
So why there is so much fuss about disturbing the non_existing birds on the 
wildlife drive.
I am for the one who believe in opening the drive to foot traffic.
I agree if someone is harassing the birds they should be stopped. If someone is 
digiscoping that means birds were  far anyway, so why complain about them?

I vote for wildlife drive should be open for foot traffic!

Cheers
Meena

John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:


Many Caspian Terns along the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma this afternoon. I very 
much enjoyed trying to photograph them in flight. (Now the rant..) What I did 
NOT enjoy were all the people out of their vehicles. Every single person in the 
five cars ahead of me were out of the vehicles. A young couple were digiscoping 
with a nice spotting scope on a tripod. Another woman with a large telephoto 
lens was parked in the middle of the drive and was excitedly taking photos. Two 
elderly women were down at the edge of the water snapping pictures of the 
mallows in bloom. I could go on  I moved to Seneca Falls 19 years ago and 
have been a regular visitor since. I cannot recall a year when the foot traffic 
was as bad as I have seen it this year. There are two signs that instruct 
visitors to stay in their vehicles that drivers pass before entering the drive 
and a third reminder after the big left turn before Benning Marsh. However, I 
can understand how visitors would miss seeing them. I think this is a problem 
that needs a solution. I would like to speak to the Refuge staff formally about 
it.  If anyone would like to join me or have me relay his or her thoughts, 
please contact me offline. Thank you for your time.
Dr. John Van Niel
Professor of Environmental Conservation
Director, East Hill Campus
Finger Lakes Community College


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RE: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife Drive :(

2014-08-02 Thread MW1971
Hello All,

Again this is up for discussion, normally we say nothing but feel that Meena 
needs some support. We have been to many reserves, parks, nature centers, and 
national parks where the freedom to observe is not resticted yet in our own 
back yard we are not allowed to get of our vehicle on wildlife drive or walk 
our tax supported wildlife areas like Knox-Marcellus. 
We feel it is ridiculus to restrict observers to their vehicles, we have never 
seen any type of distress inflicted on the wildlife by getting out of a vehicle 
that is not already inflicted by Eagles, falcons and Harriers to name a few. 
Most people are very respectful of the wildlife and other observers with a very 
small percentage who seem to be oblivious there are others on the drive by 
parking in the middle of the road. The thing you all should be addressing is 
those that do not respect the speed limit!

Wade and Melissa

On August 2, 2014 6:08:38 PM EDT, John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:
Meena, this is exactly the kind f discussion I was hoping to instigate.
I am not against a change in policy, but I am for enforcement of
policies.
Dr. John Van Niel
Professor of Environmental Conservation
Director, East Hill Campus
Finger Lakes Community College

From: Meena Madhav Haribal [m...@cornell.edu]
Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2014 5:59 PM
To: John VanNiel
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the
Wildlife Drive :(

Hi John and all,
My question to you is were the birds disturbed by so many people being
out. I have been to MNWR for more than 20 years. When I started birding
MNWR there was no restriction of being in the car. We could walk around
on the drive.
I have been to many NWR refuges, nowhere there was restrictions as to
be in car. I have seen shorebirds and other birds from as close as few
feet from me. Birds get used to human beings if we are not shooting
them or harassing them. So why there is so much fuss about disturbing
the non_existing birds on the wildlife drive.
I am for the one who believe in opening the drive to foot traffic.
I agree if someone is harassing the birds they should be stopped. If
someone is digiscoping that means birds were  far anyway, so why
complain about them?

I vote for wildlife drive should be open for foot traffic!

Cheers
Meena

John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:


Many Caspian Terns along the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma this
afternoon. I very much enjoyed trying to photograph them in flight.
(Now the rant..) What I did NOT enjoy were all the people out of their
vehicles. Every single person in the five cars ahead of me were out of
the vehicles. A young couple were digiscoping with a nice spotting
scope on a tripod. Another woman with a large telephoto lens was parked
in the middle of the drive and was excitedly taking photos. Two elderly
women were down at the edge of the water snapping pictures of the
mallows in bloom. I could go on  I moved to Seneca Falls 19 years
ago and have been a regular visitor since. I cannot recall a year when
the foot traffic was as bad as I have seen it this year. There are two
signs that instruct visitors to stay in their vehicles that drivers
pass before entering the drive and a third reminder after the big left
turn before Benning Marsh. However, I can understand how visitors would
miss seeing them. I think this is a problem that needs a solution. I
would like to speak to the Refuge staff formally about it.  If anyone
would like to join me or have me relay his or her thoughts, please
contact me offline. Thank you for your time.
Dr. John Van Niel
Professor of Environmental Conservation
Director, East Hill Campus
Finger Lakes Community College


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Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife Drive :(

2014-08-02 Thread Asher Hockett
And maybe close it to vehicles!! It's a long walk, though.

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the Wildlife Drive :(

2014-08-02 Thread Bard Prentiss
I don't remember anyone addressing this long standing annoyance in the manner I 
mention below and I think its worth a try:
Perhaps the bird clubs in the region could each submit thoughtful  petitions to 
the director of mnwr requesting a policy change. If Chris didn't mind one might 
also originate with this list serve. It would be difficult for a public servant 
to ignore several hundred signatures behind a group of thoughtfully worded 
letters and It should at least generate a response and get a dialogue going.
Bird Hard Bard

Sent from my iPhone

 On Aug 2, 2014, at 6:08 PM, John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:
 
 Meena, this is exactly the kind f discussion I was hoping to instigate. I am 
 not against a change in policy, but I am for enforcement of policies.
 Dr. John Van Niel
 Professor of Environmental Conservation
 Director, East Hill Campus
 Finger Lakes Community College
 
 From: Meena Madhav Haribal [m...@cornell.edu]
 Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2014 5:59 PM
 To: John VanNiel
 Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
 Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] MNWR Caspian Terns and pedestrians on the 
 Wildlife Drive :(
 
 Hi John and all,
 My question to you is were the birds disturbed by so many people being out. I 
 have been to MNWR for more than 20 years. When I started birding MNWR there 
 was no restriction of being in the car. We could walk around on the drive.
 I have been to many NWR refuges, nowhere there was restrictions as to be in 
 car. I have seen shorebirds and other birds from as close as few feet from 
 me. Birds get used to human beings if we are not shooting them or harassing 
 them. So why there is so much fuss about disturbing the non_existing birds on 
 the wildlife drive.
 I am for the one who believe in opening the drive to foot traffic.
 I agree if someone is harassing the birds they should be stopped. If someone 
 is digiscoping that means birds were  far anyway, so why complain about them?
 
 I vote for wildlife drive should be open for foot traffic!
 
 Cheers
 Meena
 
 John VanNiel john.vann...@flcc.edu wrote:
 
 
 Many Caspian Terns along the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma this afternoon. I 
 very much enjoyed trying to photograph them in flight. (Now the rant..) What 
 I did NOT enjoy were all the people out of their vehicles. Every single 
 person in the five cars ahead of me were out of the vehicles. A young couple 
 were digiscoping with a nice spotting scope on a tripod. Another woman with a 
 large telephoto lens was parked in the middle of the drive and was excitedly 
 taking photos. Two elderly women were down at the edge of the water snapping 
 pictures of the mallows in bloom. I could go on  I moved to Seneca Falls 
 19 years ago and have been a regular visitor since. I cannot recall a year 
 when the foot traffic was as bad as I have seen it this year. There are two 
 signs that instruct visitors to stay in their vehicles that drivers pass 
 before entering the drive and a third reminder after the big left turn before 
 Benning Marsh. However, I can understand how visitors would miss seeing them. 
 I think this is a problem that needs a solution. I would like to speak to the 
 Refuge staff formally about it.  If anyone would like to join me or have me 
 relay his or her thoughts, please contact me offline. Thank you for your time.
 Dr. John Van Niel
 Professor of Environmental Conservation
 Director, East Hill Campus
 Finger Lakes Community College
 
 
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