Re: the common good (ne Smith Island Downy)

BlkVulture@aol.com
Tue, 19 Jan 1999 13:42:07 EST 

In a message dated 99-01-19 11:36:48 EST,  Ellen Paul writes:

<<  However, it is
 not necessary that everyone run all over the state/region to see every
 bird everywhere.  >>

While I agree in principle that it seems unnecessary to trek all over a state
to find a crow in every county, this is clearly a subjective view.  It is also
a little narrow.  

First, all regions are not covered by birders, and some that are, the
information gained is not passed on.  How many of the local birders on Smith
Island pass on their records?  Maybe they do, but Smith Island is only one
example.  Thus there is a need to explore areas that are not so close to home.

Second, the hobby of birding for many people is to see a variety of birds.  My
interest is in birds.  All birds.  I want to observe every species that I can.
I am not willing to sit around my house watching the twenty or so different
species that visit my bird feeders.  This past weekend, two of us drove to
Virginia Beach to go 75 miles off shore.  Since I live in Jeffersonton, VA,
Culpeper County, quite land-locked, I know no other possibility to observe
these species closer to home.  Am I supposed to limit the hobby to the birds
in my area?  Is that the definition of "subvert(ing) your personal interests
and hobbies to the common good?"   I can't observe pelagic birds (ok, so no
pelagics were seen, but thats another issue) because I am not fortunate to
live on the coast?  Or should I take it a step further;  the boat uses diesel,
and thus is pollutes the air, so should no one take a pelagic trip?  

While I agree that fossil fuels are detrimental to the environment in many
ways, I do think there is a common good to studying birds in many various
habitats and regions.  It is difficult to become familiar with many species
unless you go to the region those birds exist in.   That said, if I have not
spent time in Massachusetts would I be able to ID with confidence a Great
Cormorant that might appear on the Potomac during a CBC?  Where would I garner
the ability to identify such species if not in area where they are more
common?  Or is the argument that the sighting is not that important?

Finally, with the amount of commuter traffic in this area alone, does the
couple hundred (and the number may be far lower than that) of us going out on
weekends and driving six hours round-trip (rare) to see a shorebird phenomena
at Bombay Hook, really add to the global pollution problem on a grand enough
scale that we ought to consider not doing it?  Maybe it does.  But I suggest
that curtailing the amount of commuter traffic is a better cause to champion
then suggesting birders do not need to see "every bird, everywhere."  And
there is a possiblity that the good that is being done by this effort to see
different birds has dividends that out-weigh the ills from driving there.  

You were looking to stimulate thought and discussion.  These are some of my
thoughts. 

Yours,

Todd Day
Jeffersonton, VA
BlkVulture@aol.com