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Subject:

State of the ABA: Yet another take.

From:

Laura Appelbaum

Reply-To:

Laura Appelbaum

Date:

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 15:18:50 -0500

Richard Wood wrote: "I would think that a lot of birders have seen most 
of the birds of North America and want to spread their wings and branch 
out to other countries and their birds."

As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't disagree more.  I've been birding 
since the late '80s and still have a list under 300.  I've only been out 
of the United States twice, once to Canada, and once to Israel and 
Jordan, and with the rising cost of living as compared to my income, I 
don't forsee any international trips any time soon, if ever, in my 
life.  For me, a "big vacation" is to get a weekend a year to spend in 
the cheapest possible motel in Cape May.  Indeed, I agree with Jay Jones 
when he says that he's opted out of local bird club meetings because of 
the heavy international emphasis.  And as for my skill level, well, I'm 
a lot more interested and in need of articles and trips and so forth 
that cover "little brown jobs" than I am in discussions of the minutea 
of identifying fifth year Black-Browed Albatrosses.  Given that local 
reporters apparently can't tell the difference between gulls and 
albatross, I'd have to say I'm far from alone. <G>

Furthermore, I think this focus, among birding organizations in general, 
and the ABA in particular, is extremely out-dated and, how to say this? 
"white-centric?"  Yes, historically, US birders have been, more than 
not, fairly wealthy, and overwhelmingly white.  Sure, there are and were 
famous birders who, like Ken Kauffman, were living out of their 
backpacks and hitch-hiking to birding meccas, but who in 21st century 
America hitch-hikes anymore?  More and more, the emphasis in the birding 
community, or maybe the social expectations of the birding community, is 
that bird-watchers and birders are upper middle class, middle-aged or 
older, frequent-flyer mile cashing in, semi-retired white people.  But 
you know what?  That is not the profile of the average American, and 
except for the aging part, it's becoming less and less so all the time.  
Indeed, the more the birding community through its institutions and 
programs and publications etc. projects the image that birding is for 
those who have nearly unlimited vacation time and can afford to drop 
$4000 on designer optics, and $10,000 on a trip to the Galapagos or 
where ever, the fewer and fewer new birders we're going to see.  
Concerted efforts need to be made to reach out to lower and moderate 
income, non-white, young people if the hobby of birding and the vocation 
of ornithology are going to continue.

Your mileage may vary.

Laura Appelbaum
Cloverly, MD