One of the biggest annoyances to a bird watcher is the number of barriers put up to keep them away; whether it’s closing off tracks, national parks, water treatment plants, salt works or whatever. I think it’s a national pastime in Australia telling other people what to do and what to think… what do you think? When I go bird watching in Norway and Scotland in particular they have laws allowing access to the public to all land other than what is not in the public safety. And many other places in the world seem to be the same. I’m wondering whether we are the most rigidly bureaucratic society in the world; and one that wishes more than is normal to enforce our own opinions and values on others?
Anyway all this muttering is because I took some photos of a Brown Songlark sitting on a fence around an airport… justifiable fence I might add… but birds have a great freedom to go where they please… not us it seems.
Anyway the Brown Songlarks are on my blog.
Chris Shaw seashore@internode.on.net Mobile 0409 675912
My blog – “Top Birds and Everyfing” can be found on the following link
http://topbirdsandeveryfing.typepad.com/top-birds-everyfing/
“Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners.” – Robert T. Kiyosaki
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A birder overnights in the Round Hill ‘wheat field’? We may need more birders prepared to overnight if we want to keep the shooters out.
Chris Charles
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Access to land in Scotland is not quite how you describe it – the way it works is that specific areas of land can be designated “Open Access” and are shown as so on maps. This means that there is indeed open access except at specific periods during shooting seasons. But this only applies to areas of Scotland which are open moorland, mountain and forest where people tramping all over it can’t do too much damage. Any land which is actively farmed or cultivated or is parkland, utilities, industrial, domestic or maybe a nature reserve with fragile habitat will not be designated Open Access and there are no specific rights to access it other than on public rights of way.
And an interesting point regarding public access (complete with the accompanying dogs) and its effect on wildlife is that during the last Foot & Mouth epidemic in the UK when access to all countryside was closed to the public for a year, many species of birds and other wildlife did spectacularly well.
And regarding Australia and rules – we did find that Australia is surprisingly bureaucratic about certain things – but the rules appear to be routinely ignored for example when they interfere with what Australians regards as their god-given right to drive all over beaches!!
Rosemary Royle Wales, UK
Can’t comment on Jeremy’s last assertion but I agree with the rest of this mail from him.
Tony
Sent: Tuesday, 19 February 2013 11:08 AM Cc: Tony Russel; Birding Aus; Denise Goodfellow; Chris Shaw
In response to Chris’ original message, I think a lot of restriction of public access to natural environments is actually good. The public, even bushwalkers and “nature lovers” have a significant impact on natural environments, even when they’re “doing the right thing,” and I think managing that impact is very important. No doubt there are times and places where the restrictions are unnecessary, but I think there are also many instances where closing off public access has a very positive outcome for maintaining a site (and thus, birds). I would definitely oppose legislation giving everybody access to all public land within the realms of safety, and I’d much rather have habitats healthily managed and my access to the site restricted, than free public access at a degrading site. Also to answer the question about whether Australia is the most rigidly bureaucratic society in the world; no.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Yep – there are always a few and they can even alienate natural birding allies…
I remember talking to the ranger at Round Hill a couple of years back who thanked us for parking on the main road and walking up one of the tracks.
He told me about some other birders who had illegally set up camp in the “Wheat Field” there.
When they were asked to move on, the birder in question picked up his bins to look at something flying past rather than even acknowledging that the ranger was speaking to him…
Ah well….
Ed
Ed Williams
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In response to Chris’ original message, I think a lot of restriction of public access to natural environments is actually good. The public, even bushwalkers and “nature lovers” have a significant impact on natural environments, even when they’re “doing the right thing,” and I think managing that impact is very important. No doubt there are times and places where the restrictions are unnecessary, but I think there are also many instances where closing off public access has a very positive outcome for maintaining a site (and thus, birds). I would definitely oppose legislation giving everybody access to all public land within the realms of safety, and I’d much rather have habitats healthily managed and my access to the site restricted, than free public access at a degrading site. Also to answer the question about whether Australia is the most rigidly bureaucratic society in the world; no.
Cheers,
Jeremy
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Yep – there are always a few and they can even alienate natural birding allies…
I remember talking to the ranger at Round Hill a couple of years back who thanked us for parking on the main road and walking up one of the tracks.
He told me about some other birders who had illegally set up camp in the “Wheat Field” there.
When they were asked to move on, the birder in question picked up his bins to look at something flying past rather than even acknowledging that the ranger was speaking to him…
Ah well….
Ed
Ed Williams
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I agree with Denise on this. It’s the behaviour of a few frantic and irresponsible birders that has caused many of the otherwise good birding locations to be closed off. I don’t blame the landowners or the govt., I’d close my land too if there were too many thoughtless intruders – and I’ve had some too, just wandering through without so much as a by-your-leave. Birders, bushwalkers, shooters – and they don’t even apologise when apprehended.
Tony
Hi Chris That’s what’s happened at sewage ponds in Palmerston and Darwin, and after nearly thirty years of going there (and I was largely responsible for the Leanyer Ponds making birders welcome in the first place) it’s no longer tenable for me to take international birders there.
A major reason according to my contacts in management was the behaviour of a few birders who broke the rules. That’s why birders searching for Red Goshawk at Mataranka are not particularly welcome any more.
Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow 1/7 Songlark Street, Bakewell, NT 0832 043 8650 835
P
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