Greetings all
Have I missed something in the current thread?
It seems to me the thread started as a debate on whether or not birds from various outlying areas [e.g. Cocos Is., Antarctica, etc.] should be included on an Australian list but appears to have diverged into whether or not we should maintain an interest in the welfare of the birds on these outlying island/regions [see David Richardson’s recent email].
>From where did the divergence emerge?
The argument was surely one of “counting” offshore territorial birds and not one of maintaining an interest in their welfare.
Why can’t it be okay to NOT COUNT birds from far flung corners on an Australian list BUT continue to maintain a serious interest in their welfare; in promoting tourism to these places. Surely all that is needed is to count those birds on separate lists.
In the end, my old sparring marra, Tony Russell, has hit the nail on the head. As with so many other contentious issues of this nature, be it the feeding of wild birds, the ownership of a pet cat, etc., all the to-ing and fro-ing does little to resolve these issues. Those that do, will continue to do so and those that don’t will continue not to do so.
As I’ve said before, ours is not an exact pastime; there is no mandatory regulating body. Each to their own conscience.
Cheers
Julian >From a rather waterlogged backyard
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
