With all the latest in technology – Mobile phones, Birding-Aus, Bird-O, Eremaea, Birdpedia, etc Why is it, I find out that 3 Fiordland Penguins have turned up in my back yard (and only after they have died) by the Channel 10 news?????? Obviously someone knew something????
Steve Potter m: 0407 398 234 e: steve@frontier.org.au
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11 responses to “Bird Alert – Clearly something is not working….”
Hi All
Need to make an observation….can’t help myself really… I read Birding Aus every day and unlike an (apparently large) number of people do make the occasional contribution.
This recent thread is the first I’ve seen of any Penguins beachwashed, taken into care or otherwise. Mike, with all due respect, if you want people to look for things like this – maybe it’d be worth the posting even if the bird is dead/inaccessible/burnt etc. I find it thrilling to think three, (3 !!) Fiordland Penguins have turned up this winter. Even though I am 1500+ kms away and have no chance of seeing them, even if they sat on the beach healthy and well for weeks. Then I started thinking – how often does this happen? How often do birds like this turn up and not get broadly reported even by birders/twitchers, never mind the (uneducated) general public? It concerns me, in a way, that areas like Bundaberg have their own network to let their local birders know what’s happening – hey, guys, you’re just up the road from Brisbane – there are some of us here who would drive up to see new birds if we knew about them! The Buff-breasted Sandpiper in WA? I must have missed that post too!! Imagine if I had been traveeling to the area for other reasons? or managed to pick up a cheap flight at short notice? OK – it was only there for a few hours or whatever, but, hey, it must be still in the area?
Birding is global now, not local, travel is cheaper now than its ever been, birders more experienced and prepared to travel to see new species. I was under the impression that Birding-aus was pretty well accepted as the main conduit for email discussions and messages and I recognise Eremea as a brilliant source of lists and quick reference to unusual sightings, but it appears nothing is universal or central? There seems to be a number of localised information streams including personal numbers, email groups and even messaging – this really all needs to be brought together and if Bird-o or any other website/information system achieves that then it is a major step forward. The 02 number is in my phone now.
Simon and Chris – I support your efforts and would pay $5/month for SMS messages as you describe from anywhere in Australia. There may be an even more cost efficient way to deliver the news as others have described – but its a start, you don’t strike me as people who ignore change or eagerly look for better ways to do things. If it encourages everyone to contribute sightings and records then it will serve its purpose, not only giving others a chance to see new birds but also to keep us all aware of the possibilities and stay alert all the time for the unknown – and it will provide an overall picture of what’s happening across the country.
Next time I’m in Tasmania or South Australia in winter rare Penguins on the beach will be somtething I will keep in mind and make an effort to look for – maybe that’s naive but hopefully you’ll get my point.
Cheers
Colin Brisbane
On Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:35 +1000, “Mike Carter” wrote: href=”mailto:birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au — Colin Reid jangles@fastmail.fm So many birds, so little time……
— http://www.fastmail.fm – A fast, anti-spam email service.
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Indeed. I should revise the birder’s koan:
If a rarity calls on the beach, But no one twitches it, Was it really there?
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Cheers Mike for the info.
So there is a system of sorts that looks like it will be perfected as time goes along. Cool.
Its is not so much a tick I am keen for – that is a by-product, but more the fascination of actually seeing one here in SA!! They look awesome!! And the fact it was a birding “event” so should be shared with those interested!!
Re: in reference to my Bum. Some of us have to work, unlike others on the list whom have done their fair share for our glorious nation and are now enjoying the fruit of their labours. My day will come. I the mean time, over the last 8 months, I have explored most of SA including the Pt. Mac Pelagic and the Strzelecki track. 2 trips to SE Queensland. 1 to Darwin. 1 to North Sumatra and Singapore. 1 to Thailand, Singapore and Bali. So you could say I have given it a “Crack” – pun intended.
Cheers
Steve Potter Blackwood, South Australia
—–Original Message—– Sent: Tuesday, 27 July 2010 11:05 AM Cc: birding-aus@vicnet.net.au; Bill Ramsay; Sean Dooley
This whole string started with Steve Potter’s query below. Well yes Steve, someone did know something – me for one. But by the time we knew it was too late for any useful twitcher news so it wasn’t broadcast! Those that record such incidents have already archived the events. I know that there have been at least 3 juvenile Fiordland Penguins beachwashed in recent weeks. All were immediately taken into care so not tickable. Firstly on 9 July, one came ashore at White Beach near Nubeena on the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania. On 16 July, one was ashore at Victor Harbour, South Australia. It died on 20 July. Another landed on the same beach on 20 July and died that day. At about that time on the Coorong I think, a farmers dog brought in a dead Penguin, presumably not a Little. He advised authorities but not until after he had burnt it! Ken Simpson is interested in this cluster of incidents and implores birders to walk beaches in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia, to collect all dead Penguins other than Little and deposit them in your local museum. So get off your bums, go out and find something yourselves, instead of bemoaning an information deficit.
Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136
No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG – http://www.avg.com Version: 9.0.851 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3030 – Release Date: 07/27/10 04:04:00
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This whole string started with Steve Potter’s query below. Well yes Steve, someone did know something – me for one. But by the time we knew it was too late for any useful twitcher news so it wasn’t broadcast! Those that record such incidents have already archived the events. I know that there have been at least 3 juvenile Fiordland Penguins beachwashed in recent weeks. All were immediately taken into care so not tickable. Firstly on 9 July, one came ashore at White Beach near Nubeena on the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania. On 16 July, one was ashore at Victor Harbour, South Australia. It died on 20 July. Another landed on the same beach on 20 July and died that day. At about that time on the Coorong I think, a farmers dog brought in a dead Penguin, presumably not a Little. He advised authorities but not until after he had burnt it! Ken Simpson is interested in this cluster of incidents and implores birders to walk beaches in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia, to collect all dead Penguins other than Little and deposit them in your local museum. So get off your bums, go out and find something yourselves, instead of bemoaning an information deficit.
Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136
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By the way folks, we humble Wide Bay birders based around Hervey Bay and Bundaberg have had own little email-based alert system going for a couple of years…..called BirdAlert!……We don’t want a copyright issue here…haha Cheers, Bill —– Original Message —– Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 4:49 PM
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Jenny,
Thanks, good question.
There’s no really easy way to do this, that’s the difficulty. However we look at it, we need a human being at the end, scrutinising what’s being sent and making sure what gets circulated out widely to people is complete and accurate. We can’t really automate it.
So it’s a matter of having one of us manning a phone line. On the front page of Bird-O at the moment, there is a hotline number people can call and leave a message. We get notified by email and can then act accordingly. This is ready to use now in fact.
Although we could automate some of this, there is really no better way than to do the hard yards. To make this kind of thing really really good, we have to be on call all the time. As I mentioned in the last response, some of the benefit of this is actually human engagement. I’ve had great fun so far, just talking to people who’ve found good birds.
Hope that answers the question.
Regards,
Simon.
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The bird was reported by Steve sending photos to a person near Mandurah, who then forwarded them. By the time it had been reported it had gone. Yes, the bird could be seen from the road when it was there (with a good scope but distant). I was asked not to report the location because of the concerns about future access for Hooded Plovers (by someone other than Steve), but I told them that the information was already out there.
Steve is probably the best birder that I have met. His knowledge and enthusiasm is outstanding. Yes, in future he will hopefully forward sightings faster, but my understanding is that he is not on the internet. He is aware of Birds Australia in Perth (he gave an outstanding and inspiring talk to a monthly meeting), but I guess he was busy in the field and didn’t have the details to forward it directly or sooner. The information did not get through until after the bird had left.
Yes, in future Steve will report sightings quicker, but as I said in this case at that time, it would not have mattered what rare sightings system was used.
The situation of the SA penguin, is what always happens here in WA. You never hear about the bird until some time after the initial sighting. In many cases, after it has been taken into care by DEC. This is because the sighting is by non birders, or at least people who have no direct contact with birding associations, or is by a member of DEC who has taken the bird into care.
At 14:28 26/07/2010, Simon Mustoe wrote: href=”mailto:birding-aus@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus@vicnet.net.au href=”mailto:foconnor@iinet.net.au”>foconnor@iinet.net.au
_________________________________________________________________ Frank O’Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email : foconnor@iinet.net.au
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The zen twitcher’s conundrum …
If a penguin lands, and nobody sees it, was it really there?
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Hi Simon,
I have a question about the workings of your Bird-Alert system. If I am not a subscriber to it can I text in and lodge a sighting or do I need to be a subscriber? For example, how would the person who found the Buff-breasted Sandpiper get the sighting onto Bird-Alert if he was not a subscriber?
cheers
Jen
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Frank,
That’s not true. The bird was viewable very easily from a roadside. The initial report came out that it was on private land, so I followed up (I was the only one who did this). It only took a few moments talking to Steve Elson to know that he was happy to report it, he has expressed an interest in reporting things in future and that the bird was quite accessible to anyone who went there: http://birdo.wildiaries.com/trips/292
So far from being wrong, I think this illustrates the point perfectly again. If anything, it makes it even clearer. By engaging with people in the field like Steve, who is a great guy and very very generous with his knowledge, we can provide a better service to birding overall.
Regards,
Simon.
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Steve,
I have every sympathy with you and I think I can answer that question.
Australian birders seem quite dependent on receiving information from the web. It seems to be a general consensus that currently available systems for alerting people about birds are fine as they are. If you go through the archives of birding-aus, this sentiment comes up time and time again. The problem is, all this is being provided for free, in people’s spare time, without any resourcing. We can only expect so much. The other big problem is that it all critically DEPENDS ON OTHER BIRDERS REPORTING THINGS (as you suggest).
So the question is whether any birders knew about the penguins and didn’t think to tell anyone else who might be interested. I don’t think there is any deliberate attempt to cover up these sorts of situations, moreover we just don’t think to do it. In many cases, we’re finding out about birds days after they turn up.
So for reasons you have identified here, birders might find that things can be better.
I was asked this question about Bird-O FirstAlert the other day (which I might add, we are struggling to get Australian birders to buy into – see below for what we’re about to do). I was asked, “why would people want to bother to sign up to receiving information by SMS and potentially pay for this?” The answer is this:
In the last few months, I can cite several examples for myself, where I would have saved money (and / or seen birds) had I known in time, that they were present:
1. I booked rapid return flights to Perth for work and only after that, found out about the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. The bird had been present for days but I couldn’t go to see it without changing my flights at great expense. 2. News of the White-browed Crake broke late in northern NSW and would have prohibited most birders seeing it in time, before it disappeared. 3. Let’s use your example – now you might have to spend lots more money traveling further or trying to see Fjordland Penguin on a pelagic. 4. What about if you’re out at the Western Treatment Plant and someone refinds the Hudsonian Godwit and you haven’t seen one. You have to return from Melbourne a second time to see it. In petrol and vehicle wear and tear, the cost would be over a hundred dollars. …I could go on.
So here’s an interesting question. How much money is it worth to birders, to get bird news? I can certainly say that I would have saved hundreds of dollars in the last twelve months if we had a better culture of reporting and a way of getting quicker information out FAST.
Bird-O FirstAlert (http://www.bird-o.com)
In the next week, we are looking at reviewing the FirstAlert on Bird-O and instead of having a complex regional-based system, just reporting (for the time being), big rarities / difficult birds – with the purpose of getting things out as quickly as possible. The price for this? Probably around $5 a month. However, if this is going to work, we also need people reporting things. That goes for Eremaea as well – all these sites serve a useful function and aim for the same general results, though they serve different purposes.
So my take-home message is – IF WE WANT BETTER BIRD-ALERT SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN BIRDERS NEED TO BECOME MORE PRO-ACTIVE IN REPORTING AND SHARING SIGHTINGS QUICKLY. The tools are there but not being used widely enough to solve your problem.
Regards,
Simon Mustoe.
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