The moment I saw Gary Wright’s posting about his Letter-winged Kite experience I just knew there would be an adverse response to it.
Simon Starr brought up the old and thorny issue of public revelation of nest sights. In his statement he says “If you want to know where a sensitive nest site is, you make contact with an individual, and if they trust you and want to share then they will.”.
I see and hear this statement often and I am always prompted to think –
1/ What should that ‘trust’ involve?
2/ If someone whom I don’t personally know or have never heard of or only know by mention from a friend (whom I may or may not trust in this context) or only know by their postings on BirdingAus contacts me and asks for details of a nest location or the location details of a rare or endangered species, how do I determine if I can trust that person?
3/ If the person seeking the information offers other people as referees of their trustworthiness should I interview those referees to assess whether I can trust them?
4/ If I tell one person the location of a nest or rare bird and that person promises not to tell anyone else should I expect that person to visit that nest or rare bird site alone? If that person does not pass on that information (verbally, in writing or electronically) to another person but takes another person or other persons to the site (as on a mystery tour) has that person failed my trust?
5/ If the person seeking the information tells me that he/she will be part of a group (for example the full membership of a birdwatching club) which is planning to make the effort to see the nest or rare bird in question, should I interview each person likely to be involved?
6/ If the person seeking the information promises to only tell other people he/she can trust should I interview those other people to be personally satisfied they really can be trusted?
7/ If I want to contact someone whom I don’t personally know or have never heard of or only know by mention from a friend (whom I may or may not trust in this context) or only know by their postings on BirdingAus to ask for details of a nest location or the location details of a rare or endangered species, how do I convince that person they can trust me?
8/ How do I know I can trust the person from whom I am seeking the sensitive information? If they tell me how many other people will they tell?
9/ Is it reasonable to expect anyone not to pass on ‘sensitive information’ you have provided?
10/ Would it be possible to create a list of people who can be trusted with sensitive information about nest sights and/or rare sightings?
I could go on………..
I don’t intend to debate this issue but I would like to know the answers to those questions.
Incidentally, I have been under the impression for at least 30 years that the area mentioned by Gary Wright has been well known for its Letter-winged Kite nests. There is mention of Letter-winged Kites nesting in that area (and precise references to other locations) in the 1981 publication “Hawks in Focus” by Cupper & Cupper.
Cheers
Bob Inglis Sandstone Point Qld Australia http://users.tpg.com.au/inglisrc/
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