The Australian today has a story about the first Night Parrot to have been captured by researchers. If you’re not a subscriber, try a Google News search for “Looking for a Night Parrot in a Haystack?” Murray
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To all – my comments are well-sourced, mostly from peer-reviewed papers, and that includes my remarks about the ABA. In recent years the ABA, according to ex- president Richard Payne and others, have done their best to ensure that the ABA focuses more on conservation. This is an intriguing move given their break away from the Audubon Society and chapters, bodies that had their roots in the conservation movement. Apparently one reason for this move is the change in mindset at the top of the organisation. Another reason is to make the ABA more attractive to women (most ABA members are men). Philip, I don’t understand your reference to the NRA. Are you confusing them with Ducks Unlimited? I believe that organisation has done much good work in conserving waterfowl habitat. I’m not against hunting, nor listing for that matter, as long as birders toe the line. However status and a sense of achievement is often attached to bird lists as can be seen by the emphasis on Big Years etc. (I can quote peer-reviewed papers if anyone is interested). And so it’s not surprising that some might put their list before the welfare of a bird. As for vigilance – I’ve been delighted to see Birding Aus members attempt to do something about birders who do the wrong thing. However, vigilance doesn’t seem to have worked particularly well in the case of our sewage ponds, and the Red Goshawk at Mataranka. And didn’t someone mention the Penrice Saltfields? Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 043 8650 835 PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International Ecotourism Award, 2004. With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this continent becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian. On 12 Aug 2015, at 2:02 pm, Philip Veerman < pveerman@pcug.org.au> wrote:
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I guess one thing we can all do is to try to curb other people’s bad behaviour when we see it. Be brave, front ’em up , they don’t like being embarrassed. Tony R, Adelaide. —–Original Message—– Peter Shute Sent: Wednesday, 12 August 2015 12:51 PM Cc: ‘birding-aus’ We seem to be trying to answer a simple yes/no question here about whether twitchers/listers/photographers/birders/etc are responsible birders or not. Of course it’s not that black and white – I’m guessing most are responsible, and some aren’t, and that that’s what Denise meant. Peter Shute
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Hi Kevin, So well put – I was about to say the same thing. Almost without exception I personally have found birdwatchers/twitchers/photographers to be some of thoughtful and caring folk out there. I would even go so far as to suggest that there are instances where some research scientists, government agencies, museum collectors, tour operators and banders have done more harm than good so in that respect they are no different. One day it would nice to see us all get along, as they now do in many other countries. I shudder to think what it would be like without birdwatchers or folk that have a real interest in our natural history. As for the Night Parrot – just fantastic stuff. I am so relieved that things are being done. I was beginning to get concerned as so many months have passed since John Young’s amazing find. Cheers, Tony —–Original Message—– Kev Lobotomi Sent: Wednesday, 12 August 2015 11:19 AM Cc: birding-aus Hi Denise It’s unfortunate that you persist with this continued bashing of bird watchers (who are to the most part to a lesser & greater degree listers). We do a lot more good than bad. There are bad eggs that spoil it for everyone else. But the conservation push would be no where near as great if birders weren’t involved. Many more birds & other animals would have become extinct. It’s only through interest & education that we have things like national parks & reserves & the protection of birds. Bird watchers are amongst the most intelligent people I have met & they for the most part love the science of the whole thing also & are quite happy to partake in surveys & give any knowledge they have so that birds can be protected. There are photographers who do the wrong thing, & sometimes twitchers too, but these incidences are small compared to amount of good we do. I would contend with the advent of digital photography it has now reduced the need for collecting birds, because the quality of the photographs are so good that you can see just about everything you need to see externally on a bird. Digital photography is an incredible tool that we can use for good, because the more we know about the bird, the more we can do to help protect it. I would contend that you wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the amazing amount of interest that birdwatchers & other people interested in the natural world have generated, and this list includes listers! I would also argue that ecotourism probably effects the habitat of animals, because by necessity it introduces people into the habitat of often rare animals & in areas of pristine wilderness. If humans are going to be there, especially in numbers, then the facilities have to be there & the habitat has to suffer. It probably has a much greater effect on the ecosystem than any twitcher or photographer could ever cause. They are at least in and out & mostly leave barely any footprint. Ecotourism means buildings, roads, & all kinds of facilities, great big crevices in the environment. Kevin Bartram example birding is a sport, competition, or non-lethal hunting, as Moore, Scott and Moore (2008) have described it – you yourself have used the term quarry. excite birders “are bad for the birds. Indeed birding as sport appears to have been a reason for the establishment of the American Birding Association, and in my decades of birding Ive seen nothing to convince me that the situation in Australia is any different. 2004. continent becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian. frequency x impact. know you can quote the exception but again consider the statistical risk. once explained. hazards it can hang on through 11. That is like saying if you live through 10 bullets, the eleventh can’t kill you.licole@ozemail.com.au>> wrote: disturbance. I dont have a problem with that. discouraged from western Queensland is a bit silly. mustering vehicles, roo shooters vehicles, fires,etc, you would think that even the most over enthusiastic cack-handed birdwatcher would be the least of its worries. singled out this time! > bird-watchers, initially when discussing John Young’s original discovery: the bird is so rare it could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the black market and to avoid an onslaught of obsessive bird watchers who, without realising, could present equal danger to the fragile habitat.” vast, its hard to imagine anyone being so lucky as to find the bird without expert knowledge but Dr Murphy said it would not stop obsessive bird watchers and poachers from trying.” if it’s just me – but this attitude is really starting to irritate me. that Bush Heritage Australia is leading the conservation effort for the Night Parrot (initially at the request of the farmer on whose land JY found and photographed the bird), it might be best to look at their web site. There is a great section on the bird and the recovery efforts and also some video of the release of the captured bird. http://www.bushheritage.org.au/what_we_do/species_protection/night-parrot the link: Behalf Of Murray Lord been captured by researchers. If youre not a subscriber, try a Google News search for Looking for a Night Parrot in a Haystack? http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
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The simplest answer, Peter, is that most are good, and some are bad. Those that are bad are, generally, ineducable, and no amount of ranting an frothing at the mouth is going to change their behaviour. This argument comes up regularly, with the same people voicing the same opinions. Waste of electrons really. Carl Clifford
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100% agree Kev. On 12/08/2015 11:19 AM, Kev Lobotomi wrote:
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We seem to be trying to answer a simple yes/no question here about whether twitchers/listers/photographers/birders/etc are responsible birders or not. Of course it’s not that black and white – I’m guessing most are responsible, and some aren’t, and that that’s what Denise meant. Peter Shute
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Kevin Without targeting Denise, who does a lot of good work for the environment and her community, I agree with you. For some silly reason listers/tickers seem to be maligned by a lot of others in the birding community. I see many birders with good lists who deny being listers. I know listers/tickers who are superb, knowledgeable birders and conservationists etc with nothing to be ashamed of. My suggestion to those non-listers/tickers is “get over it”. Greg Little —–Original Message—– Kev Lobotomi Sent: Wednesday, 12 August 2015 11:19 AM Cc: birding-aus Hi Denise It’s unfortunate that you persist with this continued bashing of bird watchers (who are to the most part to a lesser & greater degree listers). We do a lot more good than bad. There are bad eggs that spoil it for everyone else. But the conservation push would be no where near as great if birders weren’t involved. Many more birds & other animals would have become extinct. It’s only through interest & education that we have things like national parks & reserves & the protection of birds. Bird watchers are amongst the most intelligent people I have met & they for the most part love the science of the whole thing also & are quite happy to partake in surveys & give any knowledge they have so that birds can be protected. There are photographers who do the wrong thing, & sometimes twitchers too, but these incidences are small compared to amount of good we do. I would contend with the advent of digital photography it has now reduced the need for collecting birds, because the quality of the photographs are so good that you can see just about everything you need to see externally on a bird. Digital photography is an incredible tool that we can use for good, because the more we know about the bird, the more we can do to help protect it. I would contend that you wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the amazing amount of interest that birdwatchers & other people interested in the natural world have generated, and this list includes listers! I would also argue that ecotourism probably effects the habitat of animals, because by necessity it introduces people into the habitat of often rare animals & in areas of pristine wilderness. If humans are going to be there, especially in numbers, then the facilities have to be there & the habitat has to suffer. It probably has a much greater effect on the ecosystem than any twitcher or photographer could ever cause. They are at least in and out & mostly leave barely any footprint. Ecotourism means buildings, roads, & all kinds of facilities, great big crevices in the environment. Kevin Bartram example birding is a sport, competition, or non-lethal hunting, as Moore, Scott and Moore (2008) have described it – you yourself have used the term quarry. excite birders “are bad for the birds. Indeed birding as sport appears to have been a reason for the establishment of the American Birding Association, and in my decades of birding Ive seen nothing to convince me that the situation in Australia is any different. 2004. continent becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian. frequency x impact. know you can quote the exception but again consider the statistical risk. once explained. hazards it can hang on through 11. That is like saying if you live through 10 bullets, the eleventh can’t kill you.licole@ozemail.com.au>> wrote: disturbance. I dont have a problem with that. discouraged from western Queensland is a bit silly. mustering vehicles, roo shooters vehicles, fires,etc, you would think that even the most over enthusiastic cack-handed birdwatcher would be the least of its worries. singled out this time! > bird-watchers, initially when discussing John Young’s original discovery: the bird is so rare it could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the black market and to avoid an onslaught of obsessive bird watchers who, without realising, could present equal danger to the fragile habitat.” vast, its hard to imagine anyone being so lucky as to find the bird without expert knowledge but Dr Murphy said it would not stop obsessive bird watchers and poachers from trying.” if it’s just me – but this attitude is really starting to irritate me. that Bush Heritage Australia is leading the conservation effort for the Night Parrot (initially at the request of the farmer on whose land JY found and photographed the bird), it might be best to look at their web site. There is a great section on the bird and the recovery efforts and also some video of the release of the captured bird. http://www.bushheritage.org.au/what_we_do/species_protection/night-parrot the link: Behalf Of Murray Lord been captured by researchers. If youre not a subscriber, try a Google News search for Looking for a Night Parrot in a Haystack? http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
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Well said Kev – totally agree! On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 11:19 AM, Kev Lobotomi < kevlobotomi@hotmail.com> wrote: — All the best, James Mustafa 0400 951 517 http://www.jamesmustafajazzorchestra.com
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Hi Denise It’s unfortunate that you persist with this continued bashing of bird watchers (who are to the most part to a lesser & greater degree listers). We do a lot more good than bad. There are bad eggs that spoil it for everyone else. But the conservation push would be no where near as great if birders weren’t involved. Many more birds & other animals would have become extinct. It’s only through interest & education that we have things like national parks & reserves & the protection of birds. Bird watchers are amongst the most intelligent people I have met & they for the most part love the science of the whole thing also & are quite happy to partake in surveys & give any knowledge they have so that birds can be protected. There are photographers who do the wrong thing, & sometimes twitchers too, but these incidences are small compared to amount of good we do. I would contend with the advent of digital photography it has now reduced the need for collecting birds, because the quality of the photographs are so good that you can see just about everything you need to see externally on a bird. Digital photography is an incredible tool that we can use for good, because the more we know about the bird, the more we can do to help protect it. I would contend that you wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the amazing amount of interest that birdwatchers & other people interested in the natural world have generated, and this list includes listers! I would also argue that ecotourism probably effects the habitat of animals, because by necessity it introduces people into the habitat of often rare animals & in areas of pristine wilderness. If humans are going to be there, especially in numbers, then the facilities have to be there & the habitat has to suffer. It probably has a much greater effect on the ecosystem than any twitcher or photographer could ever cause. They are at least in and out & mostly leave barely any footprint. Ecotourism means buildings, roads, & all kinds of facilities, great big crevices in the environment. Kevin Bartram
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It seems to me that people are discussing two different things here. One is the attitude displayed by those close to the project that lots of people are itching to get to the site to have a look for themselves, and the other is whether birders should be allowed access. I’m fine with the first one – perhaps they should be more diplomatic about how they justify keeping the location secret, even if they continue to keep it secret. With the second one, we could argue forever about whether people would bother to go there, what kind of damage they could do, etc. But I can’t see the point. They’re saying no access, and arguing about the reasons here won’t change that. Peter Shute
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Sorry Charles, I have to disagree with you on empathy. To lister for example birding is a sport, competition, or “non-lethal” hunting, as Moore, Scott and Moore (2008) have described it – you yourself have used the term “quarry”. David Sibley, famous US birder once said that a lot of the things that “excite” birders “are bad for the birds.” Indeed birding as ‘sport’ appears to have been a reason for the establishment of the American Birding Association, and in my decades of birding I’ve seen nothing to convince me that the situation in Australia is any different. Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 043 8650 835 PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International Ecotourism Award, 2004. With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this continent becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian. On 11 Aug 2015, at 2:58 pm, Chris Charles < licole@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
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I thought the general consensus was that the scale of “good to evil”, with 1 being angelic and 10 being satanic, was: People who watch birds in their back yard – 1 People who have friends with secret information and can therefore see the site without the unwashed masses sharing the experience (I mean contaminating the site) – 2 Bird watchers – 4 Twitchers – 8 Photographers – 9 Egg collectors/poachers – 10 Seriously though… it is great these things are out there. Nobody needs to see them. As a twitcher and a photographer I am quite happy to leave the Parrots to the researchers for the time being!
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My post did not talk about a lot of things. My post addressed the suggestion that birdwatchers were a significant risk. I believe that in general they are an empathetic bunch with learned skills that lessen their impact relative to non-birders. (I also believe that birders have a greater “Holier than thou” aspect relative to non-birders.) I do not advocate birders piggybacking off the discovery of others & entering their site. I do not believe that putting a peer pressure fence around Western Queensland that excludes only birders is at all relevant to the birds survival. Chris Chris Charles +61412911184 Licole Monopods http://www.licole.com.au
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I would have thought poachers / egg collectors / bird collectors would be a greater hazard than birders … On 11 Aug 2015, at 3:28 pm, Chris Charles < licole@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
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But your initial post did not talk about offsetting risks by eliminating others. Sure, if you preserve the habitat and get rid of major threats, that might justify allowing birding. But until you have done that, you are simply adding some weight on the side of risk. Humans might also change the balance. Assume the parrots are in basic equilibrium with their predators, probably because their numbers are too low and they are hidden enough. One thing birders sometimes do is unintentionally alert predators to prey or a nest. Eric Jeffrey Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks, Stephen. I saw the woolly mic thing, but couldn’t see why an antenna would need a wind shield like that. Is there any reason to be using such labour intensive tracking these days? Are the transmitters lighter than the GPS types? One article mentioned that they intended using Bluetooth trackers in the future. I assume they would be be the GPS type, and they would use Bluetooth to download the data. Can you shed any light on that? Peter Shute
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Hi Peter, From the TV footage that I saw on the 7.30 Report last night, my guess (and it’s only a guess) is that it was just the basic radio-transmitter that emits a beeping signal at a certain sound frequency that can be picked up by a receiver. I say that because there was a beeping sound in the TV footage and the equipment that Steve Murphy was carrying (that looked like a sound boom with a woolly wind shield) was probably the antenna of the receiver, but I could be wrong. I looked closely at the Night Parrot as it was being released on TV, but I couldn’t actually see the transmitter on the bird, but I’m assuming it had been attached. Whether or not the transmitter had additional GPS-recording abilities, I don’t know, but if it did, then I don’t see why Steve Murphy would be following it with a receiver and antenna, as he implied he was doing in the TV interview. Kind regards, Stephen Stephen Ambrose Ryde NSW —–Original Message—– Sent: Tuesday, 11 August 2015 3:18 PM Stephen, can you tell from the articles what type of tracker they used? I believe they range from the GPS type that can transmit coordinates, GPS trackers that must be recovered to get the data, down to the type that only allows them to tell which direction the bird is in, which would obviously give much less precision. Does the use of the word “transmitter” imply the last type? Peter Shute
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Eric, No I am not arguing that. I am saying that it is not a simple binary bullets vs bullets case. Relative to the existing risks, birdwatchers are a lesser risk; frequency x impact. All birdwatchers have an empathy for their quarry for a start. Yes I know you can quote the exception but again consider the statistical risk. Mitigating the major risks is in the best interest of the birds. Chris Chris Charles +61412911184 Licole Monopods http://www.licole.com.au
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Stephen, can you tell from the articles what type of tracker they used? I believe they range from the GPS type that can transmit coordinates, GPS trackers that must be recovered to get the data, down to the type that only allows them to tell which direction the bird is in, which would obviously give much less precision. Does the use of the word “transmitter” imply the last type? Peter Shute
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There is an obvious fallacy to that argument, which should be clear once explained. What you are arguing is that if a species can hang on through 10 hazards it can hang on through 11. That is like saying if you live through 10 bullets, the eleventh can’t kill you. Eric Jeffrey Falls Church, VA USA Sent from my iPhone
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Paul, Yep just a little irritated too. I understand that the researchers want to keep their site free of disturbance. I don’t have a problem with that. But the implication that birdwatchers are a major concern & are discouraged from western Queensland is a bit silly. For a bird that has hung on despite years of cattle, cats, dogs, mustering vehicles, roo shooters vehicles, fires,etc, you would think that even the most over enthusiastic cack-handed birdwatcher would be the least of its worries. Independent finding of other colonies must be a useful. But on the bright side, the sub species of ‘photographer’ hasn’t been singled out this time! Chris Chris Charles +61412911184 Licole Monopods http://www.licole.com.au
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Hi Mike, I think few researchers in Australia these days use harnesses that stay on birds for a long time, unless one is studying long-distance migrants. The type of harness I’ve seen used here is made from loose-fitting elasticated straps that fray and eventually snap within a few weeks of being fitted. But I realise that the older type of harness (which still seems to be used in the northern hemisphere) does stay on longer and may potentially cause the problems you mentioned. Cheers, Stephen Stephen Ambrose Ryde, NSW —–Original Message—– Michael Tarburton Sent: Tuesday, 11 August 2015 9:59 AM Cc: ‘birding-aus’; ‘Murray Lord’ G’day All Charles asked “Sean, do radio transmitters naturally fall off? I understand from the 7.30 Report last night (10.08.2015) that the small battery lasts 21 days. If the transmitter is attached using a harness, the harness remains for months or years, possibly interfering with behaviour and moult. If the transmitter is super-glued then it falls of in 2-4 weeks and the bird is freed of any encumbrance. When I used them on swifts I only ever super-glued them – which is why my data ran out after 2 weeks each time. Cheers Mike =================== Michael Tarburton tarburton.m@optusnet.com.au ===================
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G’day All Charles asked “Sean, do radio transmitters naturally fall off? I understand from the 7.30 Report last night (10.08.2015) that the small battery lasts 21 days. If the transmitter is attached using a harness, the harness remains for months or years, possibly interfering with behaviour and moult. If the transmitter is super-glued then it falls of in 2-4 weeks and the bird is freed of any encumbrance. When I used them on swifts I only ever super-glued them – which is why my data ran out after 2 weeks each time. Cheers Mike =================== Michael Tarburton tarburton.m@optusnet.com.au ===================
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Hi Charles, Yes, radio-transmitters do eventually fall off birds, but usually researchers try to recapture birds before the battery runs flat so that the transmitter can be retrieved and used again. There are two main ways that radio-transmitters are carried by small or smallish birds – they are either glued to a gauze patch that has been glued with Vetbond (a glue used by vets for sealing small animal wounds or incisions) to the base of clipped feathers on the upper back or carried as a harness as a backpack. The harnesses are usually designed so that the straps break or snap shortly after the life of the transmitter battery has expired, thus freeing the harness from the bird. Glued transmitters also tend to fall off the bird after the same time interval. The main limiting factor is the weight of the transmitter and battery pack. The general rule of thumb is that a bird shouldn’t carry anything that is more than 5% of its body weight. Technology in recent years has made these packs smaller and lighter, so they are being used on increasingly smaller bird species. In the 1990s we put radio-transmitters on Spinifexbirds on Barrow Island in WA, which at the time, was a species at the lower end of the weight limit that could carry transmitter-battery packs, but I’ve heard of smaller birds carrying transmitters since then. I suspect Steve Murphy will be experiencing similar challenges to what we faced when we used transmitters on the Spinifexbirds since both species inhabit dense Spinifex clumps. We found that the length of the transmitter’s antenna had to be relatively short and running parallel to the bird’s back to prevent it snagging on spinifex branches. If the antenna snags on a spinifex clump it is pulled off the bird, rather than the bird being trapped. Kind regards, Stephen Stephen Ambrose Ryde NSW —–Original Message—– Sent: Tuesday, 11 August 2015 7:59 AM Sean, do radio transmitters naturally fall off? I understand from the 7.30 Report last night (10.08.2015) that the small battery lasts 21 days. Keen to know if the birds (perhaps inconveniently) “hop” around with a wire for several months. Cheers,Charles From: SeanDooley < sdooley@bigpond.net.au> To: ‘Peter Shute’ < pshute@nuw.org.au>; ‘Tony Palliser’ < tonyp@bigpond.net.au>; ‘david taylor’ < davidstaylor1@optusnet.com.au>; ‘Murray Lord’ < mklord@iinet.net.au>; ‘birding-aus’ < birding-aus@birding-aus.org> Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015, 23:28 Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Night Parrot captured and videoed Hi Peter and all who have posted on this topic. Just to let you know, Dr Steve Murphy is writing a piece for the upcoming September issue of Australian Birdlife outlining the progress of much of the research that has been going on at the site of John Young’s initial discovery. Without wanting to pre-empt Steve’s article, the draft that I have seen has some pretty impressive results. Being able to attach the radio transmitter, (even for the few weeks it was operational) has enabled the researchers to probably learn as much about the ecology and behaviour of Night Parrots as we had learnt in the previous 150 years. As to the 50-250 population quoted, I suspect that comes from the Recovery Team estimates of the entire population. Steve’s article will tell us that there are multiple birds at the site but nowhere near 50 for that location. And to Paul Dodd, I have to confess that on an interview I did with ABC News 24 today, I think I may have used the phrase “hordes of birdwatchers” who would want to see these birds! While personally I think the threat of birders adversely impacting Night Parrots while trying to twitch them is probably pretty low- certainly far less of a risk than that posed by wildlife smugglers- I still believe it is wise to keep the location secret for as long as possible. We can’t afford to place these precious birds in jeopardy and we still don’t know enough about them to be able to safely say they could withstand even a few birders searching for them in their home territories. And no, I am not one of the lucky ones to have been out to the site. Nor do I have the faintest idea where it is, aside from somewhere in Queensland! Cheers, Sean —–Original Message—– Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 11:51 AM It’s not clear whether they’re referring to the local population or the national population. Surely there couldn’t be even 50 locally, but a population as low as 250 nationally isn’t good news, let alone 50. Peter Shute
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Thanks for clarifying those things, Sean, and I’ll look forward to reading the article. I know there were commercial considerations last time, but the flow of information this time has been a breath of fresh air. Peter Shute
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Sean, do radio transmitters naturally fall off? I understand from the 7.30 Report last night (10.08.2015) that the small battery lasts 21 days. Keen to know if the birds (perhaps inconveniently) “hop” around with a wire for several months. Cheers,Charles From: SeanDooley < sdooley@bigpond.net.au> To: ‘Peter Shute’ < pshute@nuw.org.au>; ‘Tony Palliser’ < tonyp@bigpond.net.au>; ‘david taylor’ < davidstaylor1@optusnet.com.au>; ‘Murray Lord’ < mklord@iinet.net.au>; ‘birding-aus’ < birding-aus@birding-aus.org> Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015, 23:28 Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Night Parrot captured and videoed Hi Peter and all who have posted on this topic. Just to let you know, Dr Steve Murphy is writing a piece for the upcoming September issue of Australian Birdlife outlining the progress of much of the research that has been going on at the site of John Young’s initial discovery. Without wanting to pre-empt Steve’s article, the draft that I have seen has some pretty impressive results. Being able to attach the radio transmitter, (even for the few weeks it was operational) has enabled the researchers to probably learn as much about the ecology and behaviour of Night Parrots as we had learnt in the previous 150 years. As to the 50-250 population quoted, I suspect that comes from the Recovery Team estimates of the entire population. Steve’s article will tell us that there are multiple birds at the site but nowhere near 50 for that location. And to Paul Dodd, I have to confess that on an interview I did with ABC News 24 today, I think I may have used the phrase “hordes of birdwatchers” who would want to see these birds! While personally I think the threat of birders adversely impacting Night Parrots while trying to twitch them is probably pretty low- certainly far less of a risk than that posed by wildlife smugglers- I still believe it is wise to keep the location secret for as long as possible. We can’t afford to place these precious birds in jeopardy and we still don’t know enough about them to be able to safely say they could withstand even a few birders searching for them in their home territories. And no, I am not one of the lucky ones to have been out to the site. Nor do I have the faintest idea where it is, aside from somewhere in Queensland! Cheers, Sean —–Original Message—– Peter Shute Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 11:51 AM It’s not clear whether they’re referring to the local population or the national population. Surely there couldn’t be even 50 locally, but a population as low as 250 nationally isn’t good news, let alone 50. Peter Shute
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Hi Peter and all who have posted on this topic. Just to let you know, Dr Steve Murphy is writing a piece for the upcoming September issue of Australian Birdlife outlining the progress of much of the research that has been going on at the site of John Young’s initial discovery. Without wanting to pre-empt Steve’s article, the draft that I have seen has some pretty impressive results. Being able to attach the radio transmitter, (even for the few weeks it was operational) has enabled the researchers to probably learn as much about the ecology and behaviour of Night Parrots as we had learnt in the previous 150 years. As to the 50-250 population quoted, I suspect that comes from the Recovery Team estimates of the entire population. Steve’s article will tell us that there are multiple birds at the site but nowhere near 50 for that location. And to Paul Dodd, I have to confess that on an interview I did with ABC News 24 today, I think I may have used the phrase “hordes of birdwatchers” who would want to see these birds! While personally I think the threat of birders adversely impacting Night Parrots while trying to twitch them is probably pretty low- certainly far less of a risk than that posed by wildlife smugglers- I still believe it is wise to keep the location secret for as long as possible. We can’t afford to place these precious birds in jeopardy and we still don’t know enough about them to be able to safely say they could withstand even a few birders searching for them in their home territories. And no, I am not one of the lucky ones to have been out to the site. Nor do I have the faintest idea where it is, aside from somewhere in Queensland! Cheers, Sean —–Original Message—– Peter Shute Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 11:51 AM It’s not clear whether they’re referring to the local population or the national population. Surely there couldn’t be even 50 locally, but a population as low as 250 nationally isn’t good news, let alone 50. Peter Shute
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OK, I take it back, Bush Heritage do mention John Young. I missed it the first time through. —–Original Message—– Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 11:23 AM I notice how the Bush Heritage video carefully avoids any mention of John Young’s herculean efforts in finding the parrot in the first place !! Tony. —–Original Message—– Tony Palliser Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 10:19 AM When reading through the article the following sentence really caught my eye ” Dr Murphy hopes the next round of netting will attract new members of the population which could be made up of anywhere between 50 and 250 birds. He is looking at new technology to track the birds via Bluetooth”. I am baffled as to how the numbers are calculated – are there really that many there now? Certainly sounds most encouraging indeed. Tony —–Original Message—– david taylor Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 8:17 AM Wow! Thats fabulous news! David Taylor On 10 Aug 2015, at 6:33 am, Murray Lord < mklord@iinet.net.au> wrote: captured by researchers. If you’re not a subscriber, try a Google News search for “Looking for a Night Parrot in a Haystack?” David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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It may not have mentioned his herculean efforts, but certainly credits John Young with the original discovery
John Tongue Devonport Tas On 10/08/2015, at 11:53 AM, “Tony Russell” < pratincole08@gmail.com> wrote:
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Here is a link to the story in the SMH, which is not behind a paywall. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-10/night-parrot-nature-reserve-created-queensland-endangered-bird/6680392
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I don’t know about the video (I haven’t had a chance to listen to the audio of it yet), but on their web page he gets three paragraphs right beside the video. Peter Shute
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I notice how the Bush Heritage video carefully avoids any mention of John Young’s herculean efforts in finding the parrot in the first place !! Tony. —–Original Message—– Tony Palliser Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 10:19 AM When reading through the article the following sentence really caught my eye ” Dr Murphy hopes the next round of netting will attract new members of the population which could be made up of anywhere between 50 and 250 birds. He is looking at new technology to track the birds via Bluetooth”. I am baffled as to how the numbers are calculated – are there really that many there now? Certainly sounds most encouraging indeed. Tony —–Original Message—– david taylor Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 8:17 AM Wow! Thats fabulous news! David Taylor On 10 Aug 2015, at 6:33 am, Murray Lord < mklord@iinet.net.au> wrote: captured by researchers. If you’re not a subscriber, try a Google News search for “Looking for a Night Parrot in a Haystack?” David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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It’s not clear whether they’re referring to the local population or the national population. Surely there couldn’t be even 50 locally, but a population as low as 250 nationally isn’t good news, let alone 50. Peter Shute
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Good news about the tracker being attached to the bird, but it’a a pity it apears to have fallen off. It’s not clear how much data they managed to collect. This story is a good example of how Facebook works to both spread news and to fragment it. I’ve seen dozens of conversations going on about it this morning. Peter Shute
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I like your optimism and congratulations must be given to all involved, but as I don’t know that any actual conservation measures have been put in place I would have said: This story could result in one of Australia’s greatest conservation outcomes, lets hope it happens… Happy to be corrected if I am wrong. Cheers Angus McNab
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Yes, tremendous news! As usual, however, the article (twice) mentions hordes of obsessive bird-watchers, initially when discussing John Young’s original discovery: “The location was kept secret to protect the population from poachers — the bird is so rare it could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the black market — and to avoid an onslaught of obsessive bird watchers who, without realising, could present equal danger to the fragile habitat.” And again, with an apparent quote from Steve Murphy: “Hours from the nearest neighbouring property, the land space is so vast, it’s hard to imagine anyone being so lucky as to find the bird without expert knowledge but Dr Murphy said it would not stop obsessive bird watchers and poachers from trying.” I’ve never considered myself particularly thin-skinned, so I wonder if it’s just me – but this attitude is really starting to irritate me. Anyway, I’ll leave that for now. Since the gist of the article is that Bush Heritage Australia is leading the conservation effort for the Night Parrot (initially at the request of the farmer on whose land JY found and photographed the bird), it might be best to look at their web site. There is a great section on the bird and the recovery efforts and also some video of the release of the captured bird. Here is a link to the Bush Heritage site: http://www.bushheritage.org.au/what_we_do/species_protection/night-parrot And, in case the link gets truncated, here is a shortened version of the link: http://bit.ly/1IRA2WL Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria —–Original Message—– Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 6:33 AM The Australian today has a story about the first Night Parrot to have been captured by researchers. If you’re not a subscriber, try a Google News search for “Looking for a Night Parrot in a Haystack?” Murray
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When reading through the article the following sentence really caught my eye ” Dr Murphy hopes the next round of netting will attract new members of the population which could be made up of anywhere between 50 and 250 birds. He is looking at new technology to track the birds via Bluetooth”. I am baffled as to how the numbers are calculated – are there really that many there now? Certainly sounds most encouraging indeed. Tony —–Original Message—– david taylor Sent: Monday, 10 August 2015 8:17 AM Wow! Thats fabulous news! David Taylor On 10 Aug 2015, at 6:33 am, Murray Lord < mklord@iinet.net.au> wrote: captured by researchers. If you’re not a subscriber, try a Google News search for “Looking for a Night Parrot in a Haystack?” David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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Here’s the link to the article: http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/looking-for-a-night-parrot-in-a-haystack-found-one/story-e6frg6nf-1227476639242 All the best, James Mustafa 0400 951 517 http://www.jamesmustafajazzorchestra.com http://www.jamesmustafabirding.blogspot.com.au
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Wow! Thats fabulous news! David Taylor On 10 Aug 2015, at 6:33 am, Murray Lord < mklord@iinet.net.au> wrote: David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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