Sunday 12 February 2017

Opinion Differences

Yesterday morning at first light I stood on the reserve sea wall talking to three wildfowlers. The reserve was white with a light fall of snow that had only just stopped, a bone numbing N.E. wind was picking up and icy rain had just started to blow in on the wind. It was exceptionally cold and we didn't chat for long, just long enough for me to ask them if they had shot anything that morning, no was the answer. Three hours sitting out in the mud in falling snow and the dark and not a single shot fired had left them frozen stiff. People who lump these coastal wildfowlers in with the molly-coddled large bird number, shooters elsewhere, should try experiencing those conditions and also see how few birds that actually get shoot.
This last week I got embroiled in a debate on the Kent Ornithological Society's Facebook Page to do with the continuing persecution of Hen Harriers in this country. Despite the fact that I also deplore the persecution of such a beautiful and fast declining bird of prey, I found myself airing different opinions on the subject with two guys in particular, who were quite clearly disciples of Chris Packham and Mark Avery. I haven't got a problem with much of that, most of these people work hard at battling against the persecution dished out against Hen Harriers by grouse moor owners and their employees and keeping it in the public eye. Where I did start to disagree with their points of view though was (a) when I suggested that despite all their petitions, etc, Harriers were still going missing, grouse shooters were still sticking two fingers up, (b) when they found it impossible to accept any criticism of the RSPB, (c) when I accused them of taking the traditional birdwatcher's stance in that every missing/dead Hen Harrier has to have been caused by actions taken by those involved with grouse shooting. Particularly in the case of missing birds, evidence has never been produced to support the purely assumptions that it was grouse shooters that caused them to be missing. Of course, as soon as I starting stating those opinions, then accusations of me being both cynical about the anti grouse moor protesters and therefore a supporter of Hen Harrier persecution, came out. The fact that I have no problems with a few forms of shooting and pest controls does seem to mark me down as not a true and serious bird watcher in some people's eyes. There seems to be a trend in modern day birdwatching these days that in order to be one you have to openly loathe any form of shooting, without actually having any experience of the subject that they are loathing.
I'm regularly vilified for being too opinionated, a trait I can't deny but find too easy to fall into. I'm all to often criticised because (a) I don't like twitching, (b) don't always share rare birds that I've seen, not that I see that many, and (c) don't take the normal birdwatcher line and automatically despise anyone that shoots or kills wildlife. All my life I've always been a natural loner when it comes to wandering about in the countryside, and I take part in several lonesome annual bird counts and supply those records to the appropriate people. What I don't do is carry a pager or smart phone that allows me to immediately alert the outside bird watching world to what I've just seen, they're capable of getting off their arses and doing that themselves. Neither do I rush off to the latest rare bird alert, no matter how close, and join a murmaration of twitchers swirling about on a roadside or riverbank. Neither do I carry a long lens camera with which to impress people with my stunning photos that I always claim are still not quite sharp enough, I have a free running dog (a huge black mark in birdwatching circles) and lastly, probably the greatest sin of all, I'm an Associate Member of the Kent Wildfowling and Conservation Association, despite having no interest in shooting myself.
And finally, just to bring down the curtain on Opinion Differences, I'm currently reading and thoroughly enjoying, an old book called Morning Flight, written by that great conservationist Peter Scott, about his very many wildfowling days in the 1930's.

16 comments:

  1. Derek. That was one of the most honest things I've read for a long time. To add fuel to the fire; two of the most ardent 'twitchers' I've every met, were also two of the biggest egg thieves.

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  2. Firstly, thanks for commenting Colin, don't think you have before and it was nice to hear from you.
    Well, bird watching and indeed bird watchers, has changed greatly in recent years, mainly I suppose due to smart phones and Twitter giving people the ability to form cliques of like minded birding "purists". I'm nothing special, just an old boy who has seen birdwatching and the countryside that it is practised in, changed and not always for the better.

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  3. Derek - maverick to the core! Nothing much to add; brilliant post mate, keep it up! - Dyl

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  4. Always in your tail wind though Dylan.

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  5. Hi Derek. Thank you for finding my blog. I could almost have written that post.

    My own experience of wildfowlers is first and foremost is that most are very knowledgeable about birds in general with an obvious bias towards wildfowl. Many are actively involved in conservation projects to protect habitat. I find that very often they have more knowledge to share than the average birder/lister .

    Like you I have no time for the pheasant/partridge/mallard kick-em-up-and shootem brigade whose activities in releasing thousands of birds indiscriminately cause actual damage to the environment. – Witness the outbreak of avian flu about here now, made worse by the presence of hundreds of acres of outdoor breeding pens for the above named species to be shot come October (maybe not after the culling of 65,000 last week).

    I certainly agree about Hen Harriers. All is not black & white but I have no wish to join in the local Bowland free for all between the various bodies and individuals.

    If you note my blog you will see that I rarely give exact locations for birds that I see, and especially owls that I photograph. Often I change the location for the purpose of the blog post. The dangers of broadcasting them are too great but I do rather enjoy being vague. The situation is such in this locality that even now uncommon but once common birds like Yellow Wagtail, Wood Warbler and Corn Bunting are on the target list for weekend jaunts.

    Good to meet a kindred spirit

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  6. Brilliant Phil, great to come across you and I have posted a link to your blog on the KOS Facebook Page.

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  7. An honest post Derek and not at all contentious. My experiences of the French shooting set-up in the Somme was a real eye-opener. There were many superb habitats purely because the shooters were operating, and in the spring/summer were alive with birds. Closer to home, on one of my down land patches, cessation of shooting has been detrimental to the wildlife - many will not understand how that could be so.

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  8. You're so right Steve, it's so hard to get that fact across to some people, such as our friend in Pittswood.

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  9. I've been told that family boasts some ancestors called Pockets which I'm told means poachers because they had long pockets in their coats for whatever they bagged. I expect a few got hung - the game as well as the poachers. Of the latter - maybe deported to Australia.

    Do you guys share a wee dram when you meet on these cold mornings. I hope so.

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  10. Gwil,

    The answer to your last question is, no, not between me and them. I'll have to ask them if they dip into a small flask of something while they're out there in the mud. They only have another week left and then that's it for six months.

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  11. Derek and Phil. I’ve been reading and enjoying Derek’s posts for some time and relatively recently come across Phil’s postings to Twitter and, seeing as you seem to share the same stamping ground, I’d been wondering whether the pair of you had ever crossed paths either online or out in the real world. The combination of your reporting produces a tremendous evocation of a landscape and its inhabitants. Thank you for continuing to do so throughout the seasons.

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  12. Ian, I think you'll find that Phil and I are at opposite ends of the country, so we haven't met and this week was the first time we've met on-line as well.

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    1. Oops! a confusion of two Phils on my part. I've mixed up two impressive bird photographers: Phil Slade and the Phil who goes by SheppeyWildlife on Twitter and Facebook .

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  13. Ah, Phil Haynes. We see each other now and then.

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    1. You'll probably scoff at this suggestion Derek but I think your writing and Phil's photography could combine into an impressive book. I could see a 'portrait of a year on the reserve' being just the sort of souvenir that guests at the shepherds huts would really enjoy taking home with them.

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  14. You are a bit of an enigma Derek. If you will excuse the pun - it is healthy to have a good grouse now and then.

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