The oriental turtle dove that turned up in a garden in Chipping Norton back in February is still being seen. This is a very rare bird in the UK and February seems a pretty odd time for one to turn up.
But hundreds of twitchers have paid £5 to get the chance to see the bird and got a thrill out of it. The home owners, the Akers family, have been brilliantly tolerant and welcoming to all those birders who have queued up to see this rare bird from their kitchen window. It's all a bit odd in a way but it's all a bit inspiring in other ways.
And bird conservation on Malta and in the UK is benefitting from this lost bird and the enthusiasm of all those twitchers.
RedKite- Yes great points, but I feel you may be surprised just how inovative and advanced eco-tourism practice has become in recent years. Of course the RSPB has an element of eco-tourism in its reserves, but what Im talking about is something much more social than just a gift shop or an entry fee. Too much for one post.
I think we all find the idea of twitching a little intrusive, untill Bob's post i hadn't really made a differentiation between bird watching and twitching, but I think I now understand. I think Im a bird see'er!
All the best :)
Redkite, I totally agree. I did have an odd experience with this one. Even though I only live 30 miles away I never went to look at it (twitching doesn't grab me) until last week when on on a trip back from up north I had to pass within a few miles so I stopped off. As I drove the car into the car park someone rushed up and said 'have you seen a rare bird around here'. At that stage I could have been just shopping. I watched him for while literally running around the area. I never saw the bird and now will probably never will go looking for it again unless I have to pass through Chipping Norton again.
So much credit must go to the Akers family what a great idea to raise money for trying to stop the rotten practices in Malta. As a birdwatcher not a twitcher, so I am keen to see the waxwings when they come my way but not so interested in seeing the Dove as it is essentially a lost bird, totally out of its context and environment and probably won't survive very long.
While there are many, many well meaning twitchers there are also a lot who are not very considerate either to the bird they are twitching or to the local enviroment and the local people on whose land they maybe visiting. Also, in my experience, surprisingly few twitchers are members of the RSPB or support any other wildlife conservation organisation. Twitching, to many, is all about getting a tick in the box and beating the competition, almost exactly opposite to conscientious bird watching. So I think the RSPB is absolutely right not to get involved with twitching. However that's not to say when the circumstances are right and offer themselves to a sympathetic family such as the Akers family, the chance should not be taken to help birds and wildlife in the way they are doing. As far as ecotourism is concerned, of course the RSPB are already heavily involved with this, with all their ecotourism centers, namely their Reserves.
Im not really a twitcher, but I'm glad they are enjoying themselves! For me this post raises a point I've been considering for some time. I'm well aware and fully support the open reserve policy the RSPB has, with many of its reserves being free to visit all year round. But I wonder if there isnt a niche market in eco-tourism which the RSPB isnt fully exploring. It could provide revenue, as well as build strong public awarness and vocality towards conservation issues and habitat protection.
Well managed eco-tourism (which im very lucky to write for) is doing amazing things the world over, providing interactive biophilic experiences which create a lot of media interest and have a net positive effect on local ecosystems and communities. I know its the Royal Society for the Protection of BIRDS, but is there not a deeper ecological setting that could be celebrated in a socially inclusive way, providing income for private land owners and the RSPB, and working to bring those two groups closer together?
£5 for a dove, I'd want it to perform Shakespeare for that! :)
oxonbirding.blogspot.com/search
If you would like to see a video of this bird paste in the above link. There are other good pictures on this blog as well.