For the Birds

Those who know me know I love birds. I have seen over four hundred bird species, nearly all during day hikes, and all but about 20 without guidance. I guess I'm more of a birdwalker than birdwatcher. To me, traditional birdwatching is kind of boring. I like to keep moving, and stop when I hear or see some bird activity. I watch other wildlife too, but birds are my favorite. I subscribe to several publications dedicated to birds and/or birdwatching.

In the current issue of "Living Bird", one of the magazines I get, Mr. Mel White, contributing editor of Living Bird magazine, a publication of Cornell University, has decided that gas doesn't cost enough. He thinks that people who chase rare birds in their cars are shouldn't be doing that and ought to stop it. He calls those of us who support a "drill here, drill now" philosophy to be "morons". To him, the fact that people will still drive to a distant site for a chance at a look at a rare bird is evidence that "gas doesn't cost enough yet". (It makes me wonder how many years Mr. White chased birds before he had his revelation, but I digress...)

Guilty! I'm a "drill here, drill now" conservative. Proud of it. We're the ones who have been proposing expanding nuclear power for thirty years, but a lot of liberal-types were backing the "no nukes" position, and now we have to burn more coal, oil and natural gas than we otherwise would have. They keep telling us even if we "drill now", we won't have any oil for ten years. They said that in 1995, when President Clinton stopped any new drilling projects at the urging of a lot of "scientists". I put that in quotes because often they sign petitions but either aren't real scientists, or more often have no expertise in the issue they support. In other words, they're often just as uninformed as any non-scientist.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'll decide for myself when, where and for what reason to drive, not you. I've had enough of being told that everything I do has some political aspect. I drive my car to look at birds, and that makes me happy. I earn the money myself, and I decide where to spend it. That doesn't affect you at all. The whole idea that a birder driving to see a bird they may never see in it's normal habitat is somehow something to be discouraged is ridiculous.

It's not all negative, though: you have managed to reduce my carbon footprint! I just won't renew my subscription to "Living Bird". After all, the magazine is printed on slick paper, transported to my mailbox in fossil-fuel eating and greenhouse-gas spewing motor vehicles, and I can get great birding articles and pictures online. Who needs another magazine? Plus, the other birding magazines, while having a bit of a "green" slant, so far haven't insulted me.

How tolerant and diverse of you, Mr. White. Way to embrace all viewpoints. You can just kick in the $40 you just cost Cornell.

(The article isn't available online yet, but when it is, I'll link it.)