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RE: Count precautions



Having one foot in both camps, so to speak, must mean that part of me is
unwashed, disreputable-looking.  I do try to carry my field glasses in the
hand that is not heavily armed.  I surmise that upland bird hunters are a
more civilized lot?  Sorry, but the gross generalization would lead us to
believe that everyone attending a CBC has blue hair, drives extremely slow
and wears thick glasses, drinks coffee and wine.  Hunters, birders, hikers,
mountain bikers, lets drop the use of time honored generalizations and start
moving towards each other.  There are quite a few that do participate in a
number of outdoor activities, who do not fit the classical molds!

Mike Eagan  

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	James Coman [SMTP:hillshepherd@skybest.com]
> Sent:	Thursday, December 06, 2001 5:29 PM
> To:	carolinabirds@duke.edu
> Subject:	FW: Count precautions
> 
> Dear Carolinabirders:
> 
> I must comment on this posting, and the stronger warning that Audubon sent
> to all CBC compilers. While I recognize that some areas with "high value"
> installations may need to forewarn the police, are we not carrying this a
> bit far? 
> 
> We birders will be out on the CBCs carrying field glasses and books. In
> all
> of rural North and South Carolina the woods and marshes have been
> literally
> FULL of heavily armed, bearded, unwashed, disreputable-looking characters
> dressed in full camouflage since late October, with no newspaper, radio,
> or
> TV reports reaching me that any hunters were being rounded up as suspected
> saboteurs or terrorists. I wonder if anyone sent a similar warning to the
> deer and duck-hunting communities?
> 
> Are we birders viewed as being that much more threatening or suspicious?
> 
> If I grow a beard, wear camo, don't bathe, drive a rusty truck with no
> muffler and with a bed full of Bud and Johnnie Walker empties, and carry a
> semi-auto while birding, am I immediately viewed with less suspicion by
> the
> public and cops? This is a disturbing thought.
> 
> James Coman
> Compiler, New River CBC, and for some unfathomable reason, known to
> Audubon
> as the "Hoary Dipper"
> 
>   
> ----------
> From: Carol Williamson <carolw@sandler-recht.com>
> Organization: Sandler & Recht Communications
> Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2001 11:21:39 -0500
> To: carolinabirdsacpubdukeedu <carolinabirds@acpub.duke.edu>
> Subject: Count precautions
> 
> Hello everyone,
> The Nat'l Audubon Society has recommended that we count leaders notify
> our local police departments about our upcoming counts. When I called
> Durham Police, Durham Sheriff, and Chatham County Sheriff offices about
> the Jordan Lake count, it was recommended that people carry some i.d.
> with them just in case some homeowner or car driver gets alarmed at the
> sight of folks walking around with binos and scopes and calls the
> police. I told them that all groups would have printed material related
> to the count (eg, the checklist), but you may want to carry your drivers
> licence as well, just in case you have to prove the Audubon connection
> as opposed to the Taliban connection!
> Best,
> Carol
>