Jasonbirder
Jason-occasional-twitcher
Ho ho ho - Di-Hydrogen - mono-oxide eh! Its well know as a bird attractant - in large enough quantities i beleive wildfowl find it irresistable!
So some say, but I've also come across birds killed by it. I once found a Redwing that had died as a result of prolonged exposure to solid DHMO, and a brood of Spotted Flycatcher chicks that died as a result of the nest becoming filled with liquid DHMOJasonbirder said:Ho ho ho - Di-Hydrogen - mono-oxide eh! Its well know as a bird attractant - in large enough quantities i beleive wildfowl find it irresistable!
Michael Frankis said:So some say, but I've also come across birds killed by it. I once found a Redwing that had died as a result of prolonged exposure to solid DHMO, and a brood of Spotted Flycatcher chicks that died as a result of the nest becoming filled with liquid DHMO
Michael
Hi Chris,Chris Mason said:Hi
Why can we not just carry out bird watching without using chemicals in concentrations that we have no full understanding of how it effects the birds and the whole environment.
Fishing boats can attract the most numerous amounts of sea birds, do they have to use chemicals.
Just a thought
Chris
Charles Harper said:Lots of advice. Edward, but I'll second Glen's comments in particular. I helped administer the Los Angeles pelagics for three years, and chummed mostly with popcorn and some occasional dippers of fish oil, once we got out into the open Pacific, cruising slowly and creating a long line of oil and gulls-- and shearwaters-- behind us.
Get a good night's sleep and eat a light breakfast.
Jasonbirder said:boiled sweets
Never been sick on one yet . . . did get a bit queezy on the one in a little boat out in the four metre high waves though . . .tom mckinney said:and I know that I will be sick on every trip. Always am, always will be. And that's the fun of pelagics ... err ... maybe not.
Charles Harper said:Further thoughts, Edward-- don't know whether these are no-brainers or not:
How many participants do you expect? Re boat size-- it should be big enough to span those waves, so you don't get beaten to death, lose your bins overboard, or start heaving before you get past the breakwater; but small enough to maneuver back onto your chum trail or take off briskly toward that little black alcid at 9 o'clock. (And stability is a big big big concern for viewing too of course.)
Which reminds me that you need to come to a pre-sail agreement as to how to indicate direction and altitude of a sighting: '12 o'clock' is dead ahead, of course, 'above' or 'below horizon', f'lying L' or 'R' should do it.
And be sure the layout of the boat allows birders to get to the bow, and preferably on top for a 360° view.
Michael Frankis said:Hi Chris,
The effects of DHMO on birds and the environment are well understood, just not well known among the general public.
I'm actually aware of numerous cases of large numbers of seabirds being killed by DHMO inhalation as a direct result of the activities of fishing boats. The same boats also commonly cause heavy mortality among fish by adverse DHMO contact problems
Michael