Hello,
I have been reading the China threads on Birdforum for only a short while now, but already I have gleaned much that is helpful to me. Not only have the China threads provided me with information that will make my upcoming visit to Shanghai much more productive and enjoyable bird wise, they have also opened my eyes to the many serious threats facing the birdlife in China and, as well, introduced me to the people and groups working to overcome them. In addition, the China Birdforum is providing me with an ornithological education, causing me to ask important questions and then do the research to answer them. So, what is about the China Birdforum in particular that allows one to gain so much?
I believe it is due primarily to the unselfish and generous nature of the forum veterans, and I include every one of you that have paid your dues in China, no matter your age. There is something that each of you seem to share, and that is the realization that what you write in the forum becomes part of the ornithological record. You understand that a simple question may require an answer that not only satisfies the asker of the question but also adds to the knowledge of the larger group who visit here. You understand that your daily bird list becomes so much more when you add illustrative photographs and a bit of commentary regarding the circumstances of the day. You each, perhaps subconsciously for some, realize that you are creating a living record of the life histories of the birds you observe and record.
As I began to understand this, I realized that you all are not just a group of twitchers as I have seen on some other forums, but each of you are (if not already a professional ornithologist) citizen scientists, or, as Harold F. Mayfield coined in his 1979 commentary, “amateur ornithologist”. He plainly said what I believe can be said for all the forum veterans; that “the amateur brings to ornithology additional richness through diversity”. He goes on to say in the June 1991 issue of “Nebraska Bird Review” that it is the folks like you who are “the foot soldiers of ornithology.”
So, why this open letter? Well, first off, to thank you all. However, perhaps more importantly, I think it is just to remind us all, veteran or casual poster, that what we write here may have impacts far beyond the perspective of the moment, and to further remind us that the China forum is, in so many ways, a unique journal of China birding. At least, that’s the way I see it.
Bruce
I have been reading the China threads on Birdforum for only a short while now, but already I have gleaned much that is helpful to me. Not only have the China threads provided me with information that will make my upcoming visit to Shanghai much more productive and enjoyable bird wise, they have also opened my eyes to the many serious threats facing the birdlife in China and, as well, introduced me to the people and groups working to overcome them. In addition, the China Birdforum is providing me with an ornithological education, causing me to ask important questions and then do the research to answer them. So, what is about the China Birdforum in particular that allows one to gain so much?
I believe it is due primarily to the unselfish and generous nature of the forum veterans, and I include every one of you that have paid your dues in China, no matter your age. There is something that each of you seem to share, and that is the realization that what you write in the forum becomes part of the ornithological record. You understand that a simple question may require an answer that not only satisfies the asker of the question but also adds to the knowledge of the larger group who visit here. You understand that your daily bird list becomes so much more when you add illustrative photographs and a bit of commentary regarding the circumstances of the day. You each, perhaps subconsciously for some, realize that you are creating a living record of the life histories of the birds you observe and record.
As I began to understand this, I realized that you all are not just a group of twitchers as I have seen on some other forums, but each of you are (if not already a professional ornithologist) citizen scientists, or, as Harold F. Mayfield coined in his 1979 commentary, “amateur ornithologist
So, why this open letter? Well, first off, to thank you all. However, perhaps more importantly, I think it is just to remind us all, veteran or casual poster, that what we write here may have impacts far beyond the perspective of the moment, and to further remind us that the China forum is, in so many ways, a unique journal of China birding. At least, that’s the way I see it.
Bruce
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