Birdwatchers' world record bid (BBC News) (1 Viewer)

Fact. We are going to burn every drop of oil that can be squeezed out of the Earth, whether that takes 10 years or a hundred. No matter how energy conscious we are, what we don't burn today will be burned by someone else tomorrow.

Then when it's all gone the oil companies will produce the alternatives which I believe already exist, along with UFO's and no Moon landings and stuff. :smoke:

Twite.

Well, from time to time conservationists from Peru and East Africa sent desperate e-mails that if more ecotourists don't come, reserves with narrow endemics will be cut for timber. I think they know best.

So, again, why not just donate the money to preserve the rainforests?

We're being told time and again that we must act now, change our behaviour, cut carbon emissions and limit worldwide travel to necessities and not luxuries, especially flights. If you book a ticket, you're adding to the demand, sinple as that. And most speices on the planet are at risk from climate change, not just a few endemics in Peru. That's the message.

If you believe that, and most of the World's climate scientists are endorsing the message, then you cannot square it with a meaningless arbitrary quest to see as many bird species as possible in a year. You simply can't. All that travel isn't necessary, they could just stay where they are with a box set of Life of Birds, remortage the house etc and give the proceeds to whatever rainforest they wish (£200k, the average house price in the UK, would probably buy quite a bit of forest in Peru or pay the salaris of a few rangers). They're going twitching, on a grand scale. Lovely for them, but the RSPB (their former employer) is a bit worried about the impact of travel on birds:

Climate change poses the greatest long-term threat to birds and other wildlife. In 2004, the transport sector accounted for 27% of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions. Transport is now the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK - with harmful emissions growing at a much faster rate than those from, for example, domestic energy use. http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/climatechange/solutions/transport/index.asp

Maybe that's why they've given up their jobs? Seeing as they'll be spending most of the year in transit, and not much it will be on bikes, I doubt the RSPB is endorsing their adventure. Or do they not know best either?

EDIT: a quick trawl of the RSPB site makes no mention of the jaunt of their recent ex-employee. You'd have thought they'd have been right there on the bandwagon, if they agreed with it. Or perhaps I've missed it?

the couple can be sponsored by following links below.

With care, funding and, most importantly, local involvement, it is possible to make a huge difference to the future of natural habitat, and the birds that live there. A great example of this is the Mindo Cloudforest Foundation (MCF). This was established in December 2001 to conserve and promote the Chocò area of Northwestern Ecuador, one of the world's most diverse, and threatened, Endemic Bird Areas ( EBAs ). To date their projects include: the Nono-Tandayapa-San Tadeo Ecoroute : El Paseo del Quinde , an eco-scenic route for nature tourism, and Bird Sanctuaries at Milpe and Rio Silanche . MCF has also been instrumental in creating Ecuador's National Strategy for Bird Tourism Development, published in July 2006. To find out more about the fantastic work that MCF has done, click on the following link to their website:

http://www.mindocloudforest.org.

As part of The Biggest Twitch, we are raising funds to support MCF, in particular their work in creating sustainable Ecoroutes within the Endemic Bird Areas. Local landowners are involved in maintaining the natural habitat within these important bird areas to create a network of protected land: a destination for eco-tourism and a haven for wildlife, and especially birds, at the same time. Habitat conservation, wildlife protection, eco-tourism and community involvement – it’s a win/win situation all round.

If you would like to be a part of The Biggest Twitch, you can make a donation to MCF on-line. The World Land Trust in the UK and US are accepting donations on our behalf which will be channeled directly to MCF in Ecuador.

If you wish to make a donation in £ sterling, please click on to www.justgiving.com/thebiggesttwitch and follow their directions to leave your details, donation and a brief message if you wish.

If you want to make a donation in US dollars, please click on to http://www.worldlandtrust-us.org/. Click on ‘Make a Donation’ and then hit the ‘Donate Now!’ button to make your donation. Please enter ‘The Biggest Twitch’ in the Designation box to make sure that your funds go straight to Mindo Cloudforest Foundation.

All donors will be acknowledged, and we will include a Roll of Honour of everyone who has made a donation to the Mindo Cloudforest Foundation on our website and in the book of The Biggest Twitch to be published in 2009.
Very many thanks in advance for all your support!

Poecile said:

And most speices on the planet are at risk from climate change, not just a few endemics in Peru. That's the message.

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The majority of the world's species (of all taxa) are in Peru and similar tropical countries. The majority of the world's restricted-range species are in exactly the areas targetted by travelling birders. These species are often those most likely to be threatened by climate change, but as has already been said, habitat will often be gone long before climate change starts to have an effect. Local education and conservation is absolutely vital. Mindo CF is doing fantastic work.

Poecile said:

All that travel isn't necessary, they could just stay where they are with a box set of Life of Birds, remortage the house etc and give the proceeds to whatever rainforest they wish (£200k, the average house price in the UK, would probably buy quite a bit of forest in Peru or pay the salaris of a few rangers).

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Necessary for what? Every single person on this forum could reduce their consumption of lots of things (not just air travel), sell their house and possessions and give the money to save habitat. Why should this couple not get enjoyment out of seeing birds? Every time any of us go birding we are adding to CO2 emissions. Is any UK birding 'necessary' in the sense you are using? Of course not. It has to be a balance between personal enjoyment and acting ethically. Their trip will burn a lot of miles, but could make a very real difference to critically-threatened habitat. Not something you could say about most flights for birding or otherwise.

some people could reduce emissions by getting of their high horses and shooting the methane producing beasts, they could then power down their PC's too.

Rob

Twite said:

This is not what birding is about http://www.tropicalbirding.com/littletwitch/INDEX.HTM (Thanks to Harold for the link.)Ticking birds heard, do people really do that? Can't figure leaving South America in the first place. Would it not be possible to equal what they achieved there?

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Not disturbing birds by ticking by heard–only birds is a noble goal, that more people should aspire (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again). I know most people (raised in a “must see to tick culture”) disagree... Many world birders apparently count rails when they are heard only, not much else. Not seeing a Scytalopus tapaculo surely did not make me spill any tears...

South America has many, many birds, but seeing all of them is very hard. So it’s better to go to areas with less abundant, yet more visible birdlife (e.g. Kenya, South Africa, Australia, North America) to boost the totals.

Tim Allwood said:

the couple can be sponsored by following links below.

With care, funding and, most importantly, local involvement, it is possible to make a huge difference to the future of natural habitat, and the birds that live there. A great example of this is the Mindo Cloudforest Foundation (MCF). This was established in December 2001 to conserve and promote the Chocò area of Northwestern Ecuador, one of the world's most diverse, and threatened, Endemic Bird Areas ( EBAs ). To date their projects include: the Nono-Tandayapa-San Tadeo Ecoroute : El Paseo del Quinde , an eco-scenic route for nature tourism, and Bird Sanctuaries at Milpe and Rio Silanche . MCF has also been instrumental in creating Ecuador's National Strategy for Bird Tourism Development, published in July 2006. To find out more about the fantastic work that MCF has done, click on the following link to their website:

http://www.mindocloudforest.org.

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Thankfully someone is trying to drag this back on topic! It is supposed about a couple doing something with their lives, not about the rights and wrongs of travelling.

I visited Mindo CFs reserves at Rio Silanche and Milpe in May and November this year, as well as the Paseo del Quinde ecoroute through the Tandayapa Valley area and they are doing great work. Ended up spending a good deal of money in the 'shop', too.

I agree, Xenospiza, the tapaculos are very difficult. I saw Ocellated Tapaculo a few times and even managed - on my last morning in the Upper Tandayapa Valley - to see Spillmann's Tapaculo, but Narino Tapaculo has to remain heard-only, but that's no problem.

Vectis Birder said:

I visited Mindo CFs reserves at Rio Silanche and Milpe in May and November this year.

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Both superb - Rio Silanche is a beautiful spot with fantastic birding and some wonderful species. Funds are desperately needed to buy up more habitat in the area as deforestation and farming is a real problem.

jnewman said:

Both superb - Rio Silanche is a beautiful spot with fantastic birding and some wonderful species. Funds are desperately needed to buy up more habitat in the area as deforestation and farming is a real problem.

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Yes. Rio Silanche was saved (well, the remaining forest was saved) just in time from complete destruction. Luckily nearly all the bird species are still there.

In western Ecuador, deforestation and habitat loss is a major problem. A lot of lowland rainforest has been lost to palm-oil and banana plantations and I saw a lot of hillsides burning. Depressing.

its a sad day when someone cant go bird watching without it being scrutinised from every angle. next year i'm going to norfolk for a week, i will be driving up and i'll probably be breathing out co2 every few seconds. the wife will be coming as well and she also will presumably be breathing. if theres anyone with nothing else better to do, perhaps you could scrutinise my bird watching trip.

I can't believe the amount of self-righteousness about 'carbon' footprints and overpopulation among other things that have appeared on this thread.

Oc course we all entitled to our own opinions, but I think to criticize Alan and his wife for using airplanes to achieve their goal of trying to raise money for conservation and raise the profile of bird conservation in the world is worth the 'carbon' footprints they will leave.

I am sure that it was discussed what kind of impct their journey would have in terms of environmetal damage and I am sure they felt that what they were trying to achieve from a conservation point of view would have far greater benefits than the minor negative impact of their 'carbon' footprints.

As others have said there are so many other reasons for pollution to address...though of course the Aviation industry does have a responsibility for the CO2 it puts into the atmosphere (and perhaps we shoud be taxed though the oil tax is oil/airport tax is already huge), it is only governments that can really act to change this situation for the better ultimately and fast, with the rest of us doing our bit to try and reduce our individual impact on the planet and encourage our governments to act before it is too late.

On the point of bringing life into this world, I think you are on dodgy ground. I think is is insulting to suggest that just because you personally don't choose to not have children that you are having a less negative impact on the world. It is a choice that you are fortunate to be able to make mainly for those that can afford it in industrialized countries, and not for those that can't. I don't believe that such comments have a place on this forum. I am perhaps especially sensitive to this for personal reasons at the momment, as my friend lost her 6-month old son and other friends and relatives are unable to ever have children.

Anyway, I hope Alan and his partner reach their target, raise a ton of money for their cause and have a bloody good time in the proceess.

They have my respect for being brave enough to make that decision, envy as I will probably never be able to make such a trip and best wishes for a safe trip.

I agree with you LostinJapan. This thread is so sad when it really should be about wishing them well in their endeavour and in my case being envious that they can do it. Lucky them is all I can say.

Why is everything so negative I suspect jealousy.

Alan all the best in your endeavours and look forward to reading the book!!

Well, sensitive as the issue may be, I believe that if people are talking about environmental concerns then the human population has to be one of the issues discussed. That's why Gill, myself and J Newman mentioned it. Of course, not everyone will agree with that, same as I don't agree with James Owen.

I don't set out to deliberately offend anyone or be insensitive, it's the way it is.

I can't be arsed to argue with anyone, and the way this thread has gone - way off topic - someone ought to come along and kill it.

Once again: GOOD LUCK to Alan and his wife and may you come back with a massive list!

Vectis Birder said:

Well, sensitive as the issue may be, I believe that if people are talking about environmental concerns then the human population has to be one of the issues discussed. That's why Gill, myself and J Newman mentioned it. Of course, not everyone will agree with that, same as I don't agree with James Owen.

I don't set out to deliberately offend anyone or be insensitive, it's the way it is.

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Me neither :smoke: Yet because I choose not to have kids makes me, in some folks' eyes, weird/sad/a child hater which I'm not. I have a 15 year old niece who I love immensely and who is crazy about nature (she should be after all the wildlife walks I dragged her on from the moment she could walk! :-O) but I never wanted a child of my own - partly because of my beliefs that there ARE too many humans on this small planet and partly because I just do not have a broody bone in my body! There's more to life than just having kids!!!

This thread is so sad when it really should be about wishing them well in their endeavour and in my case being envious that they can do it. Lucky them is all I can say.

Why is everything so negative I suspect jealousy

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I DO wish them well and wish I did have the cash to just pack everything in for a year and travel - but I'm certainly not jealous! Life is what we make it and they are doing something they've probably always wanted to and which I hope raises a lot of awareness of what is happening to this planet and it's non-human inhabitants! Good on them! :t: I'll certainly be sponsoring them.

Vectis Birder said:

Once again: GOOD LUCK to Alan and his wife and may you come back with a massive list!

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And a jolly good book too :t:

Gill Osborne said:

Me neither :smoke: Yet because I choose not to have kids makes me, in some folks' eyes, weird/sad/a child hater which I'm not. I have a 15 year old niece who I love immensely and who is crazy about nature (she should be after all the wildlife walks I dragged her on from the moment she could walk! :-O) but I never wanted a child of my own - partly because of my beliefs that there ARE too many humans on this small planet and partly because I just do not have a broody bone in my body! There's more to life than just having kids!!!

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Yes, it's exactly the same with me. Like I said in my last post I have no desire to offend or upset anyone, and I'm sorry if I have.

Sorry Gill and Vectis Birder I was just feeling a bit raw about events in my own life.

It wasn't that I felt the remarks were offensive, as I too at a younger age felt I never wanted children for similar environmental reasons and still have reservations.

I wasn't knocking the decison by those who choose not to have children for whatever reason. I was trying to say that making that kind of point can seem to some to be coming from some sort of moral highground.

Moreover I was more concerned with the direct relevance that it has to the points being made about Alan and partners trip, just as I was with other comments made on the thread about the environmental impact on the trip.

At least most of us can agree on wishing them good luck in their endeavours.

At least most of us can agree on wishing them good luck in their endeavours.

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Absolutely and a Very Happy New Year to you.

Best of luck to both Alan and Ruth on their epic trip. I'll be checking the blog regularly and hope to become very jealous and inspired by their travelling!