BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mysticete" data-source="post: 1580632" data-attributes="member: 67784">John...let me get back with you...I have to talk to some friends I was going to meet up with on Saturday, and figure out what I want to do about the Friday night accomodations.Jurek:  I don't really agree with you on the bats/mice/shrews not requiring fieldcraft.  Knowing when, where, and how to place traps does indeed require a certain bit of craft, or at least as much craft as going to a migration hotspot and sorting through warblers or waders.  And you can rack up a decent trap free list, if you have the patience and skill (i.e. fieldcraft).Nor do I think they are "easy"; there are some small mammals which by far are trickier to see than any bird (for instance, tree voles), and many species are at low abundances and hard to access areas.  This summer I participated in a bioblitz, and while we caught tons of deer mice, are traps didn't yield a single other rodent or shrew, of which there were maybe 6 or so different species possible.  Big mammals are easy, but getting any species of deer is monumentally less challenging than many small rodents/etc.  Not to mention all the identification challenges small mammals present!.I will agree with you on the intrusion bit, but since I was into herping I still don't see that as an issue per se.  After all, trapping mammals and jumping after snakes are fairly equivalent, and I don't know of any herper who DOESN'T try to capture their targets.  There are also many aspects of birding that can be intrusive (stomping for rails, using calls or pishing, surrounding a rarity with 50 birders, etc), however those methods are a thread unto themselves.</blockquote>

Verification