wolfbirder
Well-known member
Personally, I was really pleased to see that 90% of votes were for the Bearded Vulture. This was reported in the latest edition of Birdwatch.
Quite a few remarks like 'plastic' were posted at the time and since, and of course people are fully entitled to their own views, and it IS understandable that BOU has to maintain the British list using set criteria on legal grounds. Irrespective of this, some people were determined to pigeon-hole or compartmentalise it as 'not worthy', but even with the knowledge belatedly that one parent was introduced 15 years previously and the other parent wild-born itself, which might be used as an argument to prevent its entry onto the British List (not trying to open that can of worms again - there are arguments for and against), birdwatchers still voted for it as 'bird of the year'.
When you consider what a good year it has been for rarities, I was pleased to see so many birders disregard those concerns, and simply see it for what it was..............a genuinely-magnificent, wild-born bird giving awe-inspiring views to thousands of delighted birders and non-birders alike.
It pleasingly demonstrates that most of us see nature for what it is, raw and in the flesh, and not driven simply by list qualification and authority categorisation.
You may not agree, I do get that, but it pleasantly and refreshingly surprised me. I thought a lot more would be somewhat negative / cynical about this bird.
Quite a few remarks like 'plastic' were posted at the time and since, and of course people are fully entitled to their own views, and it IS understandable that BOU has to maintain the British list using set criteria on legal grounds. Irrespective of this, some people were determined to pigeon-hole or compartmentalise it as 'not worthy', but even with the knowledge belatedly that one parent was introduced 15 years previously and the other parent wild-born itself, which might be used as an argument to prevent its entry onto the British List (not trying to open that can of worms again - there are arguments for and against), birdwatchers still voted for it as 'bird of the year'.
When you consider what a good year it has been for rarities, I was pleased to see so many birders disregard those concerns, and simply see it for what it was..............a genuinely-magnificent, wild-born bird giving awe-inspiring views to thousands of delighted birders and non-birders alike.
It pleasingly demonstrates that most of us see nature for what it is, raw and in the flesh, and not driven simply by list qualification and authority categorisation.
You may not agree, I do get that, but it pleasantly and refreshingly surprised me. I thought a lot more would be somewhat negative / cynical about this bird.