Whatbird.com

Hi everyone....

I am writing a moan of ecstasy and one of loss!

Recently I parked my car in this area between a park and a marina. I was quite unexpectedly surprised and so "wowed" because there were many waterbirds around. There was a day that when I thought of a duck it meant a mallard. I took out my binoculars and observed the easy and quite "goings-ons" of these fun and magnificent beings. I saw American Coots, Mergansers, Buffleheads, Golden Eyes, Scaups, LongTail Ducks, Redheads, Great Black Backed Gulls in all stages of their development, Ring Billed Gulls of course and more......

I even saw a white weasel a couple off days as I sipped my coffee taking in this particular landscape.

Then.....the other day I tried to sneak up in my car (imagine that), turned of the ignition and crept up to see these ducks I did not recognize. I pulled out my "legend" and was a bit perplexed. Then all of a sudden at the drop - off in front of me I saw guns raised and gunshot released. I did not expect that and was quite startled. I realized too that I was not looking at real ducks but a string of decoys. I guess it is duck season for hunters. Ok since I was annoyed at my new and exciting sanctuary being destroyed, I misbehaved a bit if you will.

When a duck flew by I beeped my horn and the hunters bobbing in their boat at the drop off turned around and looked at me. I just shrugged at them. When a whole lot of ducks flew by I started beeping my horn continuously and backed out to drive away. Those hunters looked all red-faced and were mouthing things in my direction...."sweet nothings" I guess, heh heh!

Ok I know this is part of life and those ducks will be eaten I guess but my love and appreciation of what I found in this space was so suddenly shattered.

The same thing happened a couple of months ago when I had been observing this wonderful flock of Brants that were migrating. They make such a wonderful sound and their flight patterns are so powerful. Then the hunters came and they were gone. *sad face*

Ok so this one experience I have had recently in my explorations of nature, one of many for sure and I wanted to tell the tale.

I look forward to reading the posts here......

 

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* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *

Hi, welcome to Whatbird.

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New Additions to Life List: semipalmated plover, prairie warbler, belted kingfisher, ruddy turnstone

Hi Spotted Owl.....thank you for the welcome! Owl was my totem animal at one time.

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* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *

Interesting.

 If you did that in Ohio, and many other states, you could have been cited--it's against the law to do that in some areas. They call it "hunter harassment."

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Don't cry because it's over, smile because you were there.

Well I did what I did and I am not one to play by mass consciousness rules especially with these particular hunters. Many of them have no respect for those around enjoying nature. These hunters were shooting by a park and marina where people visit all of the time.

You will also see them discharging their firearms close to lakeshore and then you hear children crying because they just were startled by the sound and saw a duck shot down that hit the water. They also point their guns towards lakeshore when shooting.

They also shoot from the lakeshore (while not in a boat). I have witnessed this myself and called the police and then they still continued to shoot from the lakeshore.

I do not like to play "me against them" and yet some people respect life and there are others who hold no value for certain life forms (" its only a ______ "....fill in blank). Even if you kill an animal or bird for food I believe it should be honored for sacrificing its life for one's fulfillment and need.

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* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *

It's a hard subject, this hunting deal.

I don't hunt myself, I don't understand it, don't care for it, can not get into my head why anyone would want to do it. Killing something other than for survival food does not translate into anything I can empathise with.

 However, my brothers, dad, grandpa, were all hunters, and most everyone at work hunts, it's just something that is natural and part of the world. Just cause I don't get it, don't mean it's evil.

 When you talk about typical hunting birds like Geese, ducks, turkeys, etc, I would never kill one and eat it, I don't like when others brag about killing them, but when it's all said and done, if they bought a hunting licence and society accepts it, then they are well within their rights to kill.

 A sister subject to this is the killing of song birds, like sparrows, because you want other types of birds to be in the yard. I don't understand that either, I couldn't whack a sparrow myself, but if you frequent the bird forums and bird sites, a very large percentance of birders not only condone it, but take part in the killing of sparrows.

 All I'm saying is just because you don't understand it, or agree with it, it don't make it wrong or evil.

 I would humbly submit that maybe honking the horn is the wrong way to go. You are just making the hunters mad, and like said above maybe breaking some local law. If you really feel strongly about it, you should donate to animal rights groups, or use a forum like this to spread your views.

 But you know, having said that, even though I am for hunters rights in theory, if I was on a lake and bird watching and some people showed up and started blowing away the birds, I'd feel worked up about it too.

Whidden....you seem quite diplomatic and yet I would still be still seem to be intensely emotional and fired up on this, hehe!  I remember that moment early in the morn. I was in RAPTURE driving up to see ducks in the marina already reaching for my bird guide. I turned off the ignition in my car, could smell my fresh brewed coffee in my travel mug. Flying ducks overhead caught my ecstatic eyes and I began to follow them. Then a few feet in front of me I see these things raise from over the ledge, suddenly hear a series of popping noises and I see a coupla ducks shot down. Ok so now it registers...guns discharging, hunters, one dead duck and one not quite dead but disabled that flies awkwardly down and falls to the water and also ducks that were really decoys. I was brought from heaven to hell in seconds. A moment of perfect beauty is destroyed and light turns to dark. Ok yes I am being a bit dramatic but that is how it felt like. And to share a bit of my dark side, I had a little fantasy that did not bode well for those hunters ( ok I know god/dess is present in everything....including people who hunt).

I just think they do not belong in some of the places that they do their hunting. They should be out and a certain number of yards away from the lakeshore imo. I use animal products and I am not vegetarian. Even vegetarians may be using animal products such as leather and such. I just am one who cannot witness suffering. When I eat my food, I give thanks to the turkey or chicken for giving up its life when I remember to do so. I just think everyting should be honored and left unharmed.

Ok sorry for the big heartbleed here and I know you didn't ask for it and yet I simply expressed ......

I didn't know that about the sparrows and now I wish I still didn't know. I remember someone saying that a pile of about 50 double crested cormorants were found at the lake. They had been killed by fishermen apparently. The fishermen think they take too much of the fish. Go figure....these birds are simply living as they are.

Well thanks for sharing all sides of the "coin". I think I am a system buster anyway and just because someone makes a law that doesn't make it right and my particular "voice" was not part of its making.

There are all different kinds on planet earth and I guess it is best to be in the company of like-minded and similar "flavors" and yet sometimes worlds collide....there is an explosion and like the phoenix from the flame something new emerges.... a new perspective, a new way to be, evolution occurs, awareness is uncovered.....

Ok, haha....being dramatic (and yet I mean it) again.....

*bird blessings to you...and all .....* birds symbolize freedom to me.... ...oh darn it, there is no bird icon!

 

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* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *

 

Aye, it's a mean old world sometimes. They just recently, within the last few years, outlawed Cock fighting in Oklahoma. Can you imagine? Folks showing up to watch chickens fight, and it's legal?

I'v never had a run in with hunters, but I have admired trees before, and seen nests in them, and then the city comes along and cuts them down because some gas line is by the tree. There goes the tree, the birds, the whole nine yards. I wanted to go into Hulk mode myself over it, so I can emphathise some.

Aion-Nara:

I just think they do not belong in some of the places that they do their hunting. They should be out and a certain number of yards away from the lakeshore imo. I use animal products and I am not vegetarian. Even vegetarians may be using animal products such as leather and such. I just am one who cannot witness suffering. When I eat my food, I give thanks to the turkey or chicken for giving up its life when I remember to do so. I just think everyting should be honored and left unharmed.

Ok sorry for the big heartbleed here and I know you didn't ask for it and yet I simply expressed ......

 

I was glad to see you post this Aion. I must admit, I hunt, so I view things a little differently than you I guess. I wish some folks like PETA members could see the need for hunting.  Not so much with ducks, but some species like the snow goose are literally eating themselves out of a home. Their summering grounds have been decimated because of unchecked population growth.

 I don't want to start a war on this forum, but just wanted to say that I appreciate your view of things, and I enjoy your posts.

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Don't cry because it's over, smile because you were there.

Whidden ........sad about your tree and birds.

Tominator....no worries, I don't see a war. Just different viewpoints on how to go about hunting the animals of the earth....different flavors. I always believe that reality is flexible anyway. Your world can be one thing....yet change your beliefs....voila, now an entirely new version. I have been trying to pick one that honors myself and all. Whoa....it has been challenging though!

Good to know that one can express varying opinions and no one wilts over it. The best thing is focus on what you like and you grow more of that and the stuff you don't like or negativity recedes out of awareness.

Ok...haha...here is video I have saved to favs on youtube, lol...I am diggin' the message.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsVz9vNd5ys

 

 

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* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *

It should be noted that much of the early conservation movement was fueled - and still is - by hunters and hunting groups.  For example, Ducks Unlimited is a very important advocate for wetlands conservation, a habitat largely overlooked and undervalued.  Theodore Roosevelt was a hunter and arguably the most influential conservationist in history, a paradox for some people.

I'm neither for nor against hunting in general.  I'm personally not interested in it; I'm happy just to observe wildlife.  However, I feel that if hunting is regulated and confined to plant-eating species of birds and mammals, it's OK by me.  I'm opposed trophy hunting, and especially against hunting of bears and mountain lions.  However, if you want to blast away at pheasants or Canada geese, be my guest.

Here's where I'll depart from other birders.  I'm all for eradicating introduced species such as starlings and house sparrows, as well as game birds like pheasants and chukars.

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LOL...I cannot help myself but I laugh at your name....Cataclysmic Beefstick. What is that about? It makes me think of Hickory Farms Beefstick or something....

Anyway I am just going to add more of my personal opinions as compared or contrasted with yours. I too am quite happy to observe wildlife. Earlier today I was down by the water just gazing at throngs of gulls and ducks all under a bright sun and I had this little " high" going on. I have more of a connection to certain species of birds or animals...even flowers etc. and yet I love them all equally simple because they exist. My human preference is immaterial as to whether something has the right to exist. Just for the very reason of their beingness here shows that they belong here. It is god/dess creation imo. Human preferences imo sometimes tend to be ego-based  preferences which simply are self-serving to personal taste and have nothing to do with the value of anything that exists on our planet.

Somehow to me it is odd to love or hate something simply because of the package or form it takes. It is all energy. The bee that stung you today could have been your perfect bird its last "lifetime" imo. I also think that ego - based preference is lower consciousness based. Imagine if I could say something exists simply because I like or prefer it and others should go because it is not to my taste. Honestly, if I were to use such an "ability",  I would even express this in what I consider more useful and creative ways. For example, I would prefer to make my ex-husband extinct rather than that scavenger bird over there. Alas that is an expression of my lower-consciousness. In my higher knowing, everything is of value, is equal and perfect I believe.

Human preferences fluctuate and vary as well. We change and evolve over time. "I used to love that, but now I do not like it anymore". Why should anything on earth be subject to a human whim.

Some preferences are seemingly inocuous. Let's say we both would like a snack.....I would like a chocolate bar and you would like some beefstick. (unless of course my chocolate has ingredients harvested with child labor and your beefstick has ingredients which are of unknown origin, animals abused in the process and contain harmful substances to your biological being.)

Everything matters and everything is affected by what we choose to do.....there is a ripple effect. I guess what I am trying to say too is that ALL matters and has purpose. I just think the level of consciousness ...lower to higher...effects our filters of perception and our actions which in turn affects everything around us. 

Just a free-associating.....

 

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* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *

My beliefs, though very, very different in other ways,  are sort of similar to some of yours.  I agree that every living thing matters, has a purpose, and deserves respect simply because it is part of creation.  We cannot destroy it or help it just because we think it's pretty,or ugly, etc.  We have to look at a bigger picture.

                              
 

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New Additions to Life List: semipalmated plover, prairie warbler, belted kingfisher, ruddy turnstone

Yes...the bigger picture.....and there is a way bigger picture I believe and human personality type stuff gets in the way.

Let me clarify too though that I am not trying to "judge" anyone over this. I just feel this sense of awareness and I am a "call it as I see it kind of woman"....or perhaps spirit. The things I feel about animals, birds and nature are automatic and nothing else triggers connection to Source Energy than my experiences in nature (unfortunately for me this does not happen as fast and readily with humans).

As I see and for eons, humans have some aspects that have brought  a harshness and de-evolution to this planet that brings about dis-connection, hate, judgement, a placing of artificial value on anything etc etc...

I just think many are clearing this now ( I have been ) so that higher consciousness and who we truly are prevails....not the "illusion" that has been created.

I am not sure if this makes any sense at the moment...I am tired right now and a bit cranky..... ah well, I shall think of the birds I saw today....and heard too.....Oh the song of the white breasted nuthatch is pure heaven to me.,,,,

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* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *

This is a very interesting thread. I have been following it from the beginning and I'm impressed with all the replies I've read. I am a hunter.... I hunt deer, waterfowl, upland game birds and small game. I kill ONLY what I will eat. I always strive for a clean kill with one shot and have passed up many "possible" shots because I want to be sure I don't wound an animal/bird that will suffer. I am a predator, and I enjoy wild game far more than any pen-raised, artificially fed, antibiotic filled, and in some cases cloned, store-bought, meat. When I make a kill I give thanks to the animal for its life that I may eat, and give thanks to the Great Spirit for providing the animal. I say a prayer that the spirit of the animal is free and unhindered. Yes, I believe that all living things are equal and have equal rights to life. If a hungry mountain lion or bear were to catch me, then I would become the prey that gives its life that the predator might live another day.

I DO NOT believe in trophy hunting. I do not believe that anyone or anything should take the life of another just so it can "brag" about its prowress. I do believe in hunting as a means of population control of certain species in certain places as needed to keep a healthy population in balance. Man has disrupted the natural balance of Mother Earth everywhere he/she has set foot and put down roots, so we have to use some means to control our upsets.

I have had people ask me how I could kill a deer, yet stop my car on a busy highway to get a turtle out of the road. Or how I could catch and eat a fish, yet save a lizard that has gotten trapped indoors and would be certain to die there if not removed and put back in its outdoor environment. I believe there is a balance of some sort here also...too complicated to put in words, perhaps.

I don't hunt where it will interfere with other peoples activities, although when I've been hunting and fishing, this courtesy has NOT been returned, many times.

I'll get off my soapbox, having said my piece. As I stated at the beginning, I have enjoyed following this thread very much and have enjoyed and respect the views and opinions of all that have posted here.

 

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We did not inherit Mother Earth from our ancestors...... we have borrowed Her from our descendants.
Chief Seattle (paraphrased)