Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumBirdwatchers see rare white-throated needletail fly into turbine on Harris
I had the Fox News version of this story forwarded to me by my sister, who got it from my wind turbine-hating cousin.
Apart from the fact that, however awful it surely was for UK birdwatchers to witness this freak accident, the death of any single bird scarcely measures up against the many entire bird species threatened not just with random death but extinction by fossil fuel use, describing the bird in the headline as "rare" is ridiculous spin. The bird is rare in the UK:
At least the BBC piece ends with this comment from a bird conservation group:
"Careful choice of location and design of wind farms and turbines prevents, as much as possible, such occurrences happening on a large scale."
She added: "Wind energy makes a vital contribution towards mitigating the impacts of climate change, which is the biggest threat to our native birds and wildlife."
The FOX version offers no perspective, to nobody's surprise...
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)He added that on a previous bird watching trip he had seen a migratory wryneck hit by a train.
I also pointed out to my sister that if our cousin were truly concerned with birds she'd be demonstrating against letting housecats outside
progressoid
(49,996 posts)My wife hit a bird last week.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)It's this kind of ignorant shit that really pisses me off about "environmentalism". How are we to make progress when well-meaning people refuse to take the time to educated themselves on the simplest of subjects?
http://bird-species.findthedata.org/l/3448/White-throated-Needletail
caraher
(6,279 posts)This is what ticked me off about the headline - it wrongly suggests the bird killed is truly rare; it is easy for the casual reader to assume that it's endangered. The real story here is about a freak accident spoiling an equally freakish bird sighting!
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)A group of bird watchers dashed off to see a bird that was out of its element, only to watch its demise. In the context of this group of birders, this was shocking and horrible. In the context of the world at large, it was a non-event.
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)#ABArare guru John Puschock sends word of a MEGA in western Alaska.
On June 5, Jess Findlay was hiking down Attus Weston Mountain when a swift streaked past him. He was able to snap a few photographs before it flew off. While far from the best photos, they were good enough to show that it was the ABA Areas fifth White-throated Needletail (Code 5).
http://blog.aba.org/2013/06/abarare-white-throated-needletail-alaska.html
Rarities may be considered globally or locally. Needletails are rare in Britain and they're rare in the US. Nobody's trying to argue that this species is globally rare.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)One wonders why "rare" was mentioned at all. These birds that wind up in Britain are probably lost and likely doomed, even in the absence of wind mills.
If the point is NOT that the white-throated needle tail is rare, then what is the point?
Starboard Tack
(11,181 posts)Maybe Rupert had the bird brought in from OZ specially for this event.