[mou] In defense of the "Big Guys"

[Derek]

I was not going to  get involved in this drama because I don't know 
either Mike Hendrickson or Mark Alt and it is unlikely that anyone here 
knows me.  However, the recent blanket criticism of  so called "big 
guys" does disturb me and I feel that I need to offer a dissenting 
viewpoint.

I just started birding last July and joined MOU in August.  I have 
found them to be a great organization (run by volunteers) and MOU-net 
has been a great source of information for me while I continue to 
learn.  I haven't even experienced a spring migration yet.

First, while I am sure that there is a small minority of birders who 
feel elite, most of the people who post here regularly are more than 
willing to help out in any way possible.  I feel that the gulf between 
experienced birders and newcomers is a big problem and name calling is 
only going to make that worse.  I know many people are concerned about 
field trips not attracting enough attention and having to be canceled.  
This is probably partly due to many people having the impression that 
they would be out of place and unwelcome with a big group of "big 
guys".  That impression is incorrect but it does exist and MOU needs to 
find some way to address it.  The first field trip (tour) I went on was 
with two birders who have both seen over 300 species in MN.  At the 
time I had a life list of about 40 species (all common birds).  It was 
a great time and I learned a lot.

Back in January I posted some information about the Peregrine Falcons 
in St. Paul.  Not rare birds, not uncommon birds, old news - right?.  
Not to the many "big guys" who took the time to find and send me 
(unsolicited) information and links with the history of these birds and 
offers to possibly help with banding them.  I was thrilled.

Second, if someone posts a sighting of a rare bird, they need to 
remember that that sighting is likely to cause dozens of people to plan 
a trip or take time off to go see that bird.  If you are wrong, then a 
lot of people might be unhappy, lose faith in the sightings posted 
here, and be even more skeptical of sightings from people they don't 
recognize.  If you post a sighting of a rare bird you need to expect 
some skepticism and should welcome it.

Finally, I think that this whole situation has been an unfortunate 
example of speaking up too quickly.  I am assuming that Mr. Lantz was 
banned because he made a post that was found offensive by some people 
and since he was unknown to the MOU-net administrators, was rightfully 
banned.  This could've been easily cleared up with a "private" phone 
call or email.  Instead, it was made public, threats were made, and the 
dirty laundry is hanging in the wind for everyone to see.  While I have 
no doubt that Mike Hendrickson is a dedicated birder and a nice person 
who would love to share his experiences and knowledge with people, I 
feel that he made a serious error in publicly threatening to quit over 
what was a small and easily fixable problem.  It was handled by Mr. Alt 
and the MOU board as it should've been - privately, decisively, and 
correctly.


Derek Bakken
St. Paul, MN