Chirps and Cheeps

I was shocked and saddened to learn that a local rarity, a Ross's Goose, was shot and killed by a hunter this past weekend. The goose had been attracting birders from around the Western New York area for over a month due to its rare status and its tame nature. The young goose had little fear of humans and was successfully eeking out its existence in the harsh, winter conditions at Beaver Island State Park on Grand Island, NY.

I can't imagine what went through the hunter's mind as he put the little guy into his sights and squeezed that trigger.  Was it a testosterone rush of killing a defenseless, living creature?  Was this a rare and "prized" goose for his collection?  Will he mount it and proudly display it?  Did he have some perverse pleasure in destroying something the birding community was enjoying?

I know it's legal and, in some cases, even serves some conservation purposes, but I am not a fan of hunting; I can't even fathom how hunting is called a sport. To me, a sport is something where equally matched contestants compete. Give a goose or deer a gun, teach it how to kill a human, and then release it into a field with a hunter, and NOW we've got a sport.  Otherwise, it's just a poor, unfortunate creature getting blasted by someone who enjoys killing.

I have no problem with a person using a gun to put food on their table - or the DEC euthanizing invasive or over-numbered species for conservation purposes. Either is another story.  But, for the most part, my opinion is, give a person a gun and they're going to want to kill something.  Anything.  If it were legal, more people would be shot than there already are. But I guess that's what the military is for...

I was also bothered to learn that hunters are "stalking" our Facebook page for information on birds in the area. They even are/were sharing photos of the ducks they were hunting. It has made me more aware of the dangers of posting bird locations to the public and I will be sure to be even more cautious than I already was. I'm quite sure eBird is being used for that purpose as well.  It's disheartening.

I don't think there are enough DEC resources to patrol and enforce illegal hunting as I witnessed first-hand when I saw a hunter shoot and leave to die a Bonaparte's Gull in the Dunkirk Harbor.  The hunters were in a blind on land and were supposed to be on the water.  We called the DEC but they merely came and "talked" to the guys.  It was an "accident", is what they were told and nothing was done.  A friend of mine called the DEC when a Tundra or Trumpeter Swan was shot at. Nothing was done in that instance either. A Razorbill, an alcid (web-footed diving bird normally found on the sea), was a wonderful sighting for birders - but he was shot 3 years ago on the Niagara River.  These are just a few instances that I know about; I can't imagine how many more out-and-out violations or mis-identifications occur every day.

That is my rant.  I'm sad the little goose is no longer living, giving joy to the many folks who appreciated his beauty and rarity. We'll never know if he would have been loyal to this location in subsequent years, either - a potentially interesting scientific data point.

Below are a few photos I took when visiting the goose on a couple of occasions.  In memoriam, little guy; we'll miss you...