Absolute IGNORANT MORON (no pics)

Osprey Whisperer

Saw this on the local news and then searched for some online details. Long story short. Ignorant moron shot 2 ospreys that were nesting in his tree because they bothered him. Hope he gets the maximum punishment, which by the way is a joke. He should get a $5K per bird fine and a year in jail.

. Time for a late night road trip.

http://shedit.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070428/NEWS/704280408/-1/HELP07

Edit: Sorry....for some reason the link won't let you read the whole story without registering. Odd..as I found the full story through Google...and now when I return...it requires registration/log in. Bahstads.

Maestro

He said he wasn't trying to kill them just scare them. He could have used a horn, rattled some pans or as the article states, requested that the nest be moved. Idiot!

pathfinder

Sometimes it pays to think just a bit before you act:D

Osprey Whisperer

Yeah...and if the story doesn't all show and you have to register, and don't want to. The short on this is that he was told by the neighbors that the ospreys are protected and he shouldn't be shooting at them. He said he was shooting in their direction..but not at them. That's why he hit them in the head.. Now he's saying he didn't know. I'd say he was playing dumb..but I don't think their is any "playing" or "acting" involved. He is brain dead. Hope they throw the book at him. Just a few years back these birds were almost on the way out.

Maestro

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

Yeah...and if the story doesn't all show and you have to register, and don't want to. The short on this is that he was told by the neighbors that the ospreys are protected and he shouldn't be shooting at them. He said he was shoot in their direction..but not at them. That's why he hit them in the head.. Now he's saying he didn't know. I'd say he was playing dumb..but I don't think their is any "playing" or "acting" involved. He is brain dead. Hope they throw the book at him. Just a few years back these birds were almost on the way out.

BTW, I didn't have to register. Perhaps I had already registered a long time ago and just don't remember, but I clear my cookies and cache regularly so I would have expected it to ask me to login, but it didn't. I don't think you have to register but I could be wrong.

JohnDC

I'm glad this made the news. One of the disheartening things about taking bird pics is being in places where people harass birds. At my local bird refuge, Bolsa Chica, I've watched as people loosed their dogs to chase birds, threw rocks at the birds, and did other things to scare birds for amusement. There is a flock of black skimmers that roosts on a beach near me. The same happens there, but worse. Maybe awareness of nature should be on President Bush's learning requirements for no-child-left-behind.

Osprey Whisperer

Maestro wrote:

BTW, I didn't have to register. Perhaps I had already registered a long time ago and just don't remember, but I clear my cookies and cache regularly so I would have expected it to ask me to login, but it didn't. I don't think you have to register but I could be wrong.

I didn't have to the first time I visited the story...but after posting and checking my link...the site asked for a log-in to continue reading the story. Just was worried it would ask everyone to register..which is a PITA. Good to hear.

Still can't believe this guy. Good thing he's not in town. Would have been a terrible shame if the ospreys attacked him and took an inch off the top.

Osprey Whisperer

JohnDC wrote:

I'm glad this made the news. One of the disheartening things about taking bird pics is being in places where people harass birds. At my local bird refuge, Bolsa Chica, I've watched as people loosed their dogs to chase birds, threw rocks at the birds, and did other things to scare birds for amusement. There is a flock of black skimmers that roosts on a beach near me. The same happens there, but worse. Maybe awareness of nature should be on President Bush's learning requirements for no-child-left-behind.

At least MOST people in this area respect and enjoy the birds. I've only seen a couple people causing problems. One of them, a crab trapper mounting his traps on the post the osprey nest sat on. I kindly mentioned the situatin to him..and said the birds were protected and asked if he would voluntarily move the crab traps. He got an attitude and acted like a moron. He pissed me off enough I contacted all the bird societies in the county, the State Fish & Wildlife Commison and any other authority that would listen.

It wasn't easy..but something was finally done and the traps got removed. Did I mention I had a camera with me ..and took the guys picture, along with a wide view of his boat (him in it) hitting the pilon..and osprey flying off. Also a close up of his boat registration numbers. Turned them all over to the above mentioned groups. . That fixed him.

I should have kept my mouth shut and just removed the traps late at night. Oh well... he will learn.

JenGrace

As someone who for a living tries to educate people about the animals we share this place with, I can definitely empathize with how you all feel about people disturbing the birds in their habitat. It truly is ignorance and it can be SO frustrating to me when people utterly refuse to even try to learn a different viewpoint. They have no perspective other than their own narrow little life and cannot see the big picture, although they think they do. :pissed

I could probably go on and on, but I don't want to get too worked up.

Skywatch

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

At least MOST people in this area respect and enjoy the birds. I've only seen a couple people causing problems. One of them, a crab trapper mounting his traps on the post the osprey nest sat on. I kindly mentioned the situatin to him..and said the birds were protected and asked if he would voluntarily move the crab traps. He got an attitude and acted like a moron. He pissed me off enough I contacted all the bird societies in the county, the State Fish & Wildlife Commison and any other authority that would listen.

It wasn't easy..but something was finally done and the traps got removed. Did I mention I had a camera with me ..and took the guys picture, along with a wide view of his boat (him in it) hitting the pilon..and osprey flying off. Also a close up of his boat registration numbers. Turned them all over to the above mentioned groups. . That fixed him.

I should have kept my mouth shut and just removed the traps late at night. Oh well... he will learn.

, go move Mike!

JohnDC

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

At least MOST people in this area respect and enjoy the birds. I've only seen a couple people causing problems. One of them, a crab trapper mounting his traps on the post the osprey nest sat on. I kindly mentioned the situatin to him..and said the birds were protected and asked if he would voluntarily move the crab traps. He got an attitude and acted like a moron. He pissed me off enough I contacted all the bird societies in the county, the State Fish & Wildlife Commison and any other authority that would listen.

It wasn't easy..but something was finally done and the traps got removed. Did I mention I had a camera with me ..and took the guys picture, along with a wide view of his boat (him in it) hitting the pilon..and osprey flying off. Also a close up of his boat registration numbers. Turned them all over to the above mentioned groups. . That fixed him.

I should have kept my mouth shut and just removed the traps late at night. Oh well... he will learn.

The camera is pretty powerful against scofflaws. I have started taking pics of people walking their dogs past the "no dogs" sign in the Bolsa Chica refuge and then letting their dogs run after the birds--even in nesting season. They know they're breaking the law, and when they see me taking photos they make a quick U-turn and walk along the trail with their head facing away from me, no matter how awkward it is walk in one direction and face another.