A new perspective on collecting
One of the nicest things about my job is meeting lots of different people and having the time to chat to them about their countryside experiences.
Last week, at the last meet the birds morning for Seaton Marshes Local Nature Reserve until Autumn, I was chatting to a local birder who grew up in the town. He was reminiscing about how different the valley is now, to how it was then. Specifically about how easy it used to be to find birds nests when he was a boy.
These days, mention birds nests and a room of conservationists goes icy cold. Nests equal eggs, and eggs equal nutters.
The fact was that this chap was telling me about the, then, legitimate way in which his love of birds manifested itself. He was interested in birds and wildlife and so he collected specimens, some of which were eggs. What was sad was not that he used to partake in what is now a highly illegal act, but that the same valley he has grown up in over these last 60 years no longer holds the diversity of bird life it once did.
Attitudes change and instead of an eggers box round this particular chap’s neck, there rests a pair of rather swanky binoculars, and he is as passionate about his local birds as ever. But there are still a few obsessive collectors, who ignore the law in their pursuit of collections they can never sell, trade or even display at home for fear of imprisonment.
Recently a painter and decorator from Cleethorpes was imprisoned for 23 weeks for having one of the largest collections of wild bird’s eggs ever discovered in the UK, over 7,000 eggs. He represents the pinnacle, or should that be trough, of what is a destructive and selfish obsession, worryingly confined to men. An obsession with less to do with the subject matter, and all to do with the act of collecting.
His collection contained some of the rarest birds in the Country and it is a positive step for our natural heritage that these people are now dealt with in the strongest terms possible – a prison sentence.
Historically, I would suggest ignorance was a valid defence, but now we understand the detrimental impact of disturbing birds’ nests, it is now in every way an unforgivable thing to do. Which is why the new generation of wildlife enthusiasts have to find other outlets for their passion.
When I was a boy, I was forever collecting things from my countryside forays. Badger skulls, sloughed snake skins, an entire fox carcass; my mother was forever banning a new exhibit from the house! And to a certain extent I still find myself doing this. In front of me now on my workstation, I am looking at a pine cone eaten by a red squirrel, a few hazelnuts nibbled by dormice and a mummified pogge (a type of fish).
The other modern way to collect, which was not available so easily 60 years ago, is with a camera, and it is this which has greatest potential to influence new natural history practices. There is an interesting adage when visiting the countryside to “leave only footprints, take only pictures” a motto which is supported whole-heartedly by the East Devon Junior Rangers!
On Monday morning we explored Fire Beacon Hill Local Nature Reserve, on a ramble for reptiles. A combination of fantastic weather and the beginning of the school holidays meant that the event attracted a great deal of attention, and the landlord of the Bowd Inn, near Sidmouth was a little nervous at the sight of his car park filling up with cars at 9 in the morning!
He wasn’t half as flustered as I was by the sight of them all! Off we set, myself and 63 Junior Rangers with parents, grandparents and family friends in tow. I was immediately thankful that the weather was bright but cold, as this held the only potential chance of all of us getting a look at a reptile this morning.
Sure enough as we explored the site together a few common lizards and slow worms were sluggishly warming themselves beneath squares of roofing felt and I was able to safely pick them up and let all 126 eyes scrutinise closely.
What took me a little by surprise, was when about 40 camera phones were shoved through the crowd and pictures were taken at all angles! Most of the groups visiting had either a digital camera, or a phone camera and these were used with gusto by the kids to snap away and record this important moment, when they came nose to snout with a slow worm.
With the expansion of networking sites, such as Myspace or Facebook, these interesting wildlife finds will soon be shared with friends through the District, across the Country and through the world, as word spreads of the fantastic wildlife encounters the children of East Devon make every day – well, its all how you present these things isn’t it?