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| Jon Dunn - Shetlands-based writer, photographer and tour guide |
FRONTLINE ornithologist Jon Dunn has reminded fellow-birders against becoming "obsessively" addicted to tick-hunting - or in believing "fervid conspiracy theories".
In a surprisingly punchy section of his regular column in online publication Rare Bird Alert Weekly, he writes: "One of these days, even the most obsessive outliers of our tribe will surely realise we cannot see every bird - nor do we have any right to do so.
"Some birds will simply be the ones that got away."
Jon's comments have come in the wake of Shetland woman Hazel Ulyat's October 16 photograph in her garden of a Great Crested Flycatcher - the first time the American species has been recorded in Britain.
Some twitchers speculated that the record had been 'suppressed' - ie kept secret - but Jon does not buy the theory of anything untoward.
He explains what happened thus: "A photo of a Great Crested Flycatcher was sent to former Fair Isle Bird Observatory warden and long-term Shetland resident birder Paul Harvey.
"Once he had recovered from the initial shock, he was able to confirm the bird had been seen on mainland Shetland and that the sighting was not a hoax.
"The breaking news also came with confirmation that the bird had been looked for, and, alas, there had been no further sign of it to be seen."
He continues: "Birders being birders, the rumour mill span into overdrive online, fruitlessly and pointlessly.
"More often than not, despite the more fervid conspiracy theories, there is nothing sinister going on behind the scenes.
"In this instance, someone found a very rare bird recently in their garden in Shetland. The first of its kind to be recorded in the Western Palearctic.
"They invited a friend to come and see it, and the rest, as they say, is history."
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| Today' edition of Rare Bird Alert Weekly |
* Jon is author of The Glitter in The Green - an authoritative and acclaimed study of hummingbirds
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