Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Another Chapter Closed - Final Thoughts

Good morning, all. When I opened the looncam, this morning, I noticed a beautiful still image of the pond grasses, appearing white against the black background. How stunning! Unfortunately, that's also an indication that the computer on site has locked up, again. For me, this is a clear sign that it's time to conclude another season of watching this loon pair.

We really appreciate all the gratitude we receive via your blogs, and for the recognition of the time and money it takes to provide this free opportunity for the public to get live viewing of what BRI wildlife research is all about. We're dedicated to keep it going, and to expanding the wildlife video program in the immediate future. Keep checking our website in the coming months for news of new wildlife cams we plan to launch.

I'd like to put to rest any notion that the looncam install video had ANY influence on the folks that went onto the island and disturbed our equipment. I can guarantee that this is not the case. We are looking into this on a local level. We believe the party was a group renting one of the camps on the pond, and obviously, they didn't respect private property.

Just as you all get to share in the highs and lows of wildlife activity in it's pure, natural state, you also get to witness the challenges of human disturbance issues in unedited ugliness. As unpleasant as this is, it is an opportunity to teach about respecting the world around us, and an opportunity to re-invigorate our faith in the underlying goodness of human beings. We will never eliminate these issues, but we can reduce there frequency, and there overall impact.

Thanks for hanging with us and the loons in what turned out to be another disappointing season. This is "our" reality as wildlife researchers. We believe there is underlying value in experiencing it exactly as we do. For those that want to learn about wildlife conservation, this is the ultimate "classroom". I hope to see an overbooked class again, next year!

Lee

P.S. Although we've ended the video for this season, check back on the blog before the end of the summer. I'm burning some brain cells, hoping to come up with a plan to blog some about loons over the winter.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Taking A Break

Hello, all. Just wanted to let everyone know that I'll be away from a computer and access to posting blogs, tomorrow through Monday. I'll update the blog next on Monday morning.

Best wishes to everyone for a great 4th of July!

Lee