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| Ten Commandments of Birding |
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| 1. |
Thou shall have no other interest before birding. If thou does, thou shall not discuss it with other birders. |
| 2. |
Thou shall not take unto thee any graven image of the birds that are in heaven above without giving photo credit to the photographer. Thou shall not capture and cage the wild birds, nor shall thou visit birds in zoos (unless the birds are endangered and part of a breeding release program), nor shall thou respect and cherish any introduced species. |
| 3. |
Thou
shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: not
when thou just missed seeing that rare bird, nor when
the potential life bird doth not sit still for an identification,
nor when thou droppeth thy binoculars in the middle of
the lake. |
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| 4. |
Remember
all thy birding days, and keep them special. Six days
shall thou labor and do all thy work: but the seventh
day is to renew thy spirit with the avian flock. Work
is the curse of the birding classes. |
| 5. |
Honor
those who introduced thee to birding and taught thee about
birds that thy days may be long upon the land which the
Lord thy God giveth thee. If thou should dishonor those
experts, thy days may be short. Honor those who own the
private property where birds congregate that they may
allow thee to come back the next time. |
| 6. |
Thou
shall not kill any bird (nor any bird hunters - no matter
how strong the provocation). Thou shall labor to protect
and keep them for all the days of thy life (well, maybe
not the hunters...). |
| 7. |
Thou
shall not take any thing that belongs to another birder
without asking: not his place in the hide, nor his field
guide, nor his birding partner, nor his lunch. |
| 8. |
Thou
shall not steal a bird’s eggs or, more importantly,
a bird’s habitat if thou wish to see the bird long
on this earth. |
| 9. |
Thou
shall not bear false witness about birds thou hast identified
or heard, nor shall thou exaggerate or brag about birds
thou hast seen. Thy word is thy bond, especially on Birding
Big Days. |
| 10. |
Thou
shall not covet thy neighbor’s life list, but must
create thine own. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s
birding scope, nor his identification skills, nor his
bird photography ability, nor his ability to travel to
see more birds than thou, nor any other thing that is
thy birder neighbor’s. |
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| Remember
these commandments, and keep them holy, in the name of the father
(John James Audubon), and the son (Roger Tory Peterson) and
the holy ghost (Charles Sibley). |
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