Dear Nature Lovers !
Few months back, a weblog on 'Biodiversity of Gujarat' was
launched with an intention of sharing information on hand.
Keeping in mind, the very need of the nature lovers around the
State as well as Country, recently the same "Blog" has been
furnished with lot of information such as:
==========================================
GUJARAT:
Gujarat Forest
Gujarat Wetlands
Gujarat Avifauna
Gujarat Wildlife
Gujarat Organisations
INDIA:
India Organisations
India Bibliography
INTERNATIONAL:
International Organisations
International Bibliography
OTHERS:
E-Groups
Links
E-Library
Blog Archives
& MANY MORE ARE STILL TO COME.....!
A link of the weblog is as follows:
http://www.gujarat-biodiversity.blogspot.com
Hope it would be much informative with 'Handful Information' on
'Biodiversity, Bibliography & Leading Insinuations' for all.
Fruitful suggestions from all of you are welcome for the
betterment of the same.
Warm & Best Regards - HIREN SONI
================================
HIREN SONI
(Biodiversity Specialist-Ornithology & Wildlife Biology)
Lecturer in Animal Science (Zoology)
29 - Yogiswami Society
Bhalej Road, Anand-388001
Gujarat (India)
E-mail: hirensoni@... / hinazeni@...
Tel: 02692-251217 (R), 9426023901 (M)
URL: http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/resumes/hirensoni/cv
Blog: http://gujarat-biodiversity.blogspot.com
Moderator: Gujarat_Birds
[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gujarat_Birds]
"Solutions to Problems depend upon Knowledge which only Research can provide -
H. Kalmbach"
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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First announcement:
12th Pan-African Ornithological Congress
South Africa, 7-12 September 2008
Information relating to the venue and the construction of the scientific
programme is now available at http://www.paoc12.org <http://www.paoc12.org>
Registration will be open in due course. Further announcements and web
updates will be made shortly.
Please distribute to any interested and appropriate groups.
Kind regards
Doug Harebottle
Chair: PAOC12 Scientific Programme Committtee (info@...
<mailto:info%40paoc12.org>)
Member: Interim Local Organising Committee
Hello,
This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the Ethnoornithology
group.
File : /Augural powerful and dangerous birds Krech 2007.doc
Uploaded by : robert_gosford <robertgosford@...>
Description : Paper presented by Shepard Krech III at the 30th SoE meeting at
the University of California, Berkeley in March 2007. I wish to revisit the
connections between birds in nature and birds in culture. As social
anthropologists, we are alert to cultural difference and expect that when it
comes to things like birds no two peoples will see exactly alike and no two
cultures will encode identical meanings. As anticipated--but roundly
debated--cultural differences loom in all classificatory levels.
You can access this file at the URL:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ethnoornithology/files/Augural%20powerful%20and\
%20dangerous%20birds%20Krech%202007.doc
To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files
Regards,
robert_gosford <robertgosford@...>
Dear all,
This is a very early Call for Papers/Expressions of Interest for
participation in a proposed Ethnoornithology session at the 12th Pan
African Ornithological Congress to be held near Cape Town in South
Africa from 7 to 12 September 2008. The conference theme is "Birds and
Man" - which should offer ERSG members lots of scope for discussion
and consideration.
I have received a preliminary invitation for the ERSG and its members
to be involved in the proposed session and have very limited
information at present. The congress website (http://www.paoc12.org)
has very limited (no) information at present though more is expected soon.
As in all of these things it is best to be prepared as early as
possible so I'd appreciate your ideas or expression of interest in
your participation in this session as soon as possible. I'd also
propose that a member or members from the African continent take on
the organisation of the session - this strikes me as a better
arrangement that me trying to organise it from Australia.
I trust that this will be of interest to members and I look forward to
hearing further from you. Sounds like a great idea and I for one am
looking forward to my first trip to the African continent!
Robert Gosford
ERSG founder and moderator
Dear all,
Please find below an outline of the symposium organised by Leonardo
Cabrera and Mark Bonta at the VIIIth Beotropical Ornithological
Congress being held at Maturin, Venezuela next month.
The papers sound very interesting and I hope that we will be able to
post further information (abstracts, papers etc) to the site as they
come to hand. Good luck and I trust it will be a successful symposium!
Cheers,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
VIIIth Neotropical Ornithological Congress
Maturín, Venezuela, from May 13 – 19, 2007
Scientific Program/ Programa Científico
Saturday 19 May – morning session
SYMPOSIUM 19 / SIMPOSIO 19
Gran Salón B
Exploring Bird Conservation by Indigenous People: Insights for
Bio-Cultural Conservation. Conveners: Leonardo Cabrera and Mark Bonta
FOREST MANAGEMENT FOR BIRD CONSERVATION IN AGUARUNA-JIVARO COMMUNITIES
IN THE CORDILEERA DE COLÁN, NORTHERN PERÚ. Dauphine, Nico; Tsamajain
Yagkuag, Agustín; Cooper, Robert J.
BIRDS AND TRADITIONAL COFFEE PLANTATIONS: ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT BY
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN THE NORTH MOUNTAIN RANGE OF PUEBLA, MEXICO.
Leyequien, Euridice; Toledo, Víctor M.; López de Aquino, Samuel
ASHANINKAS, MACHIGUENGAS Y HUACHIPAIRES: EL PENSAMIENTO DE LAS
COMUNIDADES AMAZÓNICAS DEL SUR ESTE PERUANO. Quispe Estrada, Berioska
EXPLORING COMMUNITY-BASED BIRD CONSERVATION OPTIONS: A PARTICIPATORY
EXPERIENCE TO CONSERVE THE SIERRA MADRE SPARROW IN CENTRAL MEXICO.
Cabrera-García, Leonardo; Meredith, Thomas; Seutin, Gilles
VALORIZANDO LAS RELACIONES ENTRE LA GENTE Y LAS AVES: EXPERIENCIAS Y
LECCIONES DE HONDURAS. Bonta, Mark
Dear all,
Please find listed below the abstracts of papers and posters presented
at the recent Etnoornithology Symposium, entitled "Birds in culture
and context – Ethnoornithology in application and theory", during the
30th Society of Ethnobiology conference at the University of
California, Berkeley from 28 to 31st March 2007.
It was a great day, with a quantity and quality of papers that
reflects the complexity and diversity of ethnoornithological research
being undertaken across the globe at present. I believe that the
symposium participants reflect the global interest in ethnoornithology
as an emerging sub-discipline of ethnobiology and will go a long way
towards stimulating interest in the work of the ERSG and in
encouraging young and emergent scholars and researchers to present
their work at future SoE conferences. (next years will be in Arkansas).
For future reference or to find out more of the work of the Society of
Ethnobiology please see the society website at: http://ethnobiology.org/
I had a great time at the conference and heard some wonderful
presentations and caught up with some old (and not so old) friends and
made a bunch of new acquaintances and contacts. Following the
conference my partner and I(she went to Seattle to do some work while
the conference was on) went to New Mexico and Arizona to see what life
(and the birds) in another desert looks like.
Highlights of the trip? - the conference boat trip to the Farallon
Islands 25 miles offshore from San Francisco, seeing a family of
Harris Hawks (and other raptors) being free flown at the
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum at Tucson, AZ and, of course, a couple of
early morning visits to the wetland habitats at Bosque del Apache on
the Rio Grande outside of Socorro in New Mexico.
Anyway - here are the abstracts - enjoy.
Robert Gosford,
ERSG moderator
Birds in culture and context – Ethnoornithology in application and theory
Chair: Robert Gosford
(1) Introductory comments to the symposium: Eugene Anderson
(2) Mercy Muiruri and Patrick Maundu: Conservation concerns in the use
of birds in cultural ceremonies among the Maasai of east Africa.
The Maasai are a pastoral community in southern Kenya and northern
Tanzania. They still uphold their traditional lifestyle characterized
by ceremonies. The circumcision ceremony, emurata, is preceded by
killing of birds for headgear. Each initiate has to kill approximately
sixty birds of mixed species and keep on replacing spoilt bird skins.
Research was carried out to find the significance of birds in Maasai
ceremonies and conservation status. Birds such as Schalow's Turacos,
Grey Helmet Shrike have been affected perhaps due to hunting, but hard
data on actual causes is lacking. The Maasai do not usually kill birds
for other reasons.
(3) Alejandro Hernández-Jaramillo: So live the birds of Belén de
Docampadó, Bajo Baudó, Chocó- poster
Belén de Docampadó belongs to the municipality of the Bajo Baudó, the
Afrocolombian communities are the owners of these territories,
habitants identified 92 species of the 124 species registered in the
area, 75 represent particular ethnographic aspects, of them 65% was
associated to nutritional uses, 28% to recreation activities, 9% to
activities of "witchcraft" and 8% were associated to origin myths. The
percentage of species with probability of risk of local extinction
corresponds to 15%; that combined to the impact to the timber
extraction demonstrates the necessity to implement alternative
economic viable for the conservation birds and local traditional
knowledge.
(4) Shepard Krech III: Augural, powerful, and dangerous birds among
Indians in the American south.
This paper addresses the salience of various birds in the traditional
native cultures of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Catawba, and
other indigenous people in the American south. The analysis draws on a
book in process, Spirits of the Air, and focuses especially on whether
or not it is possible to arrive at satisfactory conclusions about the
cultural meaning of birds or human-bird relationships among people for
whom, both native people and anthropologists admit, much cultural
information has been lost and might remain forever partial and opaque
due to the ravages of time, language loss, and relocation. Among
birds, the focus is on those that rise to the level not simply of
being noted (by native people) but that figure in important and
interesting, although sometimes inscrutable and indefinite, ways in
the lives of native people.
(5) Robert Gosford: The stormbird cult in the Central Northern
Territory: A migratory cuckoo, aboriginal languages and cultural practice.
The Stormbird (Kurrakurraja, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Scythrops
novaehollandiae) is the largest member of the Cuculidae and is a
significant species in the cultural and ceremonial practices of
several Aboriginal language groups in the north and central areas of
the Northern Territory of Australia. In this paper I will examine
aspects of the cultural relations between Aboriginal peoples and
Kurrakurraja. I will examine naming similarities throughout
Kurrakurraja's migratory range and the particular cultural
significance of Kurrakurraja for one language group in the central
Northern Territory and its role in continental-scale ceremonies across
Australia's Top End.
(6) CANCELED Berioska Quispe Estrada: Ashaninkas, Machiguengas and
Huachipaeris: Environmental relationships of Amazonian communities of
southeastern Peru.
This study illustrates the importance of the traditional knowledge of
three Amazonian communities of the Southeastern Peru, its recovery and
conservation, analyzing the connection between the Amazonian tradition
and the diversity of birds. Taking of data included the coexistence
with the communities and the implementation of surveys. As a main
result it was found that in spite of the cultural and geographical
differences among these groups, it exists in general the same
conception of the ecosystem and mainly of the birds. It discusses in
this study that they have been conserved through the time starting
from this knowledge traditional many species of birds. This supports
the theory that the conservation of the biodiversity of birds is
benefited by the active presence of indigenous communities in areas of
high ecological relevance.
(7) Eugene Hunn: A Zapotec ethnoornithological sketch from San Juan
Gbee, Oaxaca, Mexico.
I recorded an inventory of 69 folk generic bird taxa and a total of
103 terminal taxa for birds in San Juan Gbee, a Zapotec municipio in
the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca. I also recorded 190 species of birds in and
near that community during several years of intermittent field work
1996-2003. I will briefly compare this ethnoornithological vocabulary
and its associated beliefs and practices with comparable systems
elsewhere. As seem often the case, small, migratory birds are
relatively poorly differentiated as are larger species that are of
seasonal or sporadic occurrence. Onomatopoeia is common in naming
birds, and certain imitative names are quite creative. Nocturnal birds
are widely feared as ill omens, as are certain wrens that nest in
abandoned structures. Turkeys and chickens are common domesticates.
Curiously, the chicken, a post-colonial introduction, is highly
differentiated by breed, while the turkey, an indigenous domesticate,
is not. A few wild gallinaceous birds are hunted. The sphinx moth is
considered by some to be a "night hummingbird," though others consider
that name metaphorical.
(8) Cecil Brown: Raven=Heron in Mayan Language prehistory: An
ethno-ornithological/linguistic puzzle.
Two very different kinds of bird, ravens and herons, are
nomenclaturally linked in the prehistory of Mayan languages of
Mesoamerica. Reflexes of Proto-Mayan *jooj found in daughter languages
spoken in highland areas denote ravens, and reflexes in daughter
languages of lowland areas designate herons. In the Mayan-language
region, the Common Raven is found in the highlands but not in the
lowlands, and a species of heron that among all regional herons shows
the most (superficial) resemblance to the Common Raven, i.e., the
Boat-billed Heron, is found in the lowlands but not in the highlands.
When ancient speakers of Mayan languages moved from the lowlands to
the highlands or conversely (direction is not definitively known),
reflexes of *jooj respectively shifted in reference from the
Boat-billed Heron to the Common Raven or vice versa. This
nomenclatural switch was based solely on the superficial similarity of
these two extremely different kinds of bird that have nothing in
common phylogenetically other than their birdness.
(9) Nicole Sault: Nicole Sault: Bird Messengers for All Seasons:
Landscapes of Knowledge Among the BriBri of Costa Rica
The rather plain, clay-colored robin is spoken of with affection by
Costa Ricans, not simply for its lovely song, but because it "calls
the rains" at the end of the dry season. Many birds are important for
the messages they send out: predicting the weather or warning about
venemous snakes. However, birds do not simply inhabit the landscape-
they are beings with knowledge that can benefit people in everyday
life, as well as in critical times of change or disaster. People
recognize that this requires paying attention, knowing how to
interpret the messages, and protecting bird populations.
(10) Gregory Forth: Symbolic birds and ironic bats.
Ethnobiologists have long recognized a distinction between `general
purpose' ethnotaxonomies and more specialized ways of classifying
plants and animals. Among the latter is `symbolic classification' (a
term here employed somewhat differently from uses in social-cultural
anthropology). In this paper I apply the distinction of ethnotaxonomy
and symbolic classification in order to consider the conceptual
position of bats, considered as a type of `bird', in the folk
ornithology of an eastern Indonesian society. In a way contrary to the
predictions of Douglas and other anthropologists, chiropertans are
shown to be peripheral to both forms of classification, in a way that
contrasts especially with values attached to both nocturnal and
diurnal birds of prey.
END abstracts
Dear all,
I'm in the USA so my email access is intermittent. Today I noticed
another spam email offering members access to a video of doubtful
relevance to the groups purposes and aims.
I've removed the message from the ERSG messages list and unsubscribed
the author.
Cheers and I'll have a lot to report from the 30th Society of
Ethnobiology conference at San Francisco and the Ethnoornithology
Symposium held in conjunction with the conference when I get back to
Australia early next week.
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
Hello,
This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the Ethnoornithology
group.
File : /HealeyReviewForthNageBirds.pdf
Uploaded by : robert_gosford <robertgosford@...>
Description : Nage Birds - a review of Greg Forth's 2004 book published by
Routledge. The review was published in the Journal of Ethnobiology and
publication on the ERSG site has been kindly allowed by the Journal of
Ethnobioloy editors.
You can access this file at the URL:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ethnoornithology/files/HealeyReviewForthNageBir\
ds.pdf
To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files
Regards,
robert_gosford <robertgosford@...>
Dear all,
Chris, and the editors of the Journal of Ethnobiology, have kindly
agreed o make a copy of Chris's review of Greg Forth's book "Nage
Birds" published in 2004 by Routledge.
I am currently reading Greg's book and agree with Chris's view that it
represents a long-overdue approach to ethnoornithology, that is, a
monograph that focuses on the knowledge of a specific group for its
own value and not as a comparative analysis of how that knowledge
'matches'- or does not - contemporary scientific thought.
I've posted the review on the ERSG net - see under "Files".
I'll have a report and some abstracts from the recent Society of
Ethnobiology conference posted in the next few days.
Cheers and best,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
Hi All
Has anyone from the ethnoornithology group ever did any research or read
anything about birds in heraldry or birds in proverbs and sayings?
I am doing some research about these two topics related to Malta and would
be grateful for any foreign references about these subjects. I have a few
references from Italy regarding proverbs and most of the heraldry we have
is imported through the Knights of St John who had seven languages, so
it’s pretty diverse.
I am also looking at birds in coats of arms of surnames. Although the
strict rules of heraldry did not apply here, there are some really
interesting depictions of birds of all shapes, colour and sizes in these arms.
Thanks in advance
Dr Natalino Fenech
Journalist
tel: (00356) 7943 8024
-----
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If
you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. Please note
that any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the
author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Finally, the
recipient should check this e-mail and any attachments for the presence of
viruses. The company accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus
transmitted by this e-mail.
Allied Newspapers Limited
Strickland House, 341 St Paul Street, Valletta VLT1211, Malta
Tel: (+356) 25594100
http://www.timesofmalta.com
In writing an article on William Bartram, Quaker naturalist, ethnologist, and ethnographer of Pennsylvania, his home colony, and the southeast, in the 1700's, in one book shows his drawing of "an unidentified bird perched on a nut plant called the "Physic-nut"or Indian Olive. It is now in the British Museum of Natural History. It may be a picture of his fantasy, but what if it was a real species one day? The drawing has detail. This is beyond my expertise. The book, cited below, can be obtained at the site www.bartramtrail.org. If I read this book correctly, Bartram, the Grandfather of American Ornithology, was ahead of his time, studying Creek, Cherokee, Muscogulge, Savana, and Choctaw Nations, etc., seeing the town planning of the Cherokees and perhaps first hypothesizing that the earthen mounds in the area were due to these First American's predecessors, before 20th century archeology. In his "Travels" he has a taxonomy
of avifauna, mostly based on Linnaeus and Catesby, and some original migration notes. He tutored Wilson, who found the Upland Sandpiper at Bartram's Gardens, owned by John, his father and Royal Society botanist of the colonies (the Bartrams, though pacifists, detested George III), and called it "Bartram's Sandpiper". Does anyone know if this was a real bird?
Grant Stevenson Bethlehem, PA buteogs_surnia@...
Waselcov & Braund, Eds. 1995. William Bartram and the southeastern Indians. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.
Hi all
I am a lone ranger in the central Mediterranean! I follow closely e-mails
from the ethnoornithology group Robert has set up and I feel there is a
big gap as I hardly see any interest from “our” side of the planet!
I am a full time journalist working for a daily paper in Malta, but I am a
geographer by profession (I obtained my PhD from Durham, UK) and my field
of study was “Bird hunting and trapping Maltese Islands – some
socio-economic, cultural, political, demographic and environmental
aspects”. I have been involved in research about birds, bird related
folklore, etc since the late 1970s. But I feel this topic never had and
still does not have the importance it deserves.
I am all for science, but it seems these days DNA profiling and
identification of species under the microscope is given more importance
than man-bird relations, what birds meant to man etc etc.
I find that birds watchers, as well as hunters in Europe, often care very
little about bird lore, even though, in my view, it’s an essential
component of the topic. I strongly believe that for conservation work to
be meaningful and effective it needs to go to the roots first to be able
to find causes and solutions.
I can cite a classical example from Malta. Trapping of turtledoves existed
since time immemorial. We know for sure it was practised since the 17th
century as there are regulations permitting it. But it was evidently
practised much earlier. People trapped doves because trapping was cheaper
and more efficient than guns, which were not that widespread either. As
fridges were not available, trapping enabled people to keep birds alive
and kill them to eat when they were needed. This was still very much the
norm until the 1950s. Even though guns were very common by that time.
People shot birds, but more were trapped. Shooting was restricted to what
people could consume (or to sell to buy more powder and shot). I have
recently managed to obtain bag records of a very wealthy man for a 24-year
period starting in 1915. In 1932, for instance in 1932, between April 10
and May 19, the principal spring migration period, this man shot 27 turtle
doves from his estate, but 141 doves were caught from two snaring sites on
the same estate.
Hunting has now changed from a food procurement activity, through which
hunters had fun too, to a sporting activity. Doves are still eaten, but no
one hunts to eat these days. Turtle dove hunting and trapping in spring is
about to be banned because of EU laws. This is bringing a lot of
controversies as hunters argue the spring season is their main season,
which is true, but the EU is arguing birds should not be shot on their way
to breed and they can be shot in autumn, where they pass in September,
which is also true. Actually, many more birds pass in spring than in
autumn and an analysis of bag records shows that some 72 per cent of doves
taken were shot in spring, the rest in autumn.
I am not in favour of hunting, especially hunting for fun. What I am
concerned about is trapping. I would like to see turtle dove trappers
being turned into bird ringers. This has already happened in Holland with
plover trappers when the golden plover became protected in the 1970s.
Turning trappers into ringers has many advantages. It will assist in the
study of migration of turtledoves. Currently, we still know very little
about it. It will preserve a cultural heritage. There is a lot of lore
related to dove trapping and there have been many cultural shifts here
over time too, and I should perhaps try to write a paper about all this.
There is also a lot of effort that goes into trapping and many of it is
still done in the same way as it used to be 400 years ago. It will also
cause no hardship neither to the wild birds and still give trappers the
satisfaction they used to get because these days trappers catch much fewer
turtle doves because of hunting and they do not kill the birds for food.
They don’t release them again as they would rather give them to someone to
keep than letting them go to see them being shot. But when spring hunting
is stopped, dove trappers can catch a lot more birds and they would be
able to ring them.
But to go back to where I started from, as ethnoornithologists we are
working alone, lone voices in the wilderness with many air and land miles
separating us. Those who like me, do not work in an educational or other
institution that can help promote these ideas, are even more cut off, have
no access to funds and find it difficult to publish such material to
disseminate the information. I do not give up and recently, with a Dutch
colleague of mine, we published a study about lark mirrors, a form of
decoy that was used to lure larks. But we find there is very little
interest in such things. One can’t ram things down in people’s throats,
but we have to awaken people’s senses to these things. These things are
part of out culture and their lore should be preserved. Finding use for
these things in new ways and making them harmless in the process would
ensure their survival for future generations. We are getting too much
driven in the direction of knowing the price of everything and the value
of nothing.
I am posting this as soon as I wrote it and would greatly appreciate any
ideas of how we can work more together.
Dr Natalino Fenech
Journalist
tel: (00356) 7943 8024
-----
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If
you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. Please note
that any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the
author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Finally, the
recipient should check this e-mail and any attachments for the presence of
viruses. The company accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus
transmitted by this e-mail.
Allied Newspapers Limited
Strickland House, 341 St Paul Street, Valletta VLT1211, Malta
Tel: (+356) 25594100
http://www.timesofmalta.com
Dear Leonardo & group members,
Good to hear Leonardo's news and an update on the 8th Neotropical
Ornithology Congress. To see more go to:
http://www.nocvenezuela.org/en/index.cfm.
I withdrew my participation in the proposed symposium earlier in the
year ... but I may have to reconsider as it sounds like a great
congress and symposium and a wonderful way to meet and make new
contacts in the Americas - whether I get there or not will depend on
my bank manager!
I agree with Leonardo's call for greater collaboration and cooperation
between what is really a small - but growing - community of
ethnoornithologists. Most of us are familiar and comfortable (because
of the inherent nature of ethnobiology as a cross-disciplinary
practice) with working with researchers from other disciplines,
interests and backgrounds.
Some ideas for collaboration between ethnoornithologists might include:
- development of further symposia like the Venezuela symposium, the
Ethnoornithology symposium at the 30th Society of Ethnobiology and the
proposed symposium for the Australasian Ornithology Conference in
Perth, Australia for later this year;
- collaboration in the preparation of publications like books of
conference/symposia proceedings (as per proposed volume of the
Roundtable proceedings from the International Ornithology Congress at
Hamburg last year)and special editions of more mainstream journals (as
with the Geographical Journal);
- collaborative research within regional/national and international
areas where there are common or comparable ethnoornithological
knowledge and practices;
- work towards a dedicated Journal - perhaps a "Journal of
Ethnoornithology";
- work towards a dedicated, ethnoornithology-specific, conference -
perhaps in late 2008, early 2009;
- work towards a more formally incorporated representative body for
world ethnoornithology - I've put up a proposal to Birds Australia for
the ERSG to become a "Special Interest Group" of Birds Australia - as
part of this proposal I've suggested that the ERSG become formally
incorporated;
- keep working on developing relations with existing institutions and
individual ornithologists; and
- perhaps above all, nurture emergent and young ethnoornithologists,
particularly those from an indigenous background and identify and
recognise individuals and groups whose knowledge and work has not been
recognised or valued to date.
A useful resource is the "Intellectual Imperatives in Ethnobiology"
published in 2003 - for those unfamiliar with I can highly recommend
it as a useful framework for future development of our work. It can be
found at: http://www.econbot.org/pdf/NSF_brochure.pdf.
I think that we are at an important and exciting time for the future
development of ethnoornithology - there is a lot to do and we can
expect to be busy - not only with research but with lobbying,
spreading the word and expanding the reach of the work of the ERSG -
we'll be busy for some time yet.
Enjoy your work - I know that I do!
Best,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
--- In Ethnoornithology@..., "Leonardo Cabrera"
<lcabre@...> wrote:
>
> Dear ethno-members,
>
> Many things are happening here in America on relation to ethno-
> ornithology. For example just to illustrate how this issue is
> growing, a special volume of the Geographical Review is being
> prepared on how birds are studied by geographers under the title:
> Avifauna research and the social sciences: geographical perspectives.
> This work is coordinated by Michael Steinberg from U. of Hawaii.
>
> I am co-leading a research project proposal on the ethno-ornithology
> of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia (Canada) and coordinating a
> symposium on "Exploring bird conservation by indigenous people:
> insights fro biocuktural conservation" in Venezuela, May 2007.
>
> I sincerely hope, no, I want to invite you to sum efforts from the
> people already interested in ethno-ornithology and start making plans
> for further collaborative research. I am sure we are advancing
> importantly the knowledge for bird/cultural conservation by touching
> the human-bird connections in a more respectful, integrative and
> collaborative fashion, hoping benefiting all the parties involved and
> reaching more enduring solutions.
>
> I could not attend to the Ethno congress,, but I am sure we can
> coordinate efforts and resources for key meetings as Robert has
> mentioned in his last email. This may be a good opportunity.
>
> Receive my warmest regards,
>
> Leonardo Cabrera-Garcia, PhD.
> Conservation Geographer
> McGill University
> Montreal, Canada.
>
Dear all,
Just a quick note to advise that I have established a Members Contact
database on the ERSG website.
Please feel free to add your own contact details to this database.
This will perhaps provide another means by which we can develop
networks and better establish and maintain contact betyween us to
further the work of the ERSG.
Looking forward to your contributions!
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
Yuendumu,
Northern Territory
Australia
Dear ethno-members,
Many things are happening here in America on relation to ethno-
ornithology. For example just to illustrate how this issue is
growing, a special volume of the Geographical Review is being
prepared on how birds are studied by geographers under the title:
Avifauna research and the social sciences: geographical perspectives.
This work is coordinated by Michael Steinberg from U. of Hawaii.
I am co-leading a research project proposal on the ethno-ornithology
of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia (Canada) and coordinating a
symposium on "Exploring bird conservation by indigenous people:
insights fro biocuktural conservation" in Venezuela, May 2007.
I sincerely hope, no, I want to invite you to sum efforts from the
people already interested in ethno-ornithology and start making plans
for further collaborative research. I am sure we are advancing
importantly the knowledge for bird/cultural conservation by touching
the human-bird connections in a more respectful, integrative and
collaborative fashion, hoping benefiting all the parties involved and
reaching more enduring solutions.
I could not attend to the Ethno congress,, but I am sure we can
coordinate efforts and resources for key meetings as Robert has
mentioned in his last email. This may be a good opportunity.
Receive my warmest regards,
Leonardo Cabrera-Garcia, PhD.
Conservation Geographer
McGill University
Montreal, Canada.
Dear Maan Barua,
Thanks for your query. Unfortunately the CFP for the 30th SoE conference
closed some time ago. However would be welcome to post any material of
relevance to ethnoornithology on the ERSG website.
We are planning a similar symposium for the Australasian Ornithology
Symposium at Perth in December 2007 but that will focus on emerging and
seniors indigenous ornithologists from the Austral-Pacific area - though
while I'm thinking of it there is no reason why we should leave
ethnoornithologists from the Indian ocean area out of it ...
We are also planning several events for 2008 - including attendance at
the Birdlife International conference in Buenos Aires and the IUCN
conference in Barcelona later in 2008. At present both of these events
are in very early planning stages and we will need to put in a fair
amount of work to firm them up.
Thanks for your enquiry and I look forward to hearing more about your
work and that of others in the sub-continent.
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
Maan Barua wrote:
> Dear Robert,
>
> Are call for papers for this symposium still on?
>
> Regards,
> Maan Barua
>
> Kaziranga National Park
> Assam, India
>
Dear David,
Not yet but certainly after the conference!
Cheers and enjoy Groningen!
Bob
DJowl@... wrote:
>
> Dear Bob,
> Do you know if the abstracts for these (wonderful!) presentations are
> yet available? Thank you good sir. Strigologically yours, David
>
> Please note the following program of the "Birds in Culture &
> Context" ethnoornithology symposium to be held at the 30th Society
> for Ethnobiology conference to be held at the University of
> California, Berkeley later this month.
>
> *World Owl Conference* 31Oct - 4Nov 2007, Groningen, Netherlands
> http://www.worldowlconference.com/ <http://www.worldowlconference.com/>
>
> David H. Johnson
> Executive Director - Global Owl Project
> 6504 Carriage Drive
> Alexandria, Virginia 22310 USA
> djowl@...
> 202-360-0313 cell
> www.globalowlproject.com <http://www.globalowlproject.com/>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free
> from AOL at *AOL.com* <http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000339>.
>
Do you know if the abstracts for these (wonderful!) presentations are yet available? Thank you good sir. Strigologically yours, David
Please note the following program of the "Birds in Culture & Context" ethnoornithology symposium to be held at the 30th Society for Ethnobiology conference to be held at the University of California, Berkeley later this month.
David H. Johnson Executive Director - Global Owl Project 6504 Carriage Drive Alexandria, Virginia 22310 USA djowl@... 202-360-0313 cell www.globalowlproject.com
AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.
Dear all,
Please note the following program of the "Birds in Culture & Context"
ethnoornithology symposium to be held at the 30th Society for
Ethnobiology conference to be held at the University of California,
Berkeley later this month.
As you can see there is a wonderful variety of presentations and we
are looking forward to a great conference.
Cheers and best,
Bob Gosford
ERSG moderator
1:30-1:40 Introductory comments to the symposium: Eugene Anderson
1:40-1:55 Mercy Muiruri and Patrick Maundu: Conservation concerns
in the use of birds in cultural ceremonies among the Maasai of east
Africa.
1:55-2:15 Alejandro Hernández-Jaramillo: So live the birds of
Belén de Docampadó, Bajo Baudó, Chocó
2:20-2:40 Shepard Krech III: Augural, powerful, and dangerous birds
among Indians in the American south.
2:45- 3:05 Robert Gosford: The stormbird cult in the Central
Northern Territory: A migratory cuckoo, aboriginal languages and
cultural practice.
3:10-3:30 Berioska Quispe Estrada: Ashaninkas, Machiguengas and
Huachipaeris: Environmental relationships of Amazonian communities of
southeastern Peru.
3:35-3:55 Eugene Hunn: A Zapotec ethnoornithological sketch from
San Juan Gbee, Oaxaca, Mexico.
4:00-4:20 Cecil Brown: Raven=Heron in Mayan Language prehistory: An
ethnoornithological/linguistic puzzle.
4:25-4:45 Nicole Sault: Bird messengers for all seasons: Landscapes
of knowledge in Costa Rica.
4:50- 5:10 Gregory Forth: Symbolic birds and ironic bats.
Dear all - a relayed invitation to the Festival of the Owls in
northern Italy in early June this year.
Cheers,
Robert
Invitation to the First Italian Owls' Festival,
2-3 June 2007 in ITALY
for the First Time in Europe!
Dear friends all over Europe and World,
On the next
2nd (Saturday) and 3rd (Sunday) of June 2007 Italy will host an
amazing unique event in Europe!
The First Italian Owls' Festival !
(italian title: Festival italiano dei Gufi)
The Festival is organized by the 'Rangers Italia Association'
www.rangersitalia.it (in this website you can found many information,
between some days in English version)
The event will be held in the North of Italy, in Lombardy, in a
village near the beautiful town of Bergamo!
The festival will also be an opportunity for all owl-lovers to meet up.
In the world there are research lovers, wood/glass/stone-owl pieces
collectors. There are those who love to observe these animals in
natural habitats, those who write about them in children or adult
tales having owls, barn owls or Little Owls as protagonists, those who
paint owls, those who illustrate books with amazing black and white
drawings or water colours. There are sculptures and people who build
kites and toy planes in the shape of owls.
Well, all these different categories of owl-lovers will be there at
the First Italian Owls' Festival and with this mail we would like to
invite you too!
Bergamo is a beautiful city with ancient sites.
The Alps are only a few kilometres away and the programme includes
night excursions to see Little Owls Athene noctua, Scops Owls Otus
scops, Nightjars Caprimulgus eur., Tawny Owls Strix aluco, Tengmalm's
Owls Aegolius fun., and other birds!
There will be an important international conference (with English
translation), art and photography exhibitions having European owls as
protagonists!
There will also be a book exhibition with books on owls from all over
the world! (If you have or know the famous books please let the
secretary office know).
In Italy we have many talented craftsmen.
There are people who make incredible owl-shaped objects in wood,
glass, ceramics, stone, leather and other materials.
You will surely be struck by the variety of items and you will find
amazing surprises!
A big park, with indoor spaces too, will host the festival and we do
hope many associations, ornithologists, owl 'specialists' and
collectors /lovers will ask you for information and will take part in
the event.
There will be shows for children, meetings with writers and
ornithologists, day and night excursions, raptors from rehabilitation
centres will be set free and there will be a special space for the
promotion of Harry Potter, Martin Hocke and Kathryn Lasky books.
You can download the official documents and all the information on the
website: www.rangersitalia.it
During the next two months the website www.rangersitalia.it will also
give information about accommodation in hotels and a list of
discounted restaurants for those who take part in the festival.
Those who are interested can write to us and will receive an English
newsletter about the Festival.
If you are an association researching or taking care of owls, please
write to the secretary at marco.mastrorilli@... and we will be
happy to give you a free space for exhibition, selling gadgets,
projecting videos or promote a project, a research or book of yours.
At the end of March the first official programme (in Italian, English
and French) of the festival will be available!
But for example in this festival there are:
- A big exposition photografic and educational about the Owl world!
Owls, pellets, feather, distribution and many other information about
the european owls!
- A scientific conference with important contribute from famous Owl
Italian specialist with some different theme (webcam in the owl's
nest, the important recent breeding of Ural Owl in North of Italy, the
status of Short eared owl in Italy, the importance of reproduction of
Owls in captivity by the important reproduction centre in Europe MontOwl,
- A beautiful and special photo exposition about the Little Owl by
Christian Fosserat (Suisse, authors of book and DVD films of Little Owl)
- a special sector for educational of children: a scientific
laboratory with you name Gufolandia...many young biology and
naturalist will be play with the children for explain the secrets of Owls!
- a special sector of artistic method of educational of Children and
Teathral laboratory for all children in this event!
- many exposition of Italian illustrator: naturalist and artistic
painters! very surprise!
- a great presence of italian artist : many owls in glass, wood,
stone, metal, silver and other material...many surpirse in excellent
quality! The dream of a collector!
- The special edition of a book of a behaviour of Owls! a book of
special exposition !
- The world of Edwige! a special sector for the world of Harry Potter
and your owls!
- Special exposition of all book of the Owls in Italy and many edition
of the world!
- Present in this event many important italian association of the
conservation of nature and birdwatching!
- Music Concert!
- special sector of Chocolat and Owls!
- special sector for the Horse and the children!
- a special section of Owls and letterature! Martin Hocke (special
forum comunity like: il regno del silenzio), Harry Potter, Ga'Hoole
world!....with fable lecture and theatral
and many other surprise!
This event will be make in a great green and relax area with a
beautiful park!
Of course there will be plenty of good Italian music and cuisine and
we will point out all typical places where to taste local specialities!
If you are collectors, if you love and study owls this festival will
be a dream coming true!
We hope to hear from you and to see you there!
Do you want help me?
Do you want partecipe in this festival?
Do you have some material, photo or other material for the exposition
or promotional of your research activity!?
send me your information and your material!
Do you have a publication, a small book, a magazine of your country
with the cover or article of Owls...send me a copy for the our exposizion!
Do you have a DVD, film or other material..help me in this
adventure...for the owl's know!
Thanks in advance!
FOR EVERY INFORMATION YOU CAN WRITE ME marco.mastrorilli@...
or if you can send me the material
you can send the mail to my address:
MARCO MASTRORILLI
VIA CARDUCCI 7
BOLTIERE (BG)
24040
ITALY
All you can partecipe in this Festival!
In the next mail I send the Preliminar program!
Marco Mastrorilli
and Angelo Cerea
Directors of Organization of Italian Owls' Festival
Dear all,
I was looking at the ERSG membership list the other day and I noted
that there seem to be some gaps in our membership - we have a fairly
wide coverage in the English & Spanish speaking world/s but few
members from elsewhere - particularly in east and central Asia, in the
Francophone countries and in the former Russian republics.
Any suggestions about how we might reach out to those parts of the
world (and others I might have missed) would be welcome.
In the past I've found the following useful for getting the ERSG word out:
- ornithological news groups and organisations;
- anthropological & linguistic groups;
- university centres, schools and faculties;
- general natural history groups.
In these days of increasing scrutiny of privacy laws I'm a bit wary of
sending out 'spam' type messages but I'd welcome any email addresses
and contacts that I might send an invitation to.
Cheers and best,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
Dear members - a short message from the A & E section of "Anthropology
News" for the information of ERSG members.
Cheers,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
Dear Anthropology & Environment Community,
If you are interested in contributing a column for the Anthropology &
Environment section of Anthropology News, please contact me at
ogdenl@.... Anthropology News is received by 11,500 readers, and
is available to thousands of other interested readers (students,
media, other professionals).
In particular, the column is a good place to highlight new research
and other news relevant to the A&E community, publish interviews with
practitioners and other scholars, and review recent conferences and
other events.
Submissions are limited to 750 words (which is about 2 double-spaced
pages).
The next available column is for May 07 edition, with the copy due
March 15.
I'm looking for someone to fill the space, so please let me know if
you are interested.
Laura
Laura Ogden
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology/Anthropology
Florida International University
Lead, Human Dimensions of the Everglades
Florida Coastal Everglades, Long-Term Ecological Research Program
305.348.6663
Dear all - this is a forwarded message from the EANTH-L webgroup
concerning the UN Commission on Sustainable Development meeting later
this year.
It may be of interest to some ERSG members.
Cheers and best,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
Dear EANTH-L Friends and Colleagues,
The UN Indigenous Peoples Major Group for the UN CSD has asked for our
assistance in helping bring more Indigenous Peoples delegates to CSD
15, policy cycle, [United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development]. If you are able, would you please approach your
networks, government, or organizations about sponsoring 1-2
Indigenous Peoples delegates from your country or region to attend and
actively participate in CSD 15, April 30-May 11, 2007. The sponsor(s)
may also be interested in having those delegates attend the UNPF
meeting May 14-25 right after CSD 15 and report back to them on their
observations and the outcomes, recommended actions. If you can help
with this, please let me know.
The Lead Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus at the UN Commission
on Sustainable Development that asked for our assistance is Tom
Goldtooth. His contact information:
Mr. Tom Goldtooth
Indigenous Environmental Network
P.O. Box 485, Bemidji, MN 56619-0485,USA
Tel: +1-218-751-4967; Fax: +1-218-751-0561
E-mail: ien@...
The information for the Indigenous Peoples as a Major Group can be
found on this link, Organizing Partners, for the CSD web site:
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/mgroups/mg_op.htm
Below is an announcement regarding the Sixth Session of the UN
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, May 14-25, 2007. Please pass on
to your networks.
All the best,
Pam
UN CSD Education Caucus Co-Chair
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
El texto en español se encuentra después del texto en inglés * Le
texte en français suit le texte en espagnol
Sixth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Special theme: Territories, Lands and Natural Resources
14-25 May, 2007
Provisional agenda and documentation for the sixth session of the
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
1. Election of officers.
2. Adoption of the agenda and organization of work.
3. Special theme: territories, lands and natural resources.
4. Implementation of recommendations on the six mandated areas of the
Permanent Forum and on the Millennium Development Goals:
(a) Economic and social development;
(b) Environment;
(c) Health;
(d) Education;
(e) Culture;
(f) Human rights;
(g) Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.
5. Human rights: dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people.
6. Half-day discussion on Asia.
7. Half-day discussion on urban indigenous peoples and migration.
8. Ongoing priorities and themes, and follow-up: Data collection and
disaggregation (2004).
9. Future work of the Permanent Forum including emerging issues.
10. Draft agenda for the seventh session of the Permanent Forum.
11. Adoption of the report of the Permanent Forum on its sixth session.
Online Pre-Registration for the Sixth Session of UNPFII
Non-Government Organizations who have ECOSOC status ONLY
Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs) and Academics who DO NOT HAVE
ECOSOC STATUS and who HAVE ATTENDED UNPFII SESSIONS IN THE PAST
All Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs) who have NOT ATTENDED THE
UNPFII IN THE PAST and are registering for the 6th Session of the
UNPFII for the FIRST TIME
All Academics who have NOT ATTENDED THE UNPFII IN THE PAST and are
registering for the 6th Session of the UNPFII for the FIRST TIME
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/session_sixth.html
**********
El sexto período de sesiones
El sexto período de sesiones del Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones
Indígenas se realizará del 14 al 25 de Mayo en la sede de la ONU, en
Nueva York.
El tema especial es "Territorios, tierras y recursos naturales".
Programa provisional
1. Elección de la Mesa.
2. Aprobación del programa y organización de los trabajos.
3. Tema especial: territorios, tierras y recursos naturales.
4. Aplicación de recomendaciones sobre los seis ámbitos del mandato
del Foro Permanente y sobre los objetivos de desarrollo del Milenio:
a) Desarrollo económico y social;
b) Medio ambiente;
c) Salud;
d) Educación;
e) Cultura;
f) Derechos humanos;
g) Segundo Decenio Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas del Mundo.
Documentación
Nota de la Secretaría y otros documentos presentados por el sistema de
las Naciones Unidas, los gobiernos y las organizaciones de pueblos
indígenas
5. Derechos humanos: diálogo con el Relator Especial sobre la
situación de los derechos humanos y las libertades fundamentales de
los pueblos indígenas.
6. Debate de medio día de duración sobre Asia.
7. Debate de medio día de duración sobre los pueblos indígenas urbanos
y la migración.
8. Prioridades y temas actuales y seguimiento: Reunión y desglose de
datos (2004).
Documentación
Nota de la Secretaría y otros documentos presentados por el sistema de
las Naciones Unidas, los gobiernos y las organizaciones de pueblos
indígenas
9. Futura labor del Foro Permanente, incluidas nuevas cuestiones.
Documentación
Nota de la Secretaría y otros documentos presentados por el sistema de
las Naciones Unidas, los gobiernos y las organizaciones de pueblos
indígenas
10. Proyecto de programa del séptimo período de sesiones del Foro
Permanente.
11. Aprobación del informe del Foro Permanente sobre su sexto período
de sesiones.
Pre-acreditación
SOLO para ONGs que cuentan con el estatus consultivo ante el ECOSOC
Las Organizaciones de los Pueblos Indígenas (OPI) e Instituciones
Académicas que NO POSEEN ESTATUS CONSULTIVO ANTE EL ECOSOC y que HAYAN
PARTICIPADO ANTES EN LAS SESIONES DEL FORO PERMANENTE
Todas las Organizaciones de los Pueblos Indígenas (OPI) que NO HAYAN
PARTICIPADO ANTES EN LAS SESIONES DEL FORO PERMANENTE y desean
preregistrar para el Sexto Periodo de Sesiones del Foro Permanente por
PRIMERA VEZ
Todas las Instituciones Académicas que NO HAYAN PARTICIPADO ANTES EN
LAS SESIONES DEL FORO PERMANENTE y desean preregistrar para el Sexto
Periodo de Sesiones del Foro Permanente por PRIMERA VEZ
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/es/session_sixth.html
*******************
La sixième session de l'Instance permanente des Nations unies sure les
questions autochtones
Le thème spécial: Territoires, Terres et Ressources naturelles
Du 14 au 25 Mai, 2007
En décembre 2006, le Conseil économique et social à décidé que la
sixième session de l'Instance aura lieu du 14 au 25 mai 2007 à New
York. L'ordre du jour provisoire ci-dessous se trouve aussi dans le
rapport de la cinquième session.
L'ordre du jour provisoire et la documentation de la sixième session
de l'Instance permanente sur les questions autochtones :
1. Élection du Bureau. 2. Adoption de l'ordre du jour et organisation
des travaux.
3. Thème spécial : territoires, terres et ressources naturelles.
4. Mise en œuvre des recommandations concernant les six domaines
d'activité de l'Instance permanente et les objectifs du Millénaire
pour le développement :
a) Développement économique et social;
b) Environnement;
c) Santé;
d) Éducation;
e) Culture;
f) Droits de l'homme;
g) Deuxième Décennie internationale des peuples autochtones.
Préinscription directe sur la ligne pour la Sixième session
Les organisations non gouvernementales ayant le statut consultatif de
l'ECOSOC
Les organisations autochtones et les académiques n'ayant pas le statut
consultatif de l'ECOSOC mais ayant participé aux sessions précédentes
de l'Instance
Toutes organisations autochtones n'ayant jamais participé à aucune des
sessions précédentes de l'Instance mais demandent l'inscription pour
la Sixième session de l'Instance pour la première fois Tout académique
qui n'ayant jamais participé à aucune des sessions précédentes de
l'Instance mais demandent l'inscription pour la Sixième session de
l'Instance pour la première fois.
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/fr/session_sixth.html
Thank you for dealing with the spam and nuisance email issues. I know this takes time, development of new computer talents, and a good deal of patience from you, to fuss with all of this. Please know that your efforts are truly appreciated!
David H. Johnson Executive Director - Global Owl Project 6504 Carriage Drive Alexandria, Virginia 22310 USA djowl@... 202-360-0313 cell www.globalowlproject.com
Dear all, Just a quick note to advise that, after consideration of the recent events concerning Spam & nuisance messages, I have today changed the membership procedure to require that all new members will have to be approved prior to being able to post messages and enjoy the other features of the ERSG site. This has not been done to exercise more control over members (who are free to use the ERSG site as before once approved) but to ensure your privacy and on-line safety by adding another layer of security. I believe that this is appropriate and in line with membership procedures on many similar groups. If you have any views about this decision please do not hesitate to contact me. Cheers and best, Robert Gosford ERSG moderator
Dear all,
Just a quick note to advise that, after consideration of the recent
events concerning Spam & nuisance messages, I have today changed the
membership procedure to require that all new members will have to be
approved prior to being able to post messages and enjoy the other
features of the ERSG site.
This has not been done to exercise more control over members (who are
free to use the ERSG site as before once approved) but to ensure your
privacy and on-line safety by adding another layer of security. I
believe that this is appropriate and in line with membership
procedures on many similar groups.
If you have any views about this decision please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Cheers and best,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
PS - welcome to our two new members!
Dear all,
Just a brief note to advise that we have operated for a year and a day
(YIPPEE!!) without any major difficulties from spam, harassing or
messages seeking or offering some dubious service or other.
Recently there have been a couple of messages that I, as moderator,
have determined to be unrelated to the purpose of this group - these
were suspicious emails purporting to be from young women apparently
"interested in your profile" and "looking for company".
I have taken the following action (1) banned that member (there was an
earlier instance last year where I took the same action), and (2)
deleted their message/s.
If this sort of message continues to surface I will have to begin
vetting members - I've been loath to do so to date but will if needed.
I welcome any comments from the group as to this proposed course of
action or any other comments relating to dealing with spurious
messages and members who may not be interested in our core functions
but want to use the group as a personal message service for dubious
purposes.
I'll post a happier note in the next few days outlining some of the
upcoming events and looking back at the last year - right now I'm
going camping for the night - sleeping under the stars and watching
birds early in the morning!
Cheers and best,
Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator
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