Hi, Chad,

I appreciate you writing this article. My feelings on the subject are mixed. For 2 weeks & 4 days, I hosted an adult male Bullock’s Oriole on my property in Copake, New York. When I first saw him, I wasn’t aware how rare an event that was. He flew in on January 11, 2009, after a snowstorm, & visited every feeder on my deck. When I put out some food better suited to him, he settled in easily & fed regularly, each day, on my deck.

My relationship with him was more that of caretaker, than birder. Nonetheless, my impulses as a librarian & a Christian are to share information, to educate, & to be hospitable. First, I posted some of my pictures of the oriole (who I dubbed “Bob” for the sake of convenience) to flickr, my photo sharing site. I, also, sent messages to a few members of the group who were birders. They suggested that I contact local birding authorities.

I sent messages to my local CT & NY Audubon chapters. I, also, searched for oriole pictures on flickr & made comments on some of the great ones, which were, not surprisingly, from the western U.S. states. A man who received one of those comments contacted the Alan Devoe Bird Club in my area, who then contacted me to ask if they could visit to verify my ID of the bird. Four gentlemen (as you know, Chad) visited my home on January 16th, before sunrise, & were able to observe Bob on my deck. As a result of that event, both Bob & I were exposed to public view.

By the end of that day, the location of my home, including directions & a Google map, was posted on various birding sites. As you probably know, anyone can get name & phone number, as well, given that information. For someone like me, aware & wary of Internet privacy issues, this was rather disturbing. That said, however, I haven’t had particular problems from it, as far as I know. Many people have come to see Bob, but most have been polite & have respected the wildlife & my property.

The biggest issues concerned traffic & safety. Folks, don’t be so single-minded in your pursuit of wildlife that you park or stand in open roadways or block mailboxes or driveways from use! Seeing the commotion that the Internet information caused, I didn’t choose to notify my local newspapers; I was afraid of what their photographers might do & of added personal exposure. Bob was a kind of spooky bird. I never attempted to raise the window to get a clear picture of him, for fear of scaring him away from his food source. To me, he was a handsome & delightful companion, not a checkmark on a birding list. As far as I can tell, January 28, 2009 was his last day on my property. We had snow overnight & snow & sleet that day. He fed all day & I was home to enjoy his company. I didn’t see him the next morning &, that night, his food hadn’t been touched. I only hope that he left voluntarily & that he is ok. His visit was a great pleasure for me!

B. Bowen Carr