The Herons of La Crosse - Where Did They Go???

Well . . . . pop my little bubble!!

I was having a pretty good time hunting down the 35 herons, most of the 25 I had found so far all on my own, without any help from any lists. I took pictures of each, their GPS coordinates, and published them here.

I got an e-mail yesterday . . . . .

Seems members of the board at The Pump House want to keep a tight control of the marketing of this project. They don't want any pictures out on the web, except the ones they have approved. The letter tossed around the word "copyright" a few times, as if implying taking pictures of something that is out on the street for all to see and observe is illegal. I would argue that point on principle, but only to that level because I don't know any attorneys, and have no interest in a fight. I was doing exactly what they want people to do . . . . get out and walk around and find them all. The only difference is that I was documenting that quest in pictures in an open forum.

I guess I could launch into a diatribe about the nature of art, and how sometimes that which is created can take on a life all its own when interpreted into different media or a different medium. I could also get on a soapbox and complain that because I was not selling any of the images, nor had any interest in doing so, and was giving full credit to those who had done the original work, I had the freedom of speech to document the search, and was violating no copyright. However, I am not a crusader. I'm just a student trying to get by right now, finding interesting things to write and take pictures of, in the absence of a bird in my life to blog about. I've had my share over the last couple years of being told I was so wrong about everything. I also found coming to live in the city a bit stifling, what with having to put a shock collar on my dog to keep him from barking and disturbing the neighbors, parking the right way in front of my home, and having to explain the large raptor in the backyard . . . which surely must be breaking a law somewhere! (CLARIFICATION - I am a LICENSED falconer, and allowed to have the hawk, and proved that to Animal Control when they came calling. My point here was the nosey neighbors who figured I must be doing something wrong and reported me, even though I had already talked to them when I moved in, and told them I was licensed to have the hawk). I felt quite a thrill when I heard about this project, and was having fun bagging cranes (since I can't bag bunnies anymore).

I'll probably see it out through the end. I still have ten more to find, many of which I know the location, but several are still not out. I still intend to make a geocache event of it. That should surely meet the goals of those who created the project. The only way to complete the geocache is to actually go and see each one. But it's not as fun as having pictures to prove!

My overall impression was that I was helping out the project. A Google search would find my page. All those people I had told about it responded in a favorable manner, and indicated they would have to go find some of them. I've had positive feedback on my blog, and my visitor tally has jumped. I invite anyone who has been coming here to please feel free to express your thoughts direct to the Pump House. A Google search will find them easily enough. Be nice though! I'm not going to include any e-mail addresses. Again, I'm not trying to pick a fight.

But I do disagree!