All,
The road referenced in the earlier Prince William County post is most
likely Breckenridge Road. This post is not directed at the individual who
posted earlier, because I know more and more birders are heading down to
Breckenridge Road because of some earlier careless posts to the VA List Serv.
Accordingly, many local birders simply do not realize that Breckenridge Road
is not a
public Road.
Both the Marine Corps and Prince William Forest (PWF) have joint
jurisdiction over Breckenridge Road, but the road itself is maintained by the
Marine
Corps. I have done some boundary work on Breckenridge Road for PWF, and to
my knowledge, no one is permitted on Breckenridge Road without a valid permit
from either the Quantico Marine Corps Base or PWF, especially before dawn and
after dusk.
This road is routinely patrolled by the US Rangers, the law enforcement
component of the National Park Service; the Marine Corps Military Police; and
the Prince William County Police Department. Marines often train along
Breckenridge Road, both during the day and night. And, Training Area 6C along
Breckenridge Road is signed accordingly. Active "gun points," bunkers, and
other
training infrastructure are maintained and used within Training Area 6C.
Also, setting aside the obvious ethical questions, which sadly, in a
digital world, more and more birders seem willing to do; so far as I know, it
is
illegal, as in against the law, to play tapes to attract wildlife at both
Prince William Forest, a unit of the National Park Service, and the Quantico
Marine Corps Base, without having first met certain criteria, including
qualifying for a current research permit.
So running around with an IPod or playing tapes on Breckenridge Road, in
or out of the breeding bird season, under the very poorly thought out,
"well, how else am I gonna see the birds," principle of birding, is not likely
to
cash the check when you find yourself playing twenty questions with any of
the jurisdictions that regularly patrol Breckenridge Road.
The same goes for our notorious (yes, you know who you are) collection
of home grown, local, perpetual surveyors. These are often big deal listers
who clothe themselves in the gentle mantle of surveying, just to be able to
chase big deal birds. When these wayward birders find themselves on the wrong
side of a boundary line, playing twenty questions with the local law, or
causing some other unintended problem, these folks are often only to happy to
plead ignorance, claim some special status or club affiliation, or cleverly
claim
that they are collecting records for some organization, like the "Boy
Scouts," no less, when what they are really doing is chasing big deal birds
for the
sake of their precious life or year lists, by any means necessary. Just,
where are the ethics in this ridiculous and all to often well practiced
charade?
And, frankly, I can think of a number of veteran birders who should know
better.
There are plenty of big deal birds in PWF proper, including Woodcock,
all the Owls, and Whip-poor-Will. And, personally, 6000 records and 33,000
observations later, in or out of the breeding bird season, I have never had to
play a tape to hear or see any of the 126 species I have found present in PWF
to date. Regardless, Breckenridge Road is not a public road. Please bear this
in mind, the next time you happen to see a post from this location.
BTW, it is possible, on occasion, to park on Liming Lane, just across
from Breckenridge Road, and hear Whip-Poor-Will and the Chuck-Wills Widow
vocalizing from Breckenridge Road.
Paul Kane
Falls Church, VA
