Report suspicious behavior
The moderator of the Boston Birds Google group posted an encounter he had with Homeland Security:
I stopped at Victory Road Park in South Boston today, and it was a
notable trip not so much for the Birds, but for the lesson learned
about our "new age" of high security and anti-terrorism law
enforcement. I spent about 30 minutes scoping shorebirds and gulls at
low tide around Victory Road Park. Unfortunately there was nothing
that notable - 18 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, 4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 2
LAUGHING GULLS, a GREAT BLUE HERON, BELTED KINGFISHER, and the other
usual suspects. Since there wasn't much to see I decided to leave.
I should mention that Victory Road Park is right next to the Keyspan
Gas Tower off the expressway. Evidently this is a "secure" area. I
learned this information from the officer that whipped his car into
the parking lot, blocked me in, and told me to stay out of my car,
produce identification, and explain what I was doing.
It seemed to me that with binoculars , a scope, and a Bird-A-Thon
t-shirt it was fairly obvious what I was doing, but I was held up for
only 15 minutes as the officer ran my information. (I would like to
say thank you to the couple that vouched for me as a birder as they
passed the scene.)
The thing that bothers me is that someone called the police to report
me as suspicous, and the report was taken VERY seriously. There were
two other police cars that arrived at the scene and were subsequently
called off by the first responding officer, and I heard my own
description being read over the police radio when he first arrived.
It was surreal. My concern, now that the adrenaline has worn off, is
how many "ridiculous" suspicous persons calls will it take before the
police and other security staff stop taking them seriously.
Anyway, the best bird of the day flew over as the officer was asking
me questions, and I didn't hesitate to interrupt him with, "Hey, a
COMMON NIGHTHAWK, that's a nice bird!".
I must mention that the responding officer was exceptionaly
profesional, courteous, and sensitive about the situation. A
situation that makes me think long and hard about the effects of
terrorism on our society.
Oh for those of you waiting for the "lesson learned". I would suggest
checking in with security prior to birding within one mile of a
"secure" area! I will now think long and hard before scoping Snowy
Owls at Logan from Winthrop this year : )
I stopped at Victory Road Park in South Boston today, and it was a
notable trip not so much for the Birds, but for the lesson learned
about our "new age" of high security and anti-terrorism law
enforcement. I spent about 30 minutes scoping shorebirds and gulls at
low tide around Victory Road Park. Unfortunately there was nothing
that notable - 18 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, 4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 2
LAUGHING GULLS, a GREAT BLUE HERON, BELTED KINGFISHER, and the other
usual suspects. Since there wasn't much to see I decided to leave.
I should mention that Victory Road Park is right next to the Keyspan
Gas Tower off the expressway. Evidently this is a "secure" area. I
learned this information from the officer that whipped his car into
the parking lot, blocked me in, and told me to stay out of my car,
produce identification, and explain what I was doing.
It seemed to me that with binoculars , a scope, and a Bird-A-Thon
t-shirt it was fairly obvious what I was doing, but I was held up for
only 15 minutes as the officer ran my information. (I would like to
say thank you to the couple that vouched for me as a birder as they
passed the scene.)
The thing that bothers me is that someone called the police to report
me as suspicous, and the report was taken VERY seriously. There were
two other police cars that arrived at the scene and were subsequently
called off by the first responding officer, and I heard my own
description being read over the police radio when he first arrived.
It was surreal. My concern, now that the adrenaline has worn off, is
how many "ridiculous" suspicous persons calls will it take before the
police and other security staff stop taking them seriously.
Anyway, the best bird of the day flew over as the officer was asking
me questions, and I didn't hesitate to interrupt him with, "Hey, a
COMMON NIGHTHAWK, that's a nice bird!".
I must mention that the responding officer was exceptionaly
profesional, courteous, and sensitive about the situation. A
situation that makes me think long and hard about the effects of
terrorism on our society.
Oh for those of you waiting for the "lesson learned". I would suggest
checking in with security prior to birding within one mile of a
"secure" area! I will now think long and hard before scoping Snowy
Owls at Logan from Winthrop this year : )