The Dogfolk and the Bird Watchers Should Be Friends

A storm has been a-brewin' in Prospect Park this spring. According to the New York Times, dog owners who allow their dogs off-leash freedom in the park, are clashing with the bird watchers. Apparently, the dogs come along and scare all the birds away with their splashing and barking and general doggy-ness. From the bird watchers' perspective:

Dogs distress birds and can trample the delicate underbrush where birds feed and nest. Bird watchers say they have been answered with exclamations of “Nazi!,” “creep!,” R-rated curses and, occasionally, “I’m going to kill you,” when asking dog owners to respect the laws, which permit untethered animals in three meadows only after 9 p.m. and before 9 a.m.

There's a link to a video (which I can't seem to embed here, so make some popcorn and then go watch yourself), that shows a confrontation between a bird watcher and a dog owner where the dog bounds toward the edge of the lake and the waterfowl fly away:

“I got him on camera!” said a woman’s voice behind the camera.

“Doing nothing!” screamed the dog’s owner.

“Chasing the wildlife!” the woman screamed back.

But, according to many dog owners, the bird owners aren't exactly polite in their dealings. One woman said a bird watcher once warned her, "I know where you walk. and I’ll be there waiting for you.” Yikers! Some guy who is president of some big bird watching club says that dogs and their owners trampling on the vegetation blah blah blah migratory stopping grounds yada yada yada won't make it to their final destination TEAM BIRDS! As one dog owner pointed out when a birder told him to leash his dog for these reasons, “I was like ‘How are birds that stupid?" TEAM DOGS! 

Sometimes in life, people who should be able to get along, who actually have common ground (you both love animals!), simply can't work things out. But, come on, territory folk should stick together!