Well put Cindy! Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 6, 2012, at 9:14 AM, Cindy <[email protected]> wrote: > To echo Janet's post and in response to Stella's - I too have seen > photographers being insensitive to snowy owls, on other ocassions. I remember > one time there was a fantastic photo op for one particular owl at Jones Beach > a few years ago.... I even took one of my kids out of school so he could see > this beautiful bird. (there were actually TWO owls at the beach that day! We > saw both of them!). The first, "poster bird" was sitting on a dune, with at > least a half dozen photographers snapping away at a distance of about 15 > feet. Maybe not even that. Unbelievable but true. The second bird was more > skittish and was sitting by itself, closer to the beach. However, as my son > and I were watching it, a jogger running along the beach passed it too > closely (not seeing the bird) and the owl flushed, flying overhead and away. > You just can't win! > > I disagree, however, that owls should not be mentioned on these birding > listservs. I would think that's just the beginning of a slippery > slope....first owls are kept secret, then perhaps a first-of-state nesting, > or other rare bird.... who's to say an inconsiderate photographer, or birder > (yes, those exist as well, I had the experience of one in my own back yard!), > will get close enough to ANY noteworthy bird to shoo it off and ruin the > experience for everyone else (not to mention stressing the bird!)? > > Keeping sightings limited to "word of mouth" severely restricts who sees > what, turning birding (or the viewing of certain species) into a private club > of sorts - with only the elite "inner circle" allowed to participate. I for > one don't go birding regularly in winter, preferring to just go out for > rarities, and am not in anyone's cell phone contact list. I usually don't > like birding in a crowd. I know a few "key" people but nobody really well. > Word of mouth wouldn't work for me and wouldn't work for many other > respectable, but more casual birders who might come from out of the area just > to see an owl, or any other noteworthy bird. > > There's no way to completely eliminate the problem. There will be clueless > joggers, dogs and their owners, and kids flushing the birds in addition to > the photographers and selfish birders who show up. You can't put a fence > around these birds. I believe that by posting photos or names (or even > license plates) of the perpetrators, they will eventually learn that it's not > worth their while to do what they're doing. Or they won't care and the > occasional bird may suffer an uncomfortable moment or two. I still think > that's better than a whole lot of decent, good folks losing out on something > really special. > > have a great day! > Cindy Wodinsky > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
