[mou] Re: [mnbird] About stress on the Great Grey and other owls

[Laura Erickson]

I'm not sure it's a good idea to question how many times each birder goes 
to a given place.  Some of the people going most frequently to see owls are 
actually leading groups to see them each time, and as far as I have seen 
this year are being pretty darned conscientious about limiting stress to 
the birds and to the locals.  There are certain ethical considerations when 
viewing or photographing any bird, and I think it's wise and ethical to err 
on the side of caution to protect the bird, rather than to make it easier 
for birders, but overall people seem to be doing their best in this 
difficult time.  I saw one car stop a few times on 133 today, which is a 
no-no even when it's not so dangerously slippery, but overall people seem 
to have calmed down from the initial excitement of all these owls and seem 
to be following ethical considerations really well.

When I posted about how many owls I saw today, should I have added that 
this was the first time I've been to the bog in 2005, that I didn't stop or 
even slow down for hardly any of the owls I saw, and that I didn't flush a 
single one?  This could make posts pretty unwieldy and defensive, and make 
us feel like we need to justify every element of our birding behavior from 
the moment we step out the door.  Let's have a little faith in our fellow 
birders, and focus on minimizing our own impacts rather than questioning 
one another's right to be out there at all.  That said, I think keeping 
Boreal Owl locations quiet isn't a bad idea in a year like this, and 
squeaking and pishing to distract any owl to get it to look at us is 
unwarranted.  Peder's suggestions and the ABA code of ethics are excellent 
guidelines, and perhaps we do need to at least think about where we go to 
ensure that the same birds aren't over-stressed, but let's try to remember 
that we're all in this together, and that we're all doing the best we can.

Laura Erickson
Duluth, MN


Producer, "For the Birds" radio program
<http://www.lauraerickson.com/>

There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of 
birds.  There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of 
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.

                                 --Rachel Carson