[wisb] Re: Observing Owl Question
- From: "William Mueller" <iltlawas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "wisbirdn" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 21:36:31 -0500
Kevin,
There is quite a lot of difference of opinion on this matter (some folks
obviously feel that posting locations of roosting owls or other sensitive
bird species is OK - others think it's unwise). Since I am in the latter
group, I'll try my best to explain this point of view. Some of us feel that
there is potential for harm to birds such as roosting owls when they are
approached too closely by numbers of people. An excellent overview of this
topic is found at this link:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/sensitive_species
There is evidence to suggest that repeatedly flushing birds, especially in
cold weather when they are already potentially stressed, may cause serious
physiological stress and potentially result in harm to an individual bird.
If I could be assured that everyone attempting to see a roosting owl would
not approach too close, or that there would be some limit on the number of
people who approach it in a given time period - perhaps my objections would
be lessened - but I seriously doubt that we could expect those conditions
to be met. I've seen it go the other way too many times. Thus, simply not
sharing the information - in other words, showing some restraint - is what
we recommend. Of course, there is no way I can get someone to display
restraint if they really don't want to. So, I and others simply SUGGEST or
RECOMMEND that we all show restraint - and the most straighforward way to
do that is to not post locations of sensitive species in the first place.
You're free to follow those recommendations - or not - in your own personal
birding activities. But many organizations have developed guidelines (see
link above, as only one of many examples) that include these same or
similar recommendations. And some listserv managers or moderators have
adopted these recommendations. That includes this listserv, as demonstrated
by Peter's messages to this effect.
For me, it's really just common sense - but not everyone agrees on what
constitutes common sense. If you find a sensitive species, just consider
what a result might be if you share the information - and if in doubt, err
on the side of caution. That's really all I can suggest. Obviously, a lot
of folks still disagree with this and related ideas. That's OK. Dialog
about this is good. Some folks think it doesn't matter if we play tapes in
areas with rare nesting birds. But you will find that there are many
organizations who agree with us. (The Nature Conservancy upholds the
restriction against tape use on some of its preserves, for example).
William P. Mueller
Conservation Chair - Wisconsin Society for Ornithology (WSO)
(414) 698-9108
Milwaukee, WI
E-mail: iltlawas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On the web: http://home.earthlink.net/~iltlawas/index.html
Blog: http://bluebirdslaugh.blogspot.com/
Subject: Re: Observing Owl Question
From: "Kevin Kearns" <dkkearns AT charter.net>
Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:08:52 -0500
Hello all,
I know that spring is here and the sightings of birds other than juncos are
increasing, but I have not been checking wisbird regularly for about 6-8
months so there is some lag in my responses (if any) nowadays. I would like
to revisit the owl post of Peter's in response to Max. There was no
discussion or clarification in the post or following the post, it just
ended.
Reading through Peter's post made it seem that nearly all owl reporting is
bad. I hope that I have misread this, but the language seems pretty firm. In
the past, we have always refrained from posting roosting locations of Long
Eared owls and chided others for doing so. Now however, it seems to have
expanded to all owls on a nest. This I have some issue with. For example,
Heckrodt in Menasha had a chicken wire basket placed in a tree 30' off the
path with a bench provided to watch the owls nest. No signs were placed to
point it out, but most people knew where it was. This was there for years
before they moved to a different part of the preserve. There are GH Owl
nests everywhere so it is not really necessary to post their locations since
they are not all that difficult to find, but since they have adapted so
readily to nesting in cities, are we now claiming that any human viewing is
undesirable?? Andy P correctly points out that owls are magnets for children
and a gateway drug of sort to many and are a great resource for recruiting
new birders for the next generation.
To further expand on this topic, Short eared and Snowy owl locations are
routinely posted - or have been in the past. I still see several reports of
Short Ears since Max's faux pas and assume that these are okay. How bout
Snowies? They regularly return to the same areas yearly in many cases
(Freedom, CGI, Horicon) and show up in the middle of dense urban areas
frequently. Again, should we avert our eyes when we catch a glimpse in the
hopes that no bystander will see what we are looking at and then assume that
if they do, they will be ner-do-wells?
What about posting locations of areas where owls are frequently heard such
as the Arboretum in Madison? Should we refrain from posting our "hearings"
to preclude the possibility that someone might come out with a flashlight
and a good aim following our postings?
I will not touch the photography and owl subject here. Don't even ask!!! All
I will say about that is Northern Hawk owl at Harrington Beach, 2005.
I am not being sarcastic in my questions or examples, I guess I am looking
for clarification on this new apparent stance on owls. Again I may have
misread the intention of the post, but if so, that was only due to
vaguarities of the post. It is true as someone posted about the screech owls
in Oshkosh that some kids did do harm but if we are limiting posts based on
someone out there scanning our locations in order to do harm, we should
refrain from posting anything that might catch someone's eye. One example is
the Fork Tailed Flycatcher from 1999 in Sun Prairie, what if someone wanted
that bird for a trophy, they could have set up a net at night in the area
that he was and taken him. Would that be our fault for posting? Or any other
rare bird that has been consistent in a given location for a given time??
Again, I am not being sarcastic in my post, I have tremendous respect for
Peter and Bill M for all that they do. But I am curious.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kearns
Lake Mills
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