All,
Betsy, there are no inappropriate questions from beginning birders,
either here on this List Serv, in the field, or anywhere else. Is pishing
wrong?
That's a heck of a question. I'm already taking fire here, but I started this
thread, so I'll try to answer your question.
Today, I am mostly a passive birder. Obviously. I don't play tapes. I
also don't do a lot pishing anymore either, especially in the breeding bird
season. Becoming a more passive birder has been a helpful experience for me.
It
has made me a more careful birder, even a better birder. Pishing less has
meant that on occasion, I don't get to see some of the birds I might have
otherwise enjoyed seeing. But, I don't believe it is a big deal in the field
to
either miss a bird you try to see or call one incorrectly.
Pishing fewer birds has caused me to spend more time working on actual
lD problems in the field. Sometimes, this means I have to linger longer before
I get the view I am hoping for. Among other things this has helped me
transition from spending a lot of time trying to memorize diagnostic
characteristics of species listed in field guides, to thinking about things
like the
habitat requirements of certain species, how certain species tend to forage
and
flush, and how to evaluate certain behaviors and vocalizations. When I was
pishing most birds up, under the every bird can be whistled up principle of
birding, I did not realize that at the time I was substituting working a
problem in
the field for pishing. More than anything else, pishing, for me, was a means
to an end.
I did not become a more passive birder by accident. And, I was not
always a passive birder. A couple of years ago, I was following the progress
of a
pair of breeding Summer Tanagers in Prince William Forest. Previously, I had
lots of prior experience following the progress of other breeding species,
but this was my first Summer Tanager nest. Prior to this time, I had always
tried to be very respectful of breeding birds in general and natal areas in
particular.
Once the nestling were well established in the nest and being attended
to by both parents, I wanted to photograph the nestling. I had no good reason
to be doing this, other than I wanted to do it. Based, in part, on my prior
experience, I thought that I could pull this off because I figured by this
time in the breeding cycle the parents would clearly have a strong attachment
to
both the nest and the nestling.
Anyway, I photographed the nestling on several occasions on successive
days. Perhaps I ought not to have been photographing the nestling at all.
Perhaps, I should have stopped with one picture, and called it a day. In any
event, the nestling never fledged. One day, I returned to the nest to find
that
it was no longer viable. And, I could not help but be left to wonder if my
invasion of the natal area might have been, not only an unnecessary, but an
unwanted disturbance. There are lots of reasons this nest could have failed,
but
I'll never know for sure what happened with this breeding attempt.
This experience was incredibly painful for me. To this day, this
continues to be the case. To make a long story short, after this, I spent more
than
a year thinking about the idea of passive birding. Over time, in lots of
ways, I discovered I was hardly a passive birder. So, I began thinking about
what
the opposite of being a passive birder might be? I didn't like the answer I
came up with.
Do I believe pishing is a bad thing? No, not necessarily. Do I believe
pishing birds is a rationale for playing tapes? No, I do not. Do, I believe
there is a right and wrong way to pish birds? Yes, with certain
qualifications,
I suppose I do. Do, I believe this is well understood? No, I am not sure it
is. Do I believe all birds are pishable? No, I do not. Do I believe birds
should be whistled up during the breeding bird season? No, I do not. All
claims
to the contrary, do I believe that we truly understand how everything from
pishing to playing tapes affects the birds we admire, and study? No, I do not.
Do, I believe it is better to error on the side of caution, to give breeding
birds and species of concern the benefit of the doubt? Yes, I do. Do I
believe that anything that promotes the principle of passive birding is a good
thing? Absolutely, I do.
My advice, if you are a new birder. Discuss this issue with birders you
know and trust, especially people who might be leading bird walks you
attend. Think carefully about the principle of passive birding. And, if and
when
you do begin pishing, try to keep the tone of your pishing soft and its
duration short. Watch carefully, you'll encounter all kinds of pishing styles
out
there. Some of these might be less bird friendly than others. Avoid the
careless and thoughtless habit of forcing birds up by any means necessary. As
a new
birder, whenever you are out birding with others, trust individuals with
more experience in the field to pish birds. Also, whenever you are out birding
with others, especially if you are birding with people you do not know well,
if others are in close proximity to you, ask them if they object to your
pishing, especially in the breeding bird season and in migration.
Thanx for responding to my post. Please feel free to contact me off line
if you ever feel the need to discuss this matter in greater detail. Since
you are a new birder, remember: there are no inappropriate questions, it is
not
a big deal to miss or call a bird wrong, and time in the field, as someone
once told me, usually solves most identification problems.
Thanx again,
Paul Kane
Falls Church, VA
