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<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/NS-RBA/conve --Apple-Mail-91061B71-6945-4B2C-8ED8-54398F014EB0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Thank you John for those thoughtful insights. And to Eric for bringing this t= o our attention.=20 I am not a hard core birder and just watch and listen, occasionally managing= a poor photo. If a bird doesn=E2=80=99t appear on its own accord I figure =E2= =80=9Ctoo bad, maybe another day=E2=80=9D and move on. I will never have a l= ong life list either.=20 To me, using playback to threaten a bird into showing itself or defending it= s territory is akin to pointing a gun at a person. Pishing is almost as bad.= My opinions alone. We all have to follow our consciences. And I realize I h= ave benefited from the knowledge gained from birders who use these tactics s= o I am guilty of hypocrisy here. As John says, good to think a bit before do= ing something invasive to birds or the planet. Is it always necessary? Nancy Sent from my iPad > On Mar 7, 2018, at 10:27 AM, John Kearney <john.kearney@ns.sympatico.ca> w= rote: >=20 > Thank you, Eric for distributing this in Nova Scotia and to you, Todd for w= riting up these important concerns. > John > =20 > =20 > From: NS-RBA@yahoogroups.com <NS-RBA@yahoogroups.com> On Behalf Of Eric Mi= lls E.Mills@Dal.Ca [NS-RBA] > Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2018 10:01 > To: NSRBA <ns-rba@yahoogroups.com>; Nature NS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> > Subject: [NS-RBA] Fw: The Ethical Birder > =20 > =20 > Worth distributing more widely, I think. > =20 > Eric > =20 >=20 > From: NatureNB <NATURENB@LISTSERV.UNB.CA> on behalf of Todd Watts <buteobu= z@GMAIL.COM> > Sent: March 7, 2018 9:03 AM > To: NATURENB@LISTSERV.UNB.CA > Subject: The Ethical Birder > =20 > In the twenty-first century, we are aware of the innumerable threa= ts to the planet.. Climate change is beginning to reshape the world, pestici= des as well as other pollutants can be found in the most remote and seemingl= y pristine areas, habitat loss threatens countless species of flora and faun= a and human numbers continue to grow at alarming rates. Seabirds populations= have been reduced by approximately 70% since 1950, aerial insectivores loss= es are around 10% per year, many once common species are becoming increasing= ly uncommon, if not rare. With all this news, which is based on very solid p= eer reviewed science, one would think that people as a whole and certainly n= aturalists, would change their ways. > The well educated naturalist/birder has many things to consider th= ese days. Will our love for birds cause us to do more harm than good? If we d= rive countless miles in search of list birds, are we hypocritical to demand s= omething be done about climate change? How far is too far to drive in a day?= How close is too close when photographing birds? Is feeding birds ok? Will m= y use of playbacks be too disruptive? There are many questions we might ask o= urselves or others. >=20 > Let=E2=80=99s examine these issues one at a time. >=20 > Chasing birds - This activity has a very heavy carbon footprint. Some bird= ers travel immense distances just to add a single species to a list.=20 >=20 > Photographing birds - Nearly all of us have seen birders and photographers= get too close to birds. Sometimes flushing a bird is due to a simple miscal= culation. However, sometimes it is not. Unethical behaviour is quite common w= ith photographers getting too close to birds in an attempt to get a better s= hot. If a bird is flushed, it is likely time to back off and/or change ones a= pproach. This is true for those of us with a camera or without. >=20 > Playbacks/mobbing calls - Use of mobbing calls has become quite common in N= B. Opinions on their use vary. Some claim they should never be used. Others f= eel that their use is generally OK outside of breeding season or outside of p= opular birding areas. For most of us, it is a judgement call. However, there= is no doubt that playbacks of any type can be disruptive during breeding se= ason. Anyone using them around breeding birds should have a very good reason= for their use (like taking part in an official study). >=20 > Feeding birds - This activity is likely pretty benign in general. However,= disease can be spread at feeders and the production of bird food does have a= footprint of its own. On an overpopulated planet, everything we do has pote= ntial to be harmful in some way. >=20 > So, what is a birder to do? One suggestion is to think about all o= f these things every time we leave our homes, start up our cars or reach for= our gadgets. We can enjoy nature without destroying it. The information gat= hered by amateur birders is extremely valuable. Many of us have taken part i= n backyard bird counts, breeding bird surveys, migration counts and more. So= me of us have discovered unknown bird populations, previously unknown concen= tration points, and of coarse numerous vagrants.=20 > For me, I can=E2=80=99t help but think about my footprint on the e= arth, whenever I plan a trip. That is why I am generally not seen at rare bi= rd stakeouts or out chasing individual birds. I find these activities to be w= ay too consumptive. Instead, I tend to search for the interesting birds near= my home. Or if I do venture far, I try to spend significant periods of time= there, pick up goods along the way and/or fill my vehicle with other birder= s in an attempt to lower our collective footprint. In doing this I have miss= ed out on seeing some rarities. However, I have found a fair number of my ow= n and have made other discovers of importance (i.e. hawk migration concentra= tion points). > There are still many discoveries we can make. As the climate chang= es, unusual phenomenon could become more common. Sea-ice is being reduced al= lowing sea- birds to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic Basin. Storm str= engths are increasing which will leave more displaced birds far from their n= ormal ranges. Breeding and wintering ranges are moving north. There are so m= any things to discover and document.=20 > It is my hope that all of us will be open to learning about the st= ate of the world and how we contribute to it. >=20 > For the birds, >=20 > Todd Watts > Bocabec, NB >=20 >=20 > NatureNB guidelines http://users.xplornet.com/~maryspt/NNB/nnbe.html > NatureNB -- The Mailing List - Xplornet > users.xplornet.com > NatureNB -- The Mailing List. fran=C3=A7ais. The NatureNB list was created= for people interested in the animal and plant l