My personal "ups and downs" of this twitch are well documented in the previous posts! I have to admit I do dip into anti-social media, if only to glean relevant information that will hopefully aid my strategy. The nuances of a twitch can be endless. This one was particularly complicated...but thankfully...all's well that ends well.
Reading various accounts of twitchers behaviour it's hard to know what to believe. To be honest it's just like any walk of life. There are sound responsible people, there are OK people and there are some...that are not!
Some facts...
- The bird had torches shone on it at the first site which also disturbed the home owners throughout the night? The bird unsurprisingly wasn't seen next day and changed sites. Some friends of mine dipped after making the colossal journey by road and Ferry.
- A guy when I was present wanted to play a tape. This was discouraged but apparently took place later in the day.
- Twigs were thrown beneath the roosting tree on its last day for the owners dogs, to try and make the Owl stir for a better photo.
One word...Selfish. The bird needs to REST.
Imagine if this bird had shown up on the Mainland!!!
Some have that...Got to get that frame-filler at all costs and to hell with anyone else mentality. Then...got to get the best picture to show on Facebook or Twitter...for that "well done" moment! Is that more important than the bird's welfare? I think NOT!
The topography of the gardens meant that the bird could be viewed easily, once found. On my second day it was around 15 feet high in a conifer right by the main path!
OK it wasn't in full view for that picture postcard shot. Tough. Over the duration of its stay someone will get lucky and be there at the right time as it emerges from its roost...of its own accord. As happened on its final day. Genuinely pleased for the fortunate few. We weren't so lucky, never mind.
There is no answer to this...it's just how it is. I was lucky, enjoying the bird at leisure with a small well-behaved group who respected the Owls space. Also island twitches are more self-policing with dubious behaviour being pointed out to the less thoughtful. My best pic was obtained from distance through thick vegetation and took much patience to get an "eyes open" image.
Personally I'd rather have a realistic image than an ultimate. Lets face it, after a while the multitude of images being posted on-line becomes a little...boring. Almost a competition to top the last one.
Loved the challenge of the twitch which fortunately worked out in the end.
Time to turn my thought to my beloved Texas...
2 comments:
Hi Alan,
I heard comments of photographers getting to 5 metres at the second site for their photos. This immediately begged the question of how much sleep the Tengmalm's Owl was managing to get during the day. At the first site, the main viewing site was 10-15 metres back & thanks to a fence, the photographers were kept back during the day. Can't be sure it wasn't getting disturbed by the crowds during the day or coming & going of the homeowners family & friends. But 5 metres sounds to me like too close & would put the Owl on edge. So not surprised to see lots of wide away, alert Owl photos on twitter. I called out irresponsible torching & playing on a tape (once) on my blog & twitter on the last day at the first site. But given the number of wide awake photos from the second site, then reckon you have got a point about it not getting enough sleep there & some photographers not being as considerate as they should have been. At the end of the day, we are birders & should be aware of the impact we have on individual birds at twitches.
Steve S
http://birdingpooleharbourandbeyond.blogspot.com/2019/02/23-feb-19-tale-of-twat-boy-pratt-boy.html
Hi Steve,
Great to hear from you pal. I read your excellent account also. Let's hope we can have a memorable HERMIT THRUSH twitch this Autumn!
Best Wishes
Alan
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