In point of fact, the exploding “birding community” in China mostly uses cameras to view their birds, not binoculars. The same is true for many South American countries (Argentina, Brazil) as well as other birder hotspot countries like Malaysia and the Philippines. If their peers are not carrying $2000 binoculars, why should they?
In the TexBirds thread about the Slate-throated Redstart nesting, I was interested to read that “field notes” were being taken about the nesting observations. I daresay that in today’s birding world, field notes are not only a lost art, in the eyes of a Records Committee they inevitably come up short vs. a photograph when it comes to acceptance / confirming a species sighting or behavior. Yes, the traditionalists will grumble about the importance of keeping notes, sketches and records, but in reality the “New Field Notebook” is eBird or iNaturalist, and the “modern Sketchbook” is an iPhone, SuperZoom camera, or DSLR camera. Honestly, I think it is for the best – there are reams of data that show how unreliable “eyewitness accounts” can be. At the same time, a single, badly focused and poorly exposed photograph of a bird can be useless for identification purposes. There is no ONE right way to do it.
Yes, we “birders” are carrying more camera gear every year, and at the same time the “bird photographers” are continually finding out about and “invading” “our” birding spots. This trend will definitely continue.
There are core differences between the actions and expectations of birders and bird photographers, and often times those differences cause friction:
- Noisy groups of birders chatting as they come through the forest will always drive birds away and make photographers grumble.
- Said same noisy birders wearing a rainbow array of clothing (and standing out like a sore thumb in whatever natural environment they happen to be visiting) also tend to keep birds at a distance – more grumbling from the photographers.
- Photographers continually inching closer to a feeding / resting / nesting bird in order to get a better photo, while the birders watch from a distance through spotting scopes and grumble
- Photographers setting up their equipment right in the line of sight of the feeder / drip / nest so as to block the birders’ view
- Photographers with Better Beamer-type Fresnel lens-equipped electronic flashes definitely DO bother birds, especially when they are coming to drips or feeders.
- Photographers wearing head-to-toe camouflage clothing in order to allow the birds to approach closer (or make the approach themselves), thus offending the birder’s kakhi-ettiquette. Yes, we birders ARE “hunters”, we just do not kill things on purpose.
BTW - If you have never birded your backyard / local patch while wearing full camo, I suggest that you try it once. You will be surprised at how much closer the birds will approach you, and how much longer they will stay near you, allowing for longer periods of observation. It really works!
Tours:
On an organized tour, once the birders see their target species, they are ready to move on to the next species / spot, while the photographers want to stay put and get better photos – neither group is happy with the other’s actions.
Tour companies like Tropical Birding and Lindblad Expeditions have created tours expressly for photographers, and take pains to vet photographers away from bird-listing trips. A bird-lister that signs up for a photo tour should know better, and if not, they find out quickly.
The solution? It’s not that easy, but we can all do things to help:
- Birders, nicely inform rogue photographers about field etiquette, and if they ignore or defy the wishes of the birding group(s), report them to the owners of the property. If they are REALLY unrepentant, post their photos on the appropriate FaceBook / social media pages and shame the heck out of them.
- Photographers, nicely request that noisy birders please keep walking around and talking to a minimum, as “the birds will come closer if we all stand still and stay quiet”, or “we might not see the bird again today, and if so, I would hate to think that it stayed away because of all the talking”.
- For drips, feeders, and stakeout spots, establish a minimum approach boundary, or designate a “tripods / photographer’s area” that is fair to the birds as well as the observers. Houston Audubon does a good job of this at their High Island spots.
- Establish “photographer-only” spots (blinds, etc.) that will be chatty-birder-free zones. Birders that defy these spots can be similarly ostracized as in Point 1.
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