My big concern on this would be the anti-conservation, anti-birdwatcher,
anti-green, lobby (who are far too powerful) jumping on incidents like this to
demonise a group of people who as a rule care more about wildlife than
virtually anyone else.
I would think peer pressure and education is the way forward on such matters as
this...
A simple "No Playback" sign in the hide might be a helpful solution where this
becomes a problem...
Good birders generally respect the rules of where they are...
Cheers all,
Ed
On 27/08/2012, at 5:16 PM, "Philip Veerman" <> wrote:
> I suggest that Carl's comments are over extreme. Yes the behaviour is better
> not done (I wouldn't do it - I don't have the equipment or the motive). I
> pretty much agree with the suggestions from Robert Inglis but there are
> bigger problems than that. Habitat loss is a far greater concern. Do we
> actually know if these activities have a significant impact on various
> species or that one in particular? And if so, how do we know it, unless the
> experiments are done? Not that I am suggesting it is a worthwhile
> experiment. Government bureaucracies administering wildlife conservation,
> surely are already stretched beyond capacity, doing just the basics to
> achieve minimal species conservation activities. Notwithstanding Section 139
> of the Protected Areas Management Regulation, I suspect prosecuting a case
> like that would be regarded in the community as rather silly. It would be
> hard to prove if denied by the person responsible. Given what politicians of
> all sides are proposing on nature conservation these days, I suspect at
> least 2 out of 3 of the appropriate Minister, the shadow minister and local
> member of Parliament would get a laugh from the suggestion.
>
> I always think of the writings of J.J. Audubon in USA who was a famous
> ornithologist who wrote about how many of the birds he painted with great
> skill tasted and, for example, how he had a captive Snowy Owl that he wanted
> to paint in a particular pose so he killed it for the purpose of putting it
> in the right pose.
>
> Philip
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of Carl Clifford
> Sent: Monday, 27 August 2012 3:41 PM
> To: Robert Inglis
> Cc: Birding-Aus
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Using call playback in bird watching and
> birdphotography.
>
>
> Robert,
>
> I would have cheerfully have asked the photographers if they would mind
> posing for a photograph, with all of their gear and noted down their car
> registration numbers. I would then send the images and rego numbers,
> accompanied by a statutory declaration setting out what I had seen, to the
> appropriate Minister, the shadow minister and local member of Parliament. In
> the covering letter, I would politely ask if the Department was going to
> take any action against the offenders.
>
> I think that this type of behaviour is utterly unconscionable and should be
> dealt with to the full extent of the law.
>
> Carl Clifford
>
> On 27/08/2012, at 11:34 AM, "Robert Inglis" <> wrote:
>
>> I know this is a topic which has been discussed here before and that
>> it can easily be classed as "controversial" but an incident I
>> witnessed recently has prompted me to believe the subject needs to be
>> revisited.
>>
>> Bird-photography is my principal birding interest and recently I
>> visited a bird hide I have used on numerous occasions and where I have
>> spent many hours quietly photographing some of the quite uncommon and
>> wary species which, from time to time, visit this wetland situated in
>> a Conservation Park. Some of those species are extremely wary and shy
>> and are liable to react immediately to any movement or loud noises
>> coming from the hide. Generally they dart back into the thick
>> vegetation around the wetland and often do not emerge again for hours.
>>
>> On this particular day, on entering the hide, I was confronted by a
>> spectacle which I found quite disturbing and which has left me with a
>> feeling of bitter disappointment and despair.
>>
>> I won't go into the finer details but suffice it to say I found a
>> small group of photographers excitedly and vigorously attempting to
>> photograph birds from the hide while using continuous and very loud
>> call playback to encourage the birds to come closer. A very brief
>> conversation indicated that the target species was the jacanas I had
>> just seen fly past the hide, undoubtedly the same pair of jacanas
>> which had been breeding with mixed success in that location for the
>> past couple of years.
>>
>> Rather than confront the photographers (I have learnt from experience
>> that confrontation, gentle or assertive, is invariably met with
>> aggression) and because I was being deafened by the volume of the call
>> playback I immediately left the hide and returned home.
>>
>> Over quite a number of years I have taken many thousands of
>> bird-photos but I have never used call playback to attract my
>> subjects; that doesn't mean I am totally against the use of call
>> playback but I do believe that, when it is used, it should be used
>> very carefully and sparingly.
>>
>> For that reason I offer for the consideration of all birders,
>> including bird-photographers, the following suggestions for guidelines
>> on using call playback as well as how to conduct oneself in a bird
>> hide.
>>
>> Call playback: (keeping in mind that the welfare of the bird is
>> paramount)
>> - Never use call playback in areas where breeding and/or nesting is known
> or could reasonably be expected to be actually or likely to be happening;
>> - Use call playback sparingly in all locations and particularly in
> locations which receive high levels of birdwatching/photography traffic;
>> - Never use call playback in bird hides as these are locations
> specifically intended to cater for high levels of birdwatching/photography
> traffic and are invariably located in significant and, often, sensitive bird
> habitats;
>> - Stop using call playback when: the target bird has been identified; the
> bird appears upset; the bird becomes aggressive;
>> - Do not simply turn the call playback on and leave it running
> continuously;
>> - Use a moderate to low level of volume and not the maximum level the
> player equipment can manage;
>> - Never use "aggression" or "alarm" calls for playback.
>>
>> Bird hides: (keeping in mind that the birds can see and hear the
>> occupants of the hide)
>> - Avoid loud noise inside the hide, e.g., loud conversation and mechanical
> noises;
>> - Move around the hide quietly and slowly avoiding sudden and violent
> movements;
>> - Do not wave arms and/or camera lenses out of the viewing ports of the
> hide;
>> - Enter and exit the hide slowly and quietly.
>>
>> I am sure other people can think of more possible "rules" but these
>> are the ones I think to be most important.
>>
>> I should also point out the following extract from the (Qld)
>> Department of Environment and Resources (DERM) Operational Policy
>> document on visitor management:
>>
>> "Section 139 of the Protected Areas Management Regulation states that
>> a person must not use a radio, tape recorder or other sound or
>> amplifier system in a way that may cause unreasonable disturbance to a
>> person or native animal in a protected area."
>>
>> The whole document can be found at
>> http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/register/p01433aa.pdf
>>
>> "Penalties do apply to infringements and details of those penalties
>> can be seen in the document "Proposed regulations under the Recreation
>> Areas Management Act 2006". The document can be downloaded from this
>> web page:
> http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/services_resources/item_details.php?item_id=20271
> 9
>> Note page 16, item 129. The penalty appears to be usually $175 but
> possibly up to $3750."
>>
>> I should point out that I did not recognise the people involved in the
>> incident described above and I am not in any way suggesting that the
> behaviour I witnessed is typical of that of all birdwatchers or
>> bird-photographers.
>>
>> Bob Inglis
>> Sandstone Point
>> Qld
>
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