RE: Equipment

["Barb Beck" <>]

You said:
"Note that a male bird in marking his territory deliberately chooses
places where he can see and be seen. These will often be far away from
cover. Part of the risks males take just to breed. He won't be very
successful at establishing and defending a territory cowering down in
the cover. The fact the bird stuck with the perch for 15 minutes after
you left says to me it's likely that this unlikely perch was one he was very
familiar with and used to mark the edge of his territory."

Admittedly many birds pick places where they can see and be seen but they
are interested in being seen by rivals.  Some of our birds are very
difficult for humans to see when they are singing.  I have been around the
boreal forest for quite a while and around a lot of ovenbirds. They are very
common in our aspen and mixedwood areas. While their songs are loud these
are not "in your face" birds which tend like some birds to sing in the open.
I have NEVER seen an ovenbird in an open area exposed defending territory
naturally, particularly in a bare cow pasture - no ground cover - on a small
stick in plain view a good 100 feet from the aspen forest.   I stand by my
conclusion that we cause the bird to unnecessarily expose himself in an
unnatural way.  Another Ovenbird trying to get into his territory would not
approach from the open area but from the woods keeping both birds in cover.
The oven bird is not a bird of edges which use both cover and open areas -
they basically stay in the woods.  So with a species that stay in cover
approaching males would also be in cover.  When he goes bitching and cussing
after his rival they would still be in cover - not perched in the open so
people can tick them off a list.

I stand by my statement that we stupidly caused the bird to expose itself in
an unnatural way by our playback and would never repeat that mistake.

Barb Beck
Edmonton



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