> I think that people who visit National Parks are usually people who respe=
ct nature and so rather than patrolling it, I would just add a note to ever=
y National Park entrance/info sign that says "Please do not use your mobile=
phones or any other device to mimic bird calls or attract birds. It distur=
bs the natural behaviour of all animals in the park".
Eric,
Exactly, In Europe there are strict protection laws (unfortunately sometime=
s
difficult to enforce) concerning protection of birds and bats. A specific
licence, only issued for scientific research, is required for the use of
lures for instance when mist netting.
Sonic lures whatever their type or reason for use, disturb avian behaviour=
especially during migration and nesting. Whether alarm or social calls are=
used, they are unlikely to produce natural calls from the subject species.=
Their use should be limited to scientific research such as the BTO tracking=
of declining cuckoos migrating to Africa:
http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking
Here scientific lure capturing and tracking is revealing essential
information for this declining species. Frivolous use of sonic playback
lures cannot really be justified.
David Brinicombe
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