birding-aus

Attracting birds with calls

To: "'birding-aus'" <>
Subject: Attracting birds with calls
From: L&L Knight <>
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:07:12 +1000
I don't believe that the pelagic chummers are disturbing widely ranging sea birds nearly a tenth as much as people who incessantly play territorial and breeding calls to draw out terrestrial birds. The latter have definite territories that are definitely encroached on, and there have been reports of the impacts of excessive "taping" on the behaviour of such birds, including particularly sensitive species like bristlebirds and scrubbirds in various forums, including this one. As such, I think the impacts of taping are not limited to exposing birds to possible predation [the subject of Bob's post] but also include longer lasting behavioural impacts.

I for one, do not think it would be acceptable to interfere with the breeding activity of an Eastern Bristlebird [a species that I have yet to see] simply so that I can enter a tick on my spreadsheet. In some respects, ticking birds that have been lured in through the use of breeding calls is a bit like ticking birds in aviaries ;)

Regards, Laurie.





On Saturday, January 13, 2007, at 12:46  PM, Nevil Lazarus wrote:

I find it rather strange that the "moral" twitchers who frown on calling
birds from tapes or ipods  seem to lose those morals as soon as they
step aboard a pelagic birding boat.
I the art of chumming to attract birds really any different to getting
bush birds into better view by calling them out?

Regards,

Nevil Lazarus

-----Original Message-----
From: 
 On Behalf Of Robert Inglis
Sent: Saturday, 13 January 2007 1:39 PM
To: birding-aus
Subject: [Birding-Aus] Attracting birds with calls

A recent thread has been discussing using electronic devices to play
bird calls.
I have interpreted some comments to say that some birders are simply
referring to the recorded calls
as an in-the-field aid to identification.
Other comments seem to say that some birders are attempting (and
sometimes succeeding) to attract
birds by playing the recordings out loud.

I am not going to try to dump my extremely high standards of morals and
sense of right and wrong on
anyone but I simply wish to ask the question:
"Is there any real difference between using a recorded bird call or
physically trying to imitate
that bird's call or 'pishing' to try to cause a bird to present itself
for a clear view by the
observer?"

It seems to me that in each case the aim is to bring the bird out into
the open. Regardless of how
this is done, doesn't it still agitate the bird and possibly expose it
to predation?

Cheers

Bob Inglis
Sandstone Point
Qld


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