On another note, I was having a conversation with a birder who was a
very keen photograher in Sydney and Canberra in the 1980s, but who
hasn't done much in the interim and has only just got back into in. He
is amazed how much tamer urban birds, particularly parrots, are now,
compared to twenty years ago. He can get 50% closer to most spp, he
reckons.
(And before anyone makes the obvious comment, no he doesn't have a 50%
larger zoom lens)!
Has anyone else had the same experience of increasing tameness in urban birds?
John Leonard
On 07/05/2008, Peter Shute <> wrote:
> What do you mean by "walking obliquely towards them"? Do you mean that
> your body is partly turned away from them too? If that really helps
> then perhaps they're sensitive to whether a predator is in a position to
> launch themselves at them, irrespective of whether it's looking at them.
> I guess it would make sense.
>
> But if all these things are true then you'd think predators would have
> evolved the instinct to do all these tricks too. Maybe they do.
>
> Peter Shute
>
> wrote on Wednesday, 7 May 2008 7:38
> AM:
>
> > This article descibes how birds focus on the eyes of a human,
> > a human equally close to them, but looking away, is not
> > perceived as so much of the threat as one looking direectly at them.
> >
> > I think this is soemthing that most birdwatchers will have
> > learnt by experience. I have had this reinforced in my
> > expereince of bird photography, where often you can get
> > closer to birds by walking obliquely towards them with your
> > head turned away, and then just turning back at the last
> > minute to lift the camera and snap!
> >
> > John Leonard
> >
> > On 06/05/2008, Carl Clifford <> wrote:
> >> Dear All,
> >>
> >> When you are out in the field and watching a bird, do you somertimes
> >> feel that they know you are watching? Well have a look at
> >> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430075912.htm
>
--
John Leonard
Canberra
Australia
www.jleonard.net
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