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=202719
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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