Jerry Broadus:
> what about bright clothing on birders affecting bird sightings?

I think it will depend a lot on where your at and what species you're
chasing.

Wearing a bit of red when chasing hummingbirds, for instance, might
well attract favorable attention from these little critters.

> He also said that he felt that many birders would do better
> dressed in camoflage; after all, birding is hunting.

> Of course, we were following antshrikes, musician wrens, and other denizens
> of the shrub. What do you think about this in the open areas, like in the
> Skagit? Obviously there are differences, and of course a group of people on
> the shoulder of the road are visible no matter what they wear

Out in the open, birds are going to recognize the human form. This is
why so many great bird photographs are taken from one's car or a blind.
Some species are nearly impossible to photograph in any other fashion,
unless you work with acclimated individuals - puddle ducks are a great
example. You'll never get close to puddle ducks on foot except in places
where they are used to people (and where the people don't shoot at them).

Many birds are often keyed into motion detection. It is difficult to
walk up to a group of shorebirds and get close enough to photograph.

On the other hand, if you're familiar with how the tide comes up
into an area and get in place as it rises, often shorebirds will
come right to your feet. Sitting quietly and letting them approach
you is the key.

This even works for large groups of people - Bowerman Basin comes
to mind. I doubt the hundreds of people there would see more birds
if they dressed differently.

The same basic technique works for things like avocet and willet
at small ponds. Though there is no rising tide to work with,
if you observe the birds for awhile before attempting to approach,
you can get an idea of where they prefer to feed. They leave
when you approach (and I'm sure if you saw me do so, many of
you would swear "&**^%&( photographer" under your breath), but
if you sit quietly and still they will return, usually after
a half-hour or so of yelling at you and debate among themselves.

With species such as this, I've had better success doing this
than setting up a blind.

But not when they have young in the area - in such cases they
try to drive you away (and you should leave).

The photos I have scanned of shorebirds, avocets, etc which are taken
in the open have been photographed using such techniques. Depending
on species, distance ranges from about 15 (small things) to 30 (avocet)
feet. On my butt, in the open, wearing whatever. (sitting is
important, not just to minimize movement, but to break up the
two-legged-devil form and to make you appear smaller). Could I
get closer wearing camo? Well, at times I yell at roosting
shorebirds at Yaquina Bay - when you sit there for a couple of
hours they'll come right up to you, 5-6 feet away. "Get away from
me so I can photograph you! Go away!".

When in Florida I've tried an interesting technique suggested
by SE photographers - I wear old tennies and get in the water.
Shorebirds and things like cormorants seem less wary of people
approaching from the water, even though the swishing water makes
a racket! There are lots of shallow, warm lagoons there in
which to do this, unlike Oregon.

Of course, many of the herons and egrets there are tame beyond
belief, such as the snowy egret that spent a late afternoon
chasing me with a fish, repeatedly approaching me so close
I couldn't focus with my 28-105 zoom! It really wanted me
to take the fish!

When trapping hawks for banding in the Goshute mountains, we ask
people in the blinds to avoid bright colors. But this is largely
because such clothes make motion easy to detect when looking at
the blind from the outside, and falcons are very keen eyed (occasionally,
kestrels will fly right up to the viewing slot and briefly hover,
staring right at you). We often catch accipiters when someone
is outside the blind removing another hawk from a net - I've had
Coops slam into mist nets literally feet away from my head.
The key, again, is to hold still.

I suspect the rainforest birding situation may be similar, in
that bright clothing makes motion very visible. I can well
believe that in the dark rainforest that this could be the
problem.

In contrast to trappers, the crew of observers and many of the
visitors to the sit who count passing migrants don't bother
with drab clothing. As they are at the top of the ridge, they
bear the brunt of the wind, which is often very cold, so they
are much more concerned with warmth than invisibiliity. Raptors
fly by, often just feet away. They look at people as they
fly by, occasionally, and sometimes land and perch nearby.

The key is to recognize that different bird species in different
habitats at different times of the year have different needs.

And to recognize that different individuals within a species
greatly differ. Some birds are just naturally tolerant of
people, others aren't.

Speaking of rude people on the Skagit/Samish Flats, the rudest
I've met were a pair of birders in a van (there we go - stereotyping
again:). I was leading a Portland Audubon group, and we stumbled
across a mixed flock of trumpeter and tundra swans sitting about
30 feet from the highway, in some farmer's yard, also no more than
about 30 feet from the backdoor. Best look I've ever had at either
of these, not to mention having both together.

These two drove up, and the man started screaming at us that "we
obviously didn't love birds, because if we did, we wouldn't be
distirbing them, and that they were OFFICIAL VOLUNTEER SWAN COUNTERS
but that other people shouldn't stop and look at them". They
were from Seattle. If some locals had shown up to scream at
them I would've given them a hug :)

Of course, the swans just sat there, probably amused by the scene.
The most amazing thing to me was that a woman who lived in the
house came and loudly dumped her garbage into their metal can,
slamming the lid down, etc - and the swans STILL didn't blink,
much less leave.

I didn't have my camera with me (trip leading mode) and of course,
since then have never been closer than a hundred yards to a swan up
there without it getting upset and leaving.

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, more at http://www.xxxpdx.com/~dhogaza