Hey tweets, while I believe the entire tweeters community appreciates
all the work the photographers among us contribute to our pleasure in
birding, I would like to remind folks about the protocols at the Fill.
Yesterday, there were five photographers off-trail in the field near
the Lazuli Bunting, trying to get a close shot. There are no trails at
all through that field, except for one that goes to the weather station
- it is off-limits to nonscientists, due to CUH's attempts to bring
back prairie-breeding birds. Right now, Savannah Sparrows are in there
doing their best to produce more Savannah Sparrows. The people who were
wading through the prairie grass to get to the bunting were not looking
at their feet to see whether they were disturbing ground-nesting birds.
They were totally focused on getting their pictures. I do not believe
that the benefits of getting a good picture outweigh the risks to
breeding birds.

There is another factor to consider as well, when it comes to the Fill.
The Fill is a natural area sited in the heart of a city of half a
million people. There are very few natural areas in the city - most
areas that have wild nature are city parks. The purpose of parks is to
serve people. The purpose of the Fill - the Union Bay Natural Area - is
to serve wildlife and science.

Most people who go to the Fill are not naturalists or birders. They are
ordinary people who do not necessarily understand the purpose of UBNA.
They think it's a park. So they do park things there: they walk their
dogs, jog, ride bikes, have picnics, push strollers, and such like.

When these people see photographers making their own trails through
tall grass off trail, they get the idea that it's okay for them to go
off trail, too. So they let their dogs off leash, they flatten the tall
prairie grass to set up picnic cloths, they let their kids ride
mountain bikes anywhere they please, etc.

Each person who does such things causes only a little harm. But the
Fill is a little place. A fragile little place. A fragile little place
surrounded by half a million people. Small harm done by a few people
can quickly escalate and accumulate, driving away the very wildlife we
are trying to watch and photograph. Bitterns used to nest at UBNA. I
haven't seen one in years. Too many people, too much pressure.

We can't do anything to restrict the number of people who go to the
Fill. But we can control our behavior, can't we? I suspect that all of
us have gone off-trail now and then - myself included. But more and
more, I am coming to think that we have reached a tipping point at the
Fill. That unique and beautiful place will work for all of us, but only
if we all follow the rules and respect nature. Even if that means
sacrificing our own desires to see a bird or take a picture. - Connie,
Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com