I view the recent discussion of the ethical considerations of playing
recording calls of birds with some mixed emotions. On the one hand, I
have a strong bias that e-mail discussions are a poor way to resolve
differences. E-mail seems to foster acrimony, and shed more heat than
light, than all other forms of human communication. On the other hand,
it is important for birders to be self-reflective about what they do,
and this thread has started that discussion. All of those who have
written on this subject in the past few days have brought a perspective
that I have found useful, and it has less heated than I would have
predicted.
I am not wise enough to know what the "right thing to do" might be, but
I would propose that the birding community would be stronger if we were
more comfortable talking with each other about ethics. This discussion
would include, but not be limited, to the use of recorded calls. The
ethical thing to do is not always clear, reasonable people can disagree,
it _is_ possible to "cross the line", and this is rarely if ever
addressed in the field when it occurs. This would seem to be a topic
ripe for discussion at a birding meeting or conference. Has anyone ever
heard of such a discussion?

Jack Stephens
Edmonds, WA
jstephens62 at comcast.net