?Joe, I read your great narrative and can relate to a lot of what you say,?though I view birding as I do a lot of thing's; we can love something to death just by pursuing it. Proximity is really not the primary cause of wildlife disturbances, behavior is. I too prefer to be away from the crowd's for that reason, some realities of birding by bifocal, or camera lens are; groups attract more attention, utilizing cover helps you blend in (yes, even como clothing is not over-the top) and different species require different levels of care, but all will give you an indication of when to back off, remain still or leave the area. We need to read those signs the first time and take appropriate action, not ignore them -if we are truly responsible birder's. Education is really the key as laws and enforcement are becoming a thing of the past, just by sheer ratio's of human population to number's of officer's. At each known "hot spot" for rare species, I'd like to see interpretive center's giving this information to those who can benefit from it. I would also like to see blind's, as they have in western Oregon for viewing these bird's, some that can be reserved and also other's open to the general public. To me, these are the viable options for the future with expanding population and more pressure in general on bird populations, this isn't just an issue of lens size, it's really about the number's of people birding in general and what we all can do to blend in with the surrounding environment so we aren't an interference with the well-being of our quarry.




-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Higbee <jvhigbee at hotmail.com>
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wed, Feb 8, 2012 11:43 am
Subject: [Tweeters] Musing on wildlife and photographers




I have been musing on the situation and the comments regarding
photographers and wildlife for a while now. I decided to write some of
them out and put it on my web site. What I have written isn't to side
with any particular view or to further the volatility of the situation.
More on the what and why and some of how it has effected me.

http://josephvhigbee.com/

Joseph Higbee
Spanaway, WA
Mailto: jvhigbee at hotmail.com
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