Seems reasonable to politely inform people about how and why to observe
birds safely. I would simply caution success would hinge far more on how
its said, than what is said.

-Mike Clawson

On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 9:53 AM, Rolan Nelson <rnbuffle at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Guy, Put me down for $10.
>
> Tweets, PEOPLE!! How many times do we need to go over this? If, as I
> suspect, those crowding the owls are not Tweeter Readers, then perhaps we
> all need to take it upon ourselves to speak to those violators, in the
> field, at the time.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> -Rolan
>
> Rolan Nelson
> Fircrest, WA
> rnbuffle at yahoo.com
>
> --- On *Mon, 1/9/12, Guy McWethy <lguy_mcw at yahoo.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Guy McWethy <lguy_mcw at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Snowy Owl etiquette
> To: "Christine Southwick" <clsouth at u.washington.edu>, "tweeters at uw.edu" <
> tweeters at uw.edu>
> Date: Monday, January 9, 2012, 9:43 AM
>
> Well, as always, it only takes a few individuals to make a mess of
> things for the rest of us.
> And many of these problems are due to simple ignorance.
> If everyone going out there is aware of the issue, we may even manage to
> police ourselves ....
>
> Any thoughts about placing a sign out on Damon Point?
> All the folks viewing the owls have to walk out thru there, and would
> notice a big sign:
>
> "Snowy Owls Present on Damon Point.
> Please do not approach within 100 feet of the owls.
> Please do not disturb or flush the owls.
> If they are flushed, they burn extra energy, and can easily die of
> starvation.
> Please allow the rest of us to enjoy the owls as well"
>
> I bet we could get the folks on Tweeters to chip in some $$ to get a sign
> made up quickly.
> I'll pledge $20 as a start ...
>
> Heck, a sheet of plywood and some paint would be enough to start ....
>
> Anyone out there have any ideas about who to contact for permission to
> post a sign? Do we need any?
> Heck, talk to the owners of the campground there, to place it on that
> edge. They might be amenable to some good publicity ..
>
> Instead of just complaining, lets do something.
>
> Guy McWethy
> Renton, WA
> mailto: lguy_mcw at yahoo.com
> *From:* Christine Southwick <clsouth at u.washington.edu>
> *To:* tweeters at uw.edu
> *Sent:* Monday, January 9, 2012 9:14 AM
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] Snowy Owl etiquette
>
> Saturday, I and some friends went to Damon Point at Ocean Shores
> --(parking is along a curve--with no good signage). Walk was about two
> miles each way to where the owls were.
> We saw three, but had been told that there were at least six seen that
> morning.
>
> Two were heavily marked, one was almost white--maybe an adult? But was
> hard to see because of all the people crowding around it.
>
> It was great to see these beautiful birds;
> it was not great to see the over-eager people who were vying for the best
> possible photo and crowding these owls.
>
> As we were walking toward the area of these owls, I saw two different owls
> who had been pressured into flying, wasting valuable calories, to get away
> from people, who then moved toward where they settled. One of these owls
> flew again, so it was obviously disturbed.
>
> The third owl decided not to move, so people kept moving closer. Since
> I wouldn't go any closer because of my concern for the owls, I could only
> guess at the distance, but from where I stood, they (at least four, with
> three others about 100 feet) couldn't have been more than 50 feet from the
> owl, and maybe even closer. One of my friends said 25 feet...
>
> If we, as the birding community don't monitor ourselves, and show by
> example, who will be loooking out for the welfare of birds out of their
> normal habitat? Must we diminish their chances of survival by competition
> of who has the best picture? Loving them to death is still death.
>
>
> Christine Southwick
> N Seattle/Shoreline
> clsouthwick at q.com<http://us.mc1215.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=clsouthwick at q.com>
>
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