Subject: [Tweeters] Snowy Owls and stress
Date: Feb 13 13:49:49 2013
From: Sherry Hagen - littlebirder at gmail.com


Well said.

Sherry Hagen
Vancouver, WA
littlebirder at gmail.com
On Feb 13, 2013 1:43 PM, "Dennis Paulson" <dennispaulson at comcast.net> wrote:

> Hello, tweets.
>
> I read the reports about the unethical behavior of some photographers, and
> I couldn't agree more that this should be discouraged. As others have said,
> most of the ones pushing the Snowy Owls are not birders or wildlife
> photographers but visitors who think the birds are cool and want to get
> photos of or better looks at them. Many of them have cameras with short
> lenses not suited for bird photography, so they need/want to get as close
> as they can for good pictures. We all have seen the consequences of that.
> And do one would say this is a good thing, but I'm sure a lot of it is
> ignorance rather than intended harm, so education is the best response to
> it.
>
> But, as I wrote last winter, I would like to clarify one aspect of this. *The
> birds are not exhausted, they are not stressed* They are at Damon Point
> because they want to be there, because it is a great place for them,
> because they can forage very successfully there and have no problem getting
> enough to eat. If they were too stressed, including by the transgressions
> of people and dogs, they would go somewhere else. They are obviously
> surviving just fine after months of those transgressions. Painting a
> picture that they are poor suffering displaced waifs that deserve to have a
> better life is scientifically incorrect and, I think, morally wrong, as it
> immediately creates negative thoughts about all of us who go out looking
> for Snowy Owls.
>
> And all other wild birds, if you think about it. Our presence in the world
> has an effect on everything around us, especially wildlife. Should we not
> go out in our backyard because there is a chickadee relaxing (if chickadees
> ever relax) in the tree near the door? Should we not drive because we scare
> birds up that are feeding by the roadside? Should we not put up bird
> feeders because we are inviting Pine Siskins to death by salmonellosis or
> Sharp-shinned Hawk?
>
> Let's please continue to object to and educate about rude behavior but
> not, by our language, make wildlife viewing an unsavory activity. Let's not
> impugn the basic intelligence and survivor abilities of Snowy Owls and the
> other birds that we encounter unendingly and seem to do fine in spite of
> it. Habitat destruction, pollution, overharvesting of game species,
> introduction and subsidizing of predators, human-caused climate change,
> those are the real enemies of wildlife. Not people walking around and
> disturbing them.
>
> Dennis
> -----
> Dennis Paulson
> 1724 NE 98 St.
> Seattle, WA 98115
> 206-528-1382
> dennispaulson at comcast.net
>
>
>
>
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