Tweeters,
After reading all of the input from those in Tweeterdom concerning the reaction of one person in the neighborhood where the Crested Caracara has been found, I found Scott's discussion to be the one that aligns most with my thinking. Thanks, Scott.

Another stir of the pot: As well meaning and concerned as Bud Anderson's offer is regarding trapping/relocating the bird, I wonder if non-maleficence might apply. (For those who might not be familiar with the term, it's a precept derived from the Hippocratic Corpus (not Oath) maxim "primum non nocere" i.e., "first, do no harm.")

Another way of stating non-maleficence is "Given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good."

Might not this precept used in the bioethics community apply with regard to trapping/relocating this bird?

I'm not opposed to Bud's suggestion, merely wondering aloud about the necessity.

May all your birds be identified,
Denis DeSilvis
avnacrs four birds at outlook dot com

Sent from my Windows Phone
________________________________
From: Scott Downes<mailto:downess at charter.net>
Sent: ?7/?7/?2015 18:16
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu<mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Tweeters] Crested Caracara

Tweets,
An opinion on my end. People should practice good ethical behavior while viewing, but it seems that has been the case for the caracara. I am a firm believer that sometimes we are a bit too meek in our actions. That makes us a nice group to get along with but also allows us to be pushed around. If we were to worry about our viewing upsetting other people, we would stay away from many areas where hunters, land owners and others are annoyed by birders. Many groups are annoying and I doubt they just go away so quickly. Perhaps I'm missing something but I fail to see how standing quietly along a public road is disturbing the bird any more than groups of birders disturb birds at birding festivals, field trips etc..

The homeowners I chatted with couldn't have been more thrilled to have us, even offering to let us use their yard. It seems the real issue is an odd landowner and we should try to not make the situation more strained than it is already, but to suggest that birders are the cause of this isn't based in fact from what I've seen posted.

As for the poster who mentioned the landowner could shoot the blackbird, no they can't. Most native birds are protected under MBTA and it is illegal to shoot them.

Scott Downes
Downess at charter.net
Yakima Wa_______________________________________________
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