Hello, Tweeters,
I have noted the discussion about the use of playback to identify the Winter Wren, and on behalf of the Washington Ornithological Society (WOS), would like to respond.

WOS provides a forum for birders from throughout the state to meet and share information on bird identification, biology, population status and birding sites. Membership is open to all persons interested in birds and birding. https://wos.org

WOS has previously endorsed the American Birding Association's Code of Birding Ethics. The code of ethics can be found on our web site at this link: https://wos.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/

With regard to the Winter Wren situation, the ABA code of ethics clearly suggests limiting playback, especially for species that are rare in an area. In this case, the Winter Wren would fall into the category of a rare or unusual bird, and minimizing stress to the bird associated with playback or approaching the bird would be in order.
WOS encourages birders to review the ABA code of ethics periodically, and to consider their actions in light of these guidelines.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Kauffman, WOS President
Seattle


Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2021 16:43:43 -0800
From: "J. Acker" <owler at sounddsl.com<mailto:owler at sounddsl.com>>
To: "'Al n Donna'" <alndonna at wamail.net<mailto:alndonna at wamail.net>>,"'Tweeters'" <tweeters at u.washington.edu<mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Winter Wren Sunday January 17


I would consider the use of playback against this individual bird as harassment. The ABA code of ethics states "Limit the use of recordings and other audio methods of attracting birds, particularly in heavily birded areas, for species that are rare in the area." Where does the WOS Board stand on this? (Their website is not user friendly when searching for a Code of Ethics).

J. Acker <mailto:owler at sounddsl.com> owler at sounddsl.com<mailto:owler at sounddsl.com>
Bainbridge Island, WA


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20210120/5f8c9f33/attachment.html>