Birding is incredibly relaxing with a lot of amazing people. Everyone ive met in my 2 years of doing it has been awesome and loves to share knowledge with those with common interests
@Smoky Shots Photography Until you realize a dead tree that's housing woodpeckers in a park is marked to be destroyed... but that's anything outdoors/ in this all too real reality I guess, cannot get too attached to anything. Or at least in Florida, you'll learn real fast...
This goes both ways. One day I was out birding when I saw some black capped chickadees. I stopped to get some pictures from a distance. One flew to a tree right next to me and started checking me out. Then it flew over and landed on my shoulder. I thought, "Oh cool, I'm a Disney princess now." Next thing I know, four of his buddies flew over and started trying to get into my pockets and biting my hands looking for food. I think they were trying to mug me.
... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
Here in south Florida a few years ago a group of photographers were photographing a spoonbill rookery. They were standing in waist deep water a respectable distance from the rookery. All were using lenses that ranged from 500 to 1200 mm. The birds were going about their normal routine. That was until a pontoon boat from the local Audubon Society showed up and motored between the photographers and the rookery. The leader of the tour got on a PA system and told the photographers they were too close. As soon as the person started speaking the spoonbills were frightened and took flight. When it made the local news the leader of the tour said the photographers were harassing the birds.Other witnesses, including some on the tour boat, said the tour leader was wrong and that person was the one who frightened the birds. Conflicts of this nature are not uncommon at this time of year here in Florida. There is a wetlands near Viera where birders have been known to block the roads so that only their group can get through.
that sounds for me not like birders, more like greedy people wanting to be better or making the profit with selling a rarer picture, so basically capitalist scum, doesnt matter if they photograph or are calling themself „birders“, they are no real birders or photographers at all
@@samTollefson Money always rules here in Florida. Just look at how much money was set aside to restore the Everglades. The bulk of it was spent on endless studies and very little restoration was completed other than putting diversion dams in the canal that runs beside the Turner River Road and a few bridges in route 41.
@@samTollefson Ignore previous. I meant to cancel because it wasn't worth the time it'd take to rewrite that into something with the required nuance. But I hit reply by accident.
@@johnpatton7597 Yes, A lot of the sugar-growing land South of Lake Okeechobee was purchased by the state with the intention of turning it back into wetlands, because of supposable "lack of funding" the land was leased back to the sugar growers in the interim. Double bonus for the sugar growers, they got to continue their operation but now hold little liability for continuing polluting the Everglades pur the state contracts and lack of oversight of their operation. If you think that is going to change anytime soon, remember the republican leadership in Florida thinks that Pollution, global warming, species extinction, etc. is Fake news put out by capitalist-hating queer liberal tree-hugging woke trans people.
While taking photos of wildflowers, I saw a group of birders trample through an environmentally sensitive and fragile habitat destroying numerous wildflowers, some of which were wild orchids. They didn't care, even after I pointed out to them the orchids they trampled, they got the bird on their monthly county list. No argument wanted here but folks tend to ignore their own egregious behavior. I have seen horrendous behavior from photographers, birders, hikers, trail runners, school groups, off roaders, fishermen, and even scientists (I saw a bird bander break the wing of a song sparrow while getting it out of the mist net at a banding station. We think the bird was destroyed). So, any group who points fingers at another group really needs to look in the mirror. No single activity is immune from jerks, uncaring individuals or selfish behavior. Bad apples are bad apples regardless of which group to which they belong.
All of your examples are great, but the person doing research and banding has to accept that these things can happen in pursuit of their research. This is not the same thing as intentionally trampling through a place you have no business being for selfish reasons. You can't honestly say they are the same.
@@zipzap8937 You know exactly which groups bad and irresponsible behavior to excuse don't you. As long as they have the right title they can do whatever they want. Good job!
@@zipzap8937 I didn't have time to write a book about the encounter. This case was an ornithologist from a local university and a group of students. It was the untrained volunteer student that killed the bird. In this case, yes, it was on the scientist for being careless by allowing untrained volunteers to handle the birds. I was photographing wildflowers nearby and witnessed the encounter. Song sparrows are quite common around here so it wasn't a rare bird but a needless loss of life all the same. I know this fellow because I see him out on the trail a lot and have chatted with him many times. He is a decent guy. I only hope he took a look in the mirror to reconsider how he handles these things in the future.
I've met a lot of birders who simply want to tick a species off on their target list and then leave three minutes after spotting them. I spoke a man who'd come from the US to Australia, telling me he'd been to several birding hotspots and seen and photographed several much loved species. We met in far north Queensland. We spoke about the local cassowaries and when when came along the beach, he took two pictures and got in his car and left. I spent a while from a distance watching its behaviour and it seemed to get used to me before getting closer for some great photos.
Yesterday I spotted a "lifer" (new to me, never seen before) through my new spotting scope. I took no pictures and after verifying with my field guide I just stood and admired it and even felt a bit guilty for having to pack up and move on after a while but still, I just enjoyed the moment with respect for the opportunity that was given to me. It was a "Common Goldeneye" and for this area, not so common.
My rules as a wildlife photographer are as follows: 1. Sit still & quite for as long as it takes without disturbing any bird especially nesting season. 2. If there aren’t any birds about to photograph then that’s tough. 3. Use as long as possible focal length lens to keep your distance away from the bird or animal (same rules apply for any wildlife). In my experiences, dog owners are worse as they don’t understand that some birds nest on the ground and can be scared away from their young very easily and will abandon their chicks or young. There is no shame in visiting bird world reserves at all to photograph them. If you use a hide and sit still you will eventually be rewarded. Again dog owners are under the elusion that whenever they walk their dogs in the countryside. They can let them off the lead, this is not the case in the UK for instance as they have to be under control at all times. (Country code)
Very rare here in the US where dogs are allowed to be running loose off the leash unless it is a marked place like a dog park or their own fenced in property. Still, I see people letting dogs run along the trail off leash at least once a week. They look at me like I'm the bad guy when I tell them the dog needs to be on a leash.
@@JeffandLeslie I guess in the US you have a lot more land that isn’t privately owned. The only land we have in England that isn’t privately owned is national park and common land which isn’t much. In Scotland they have a right to roam law which means that you can basically walk anywhere. I’m in a unique position as I also run a pest and vermin company, so I’ve studied a lot of wildlife. Good to hear from you guys that have experienced the same as me. 👍🏻
Dog owners in general lack respect for native species and ecosystems. As do cat owners. I love cats and dogs but unfortunately they can have a bad impact on these kind of things
@@FG-ww8rc I cannot paint all dog and cat owners with such a broad brush. Some do but some are very respectful. Like any group of people, there are good and bad.
@@puffingtonsmythe8690 we have a lot of state, county, city and regional parks that are not privately owned plus millions of acres of government owned land, particularly in the western part of our country (BLM land). In addition to this, we do have national parks, national forest lands, national and state wildlife reserves and other public lands. We have no such "right to roam" laws here though.
This video really hit home. I've only been photographing birds for a few years, but I've run into gatekeeping and playback. One of the main birders in my area uses playback to attract birds. This person knows that it is a bad idea, especially in breeding season, but does it anyway. I've also had people ask me to take down location information on rare birds. Not because they are on private property, but because they want to get some good shots before everyone else does. Birding can be a crazy hobby.
Honestly, I had no idea the hobby could be this...toxic. My very limited experience with it was always positive. But then again, I also thought that wildlife folk could just all get along, but I learned that not everyone who gets into it are necessarily good or wholesome people. I knew a wildlife biologist no less who expressed extreme hatred of....cats. I get not everyone likes cats. I get that birders in particular have valid reasons to dislike cats. This guy was something else though. He expressed the desire to shoot cats on sight. He was also an alcoholic who drank so much that he had a large beer gut despite his job having him hike many tens of miles on the regular, so maybe that's something too. IDK. It seems that no matter what hobby or field or industry I find interest in, once I dive deep enough into them, I find that there's always a toxic element and controversy within them. I could be trying to learn origami, and find out that there's a faction of origami extremists who give people papercuts if they don't approve of the way they fold paper. It sounds ridiculous, but so do many of these things in this video.
@@nautilus2612 he is not right, as there are far more ways to deal with cat overpopulation that don't require such violence. And it is sorta my business, since he might come for my cats too. But also, I find it fitting that a person who holds such hatred in his heart is also a deeply unhealthy individual in a physical sense. It makes some sense. That's all I'm saying. But hey, if you find yourself allied with him, maybe look at yourself as well. Hate might be a natural emotion, and there's nothing wrong with feeling it every now and again, but holding onto it in your soul where you express such violent desires so casually and vehimently can't be good for your soul.
@@ShadeSlayer1911 He's far from being the only threat for your cats. When you let them outside alone and unsupervised you willingly expose them to the risk of becoming roadkill, contracting diseases, getting attacked by other animals, getting lost or stolen, all because you're too lazy to keep them on a leash and actually spend time with them. In other words you're more dangerous for your cats than he is. I do believe that outdoor and stray cats need to be suppressed, but the hatred you project on me only exists in your imagination (I'd say that the way you describe that man and mock his life struggles is hateful). I don't hate animals for performing what they're naturally inclined to do, but the problem is completely out of hand and culling them is the only option to protect our biodiversity, which is far more important than the feelings of irresponsible pet owners. Our ecosystems are not made to support thousands of allochthonous cats being dumped into the environment everyday.
I remember driving to someone's house to get some wood, and a whole group of people were standing all over the road and looking into their cameras to get pictures of the eagle nearby. That eagle hasn't returned to that nest, but when I go hiking (even simple ones my grandparents go on) I've seen a handful of eagles and other uncommon birds. Don't feel entitled to anything in nature, be glad you were lucky enough to encounter the amazing animals.
similar thing happened when i was like, 13-ish. a pair of baldies made a nest nearby a local park, 50-100 people swarmed below their nest daily. after a week, the eagles left. Never returned. But yet, when i go driving, go hiking, eagles, hawks, owls - they all make their appearance and sometimes i even find a feather or two.
@@TheVeggieSalad which is a dumb law imo. hasn't done anything for poaching rates which is what the law was aimed to target. me finding a feather =/= comparable to poaching or trapping for sale of bird or feathers. ntm feral and outdoor cats doing way worse to birds than poaching, but yknow. government be dumb
People generally know what they should/shouldn't be doing. Those that do not care will do whatever they want anyway. Discussing it is fine, but it isn't going to change people's actions.
People will always justify what they want to do, not just with birding, but everything. It is human nature, and at the same time be critical of others doing something they themselves wouldn’t do. Bush bashing through forests to get “that” bird shot is one of the biggest. Stick to marked tracks and obey signage.
Some birders are anti-banding, which is self-defeating as banding is the primary tool for gathering data necessary to protect wild birds and their habitats. I band hummingbirds, and occasionally trap, band, and document "out of range" hummers, especially in winter. Some birders seem to resent my use of measurements to identify young or female hummingbirds, as if it were cheating. Some believe that banding will spook a rare bird and ruin their chance to see it, though every off-season hummer I ever trapped returned to the same feeder within hours, if not minutes.
Lol, I once banded an out-of-range Canada Warbler on migration. It not only stayed around for a week, it repeatedly hit our nets in that time, at least four different instances. It certainly wasn’t “spooked” by either the netting process or the general “manhandling” of extraction and processing. Same thing happened with an Ovenbird that year. Birders kept showing up asking about it, and I just pointed in the direction of Net 4 “somewhere over there”. I’ve never heard of people bitching about measurement use before, that’s wild. I’m honestly confused on how they think one should positively ID such birds. Guessing? Because I have to ID empids in hand every year, and the answer always is “ridiculous measurements, unless p6 is not emarginate”. Although I think Pyle was high when he came up with his separation of Western-type flycatchers. Total BS.
Bird photographers abusing the playback of bird sounds is one thing that I've experienced. I've seen where even playing a bird sound once or twice changed the activity of the birds nearby and the sounds they were making. I've decided not to do it at all.
I had never heard of it until a few years ago. I met this guy who was dragging a cart with him. Besides maybe $20,000 of camera gear, he had a bluetooth speaker that he used to call birds. I asked him to show me how it worked, so he dialed up some sort of warbler or something and instantly half a dozen or so came out of the bushes.
One day at Viera Wetlands I saw a photographer use a recording of a rare rail. He had flown down from Canada for the sole purpose of getting photos of that one bird. The bird would walk out of the reeds, spot the photographer and go back into the reeds. The bird did this three times before it disappeared for good. The photographer was happy; he got his one shot. The bird was not reported again that winter.
I am definitely a bird photographer and not a birder. I often take pictures first and identify later. Bird photography has gotten me much more interested in birds and their well being. Also I share my photos with others outside the bird community which can only be good for pro-bird politics. Two different hobbies using the same resource, mutual respect is called for. I will say that mirrorless cameras with silent electronic shutters and high iso cameras should reduce shutter/mirror noise and flash, both of which could definitely be intrusions by bird photographers on the shared use with birders.
I would never use flash on any wild animal anyway, but I can't afford to go mirrorless yet (even though Nikon Z is on my dream list, if anyone wants to donate I'll send you my paypal address 🤪) I have noticed birds react in various ways to the sound of the shutter when I'm taking photos. So I try to be careful with that if I'm in close proximity.
I shot film SLR's and DSLRs for over 40 years. I think I could count on one hand with fingers left over the birds that have been scared off by my camera shutter. Usually it is my own movement that will scare them away. They typically ignore the shutter sound. I shoot mirrorless now but I have seen no difference. Birds don't care about the click, they do care about a large mammal moving about close to them (that large mammal would be anyone reading this).
Yeah, i use photographs to get better looksnat birds and identify them. I dislike being an intrusion to the birds I see, so the keener bird photographers annoy me a bit.
@@mc12358 using flash in bird photography is useless, the birds are usually far away. And flashes makes the picutres unnatural which is counterproductive to most bird photographers who aims to get the most natural and true to life picture
Gatekeeping is probably what irritates me the most about birding, especially if the bird is in a public space. However, it is frustrating when you go out to view a bird and there's a large crowd of irritable birders there. I can definitely understand a homeowner not wanting a mob on their private property, though.
I’m not a birder or watcher (algorithm brought me here) but don’t understand “gatekeeping” at all. Nobody has a right to access private property. And nobody can impose their ethics on your access to public land as long as the access and activity is legal. What is the dispute?
@@bpdp379 That was my question too: your property, your rules. Public property? I suppose the powers that be(BLM, Forest Service, Park service, local municipality, Fish and Game Dept.) may get involved when an area becomes so crowded no one can see anything. I just came back from a large forest in Europe, known for climbing. Due to the Spring holiday week, there were people nearly every 6 feet.
I never knew birders and foamers could be so alike. Used to couch crash in an apartment across from a dilapidated building with chimney swifts roosting in the smoke stacks. Birders would come and get great pictures of them coming and going from the chimney but we'd occasionally get random people in our hallways trying to find roof access. They'd ring our doorbell at weird times hoping to set up on the roof with all their equipment with an hour to spare, freaked me out because it wasn't a good neighborhood and I'm not opening the front door at 6am lol. To the back of us was a historic railroad that would run heritage units pretty regularly, it was a foamer's delight and they'd do the same gd thing, asking for roof access, ringing the doorbell at weird hours, clogging up our tiny parking lot, littering, etc. Had one guy ask to take photos out of the bedroom window when a unit was stopped on the tracks (we were on the top floor with windows facing the tracks). I'd use the heritages to get around pretty reliably because they mostly do short trips -- context for this tangent: a lot of foamers hate freight hoppers because they don't like us ruining their pictures -- a guy recognized me and tried to call the cops while I was outside smoking. The cops were obviously uninterested (unless you're busted on a train or in a yard you're good, mostly) but that foamer had a chip on his shoulder over me from then on. I decided to let some others who hadn't been pests onto our roof to get shots of a very old heritage unit that was almost never used anymore going over an old trellis, something you can't really see from the ground. That didn't help my standing with Mr. Snitch, but it was very funny watching him glare up at them. If you practice leave no trace, don't make much noise, don't block parking and aren't an annoyance then there's no harm in asking to take shots from private property after you and the owner have exchanged hand waves and pleasantries a few times. You'd be surprised what being polite and friendly will get you.
In my area, there is a ruby-throated hummingbird nest in a public state park that is obviously in an accessible area. They're not rare. But only the award-winning photographers are allowed to know where it is. I just wanted to see a hummingbird nest IRL, not even photograph it. I seriously considered searching the entire park to find it and post the location online just to spite them. This is the kind of gatekeeping that is annoying and drives newer people like me away. I just choose to detach from the birding community in my area because it is a super elitist group that heavily emphasizes photography with extremely expensive equipment while viewing birders who are more interested in observing birds with binoculars as 'lesser' since you can't PROVE you saw the bird.
I would add birders who allow their own cats outdoors and birders that don't treat their home window glass to prevent collisions and honorific names are some other good ones to discuss if you ever do a second video.
Those are really good additional topics! Another one would be changing the common name of a species. I have strong feelings against changing the name "Gray Jay" to "Canada Jay". I also have a problem with so many folks just brainlessly following along like sheep and doing whatever they're told they should do, when it comes to using new common names.
We used a white paint marker to make vertical lines about 4 in apart on the outsides of our large windows around our house. I think I used a 1x4 wooden board to make the straight lines. We haven't had birds hitting our window since we did that.
People who allow their cats outside are just straightforward enemies of wildlife. Should be severly punished, unfortunetly no goverment anywhere in the world is brave enough to seriously protect wildlife.
@@TomReichner I think we should ask the birds what they want to be called. I don't think Tom from nowheresville should be the decider on what perople can and can't call a bird.
@@claygan4079 I think your reply to me is a bit disrespectful. I never never NEVER proposed that I should be the one to decide what other people call the birds. Get your facts straight before you semi-accuse me of implying something that I never implied.
Great video and topic! My #1 rule is do no harm. Birds and nature in general are under so much pressure that I consciously try to minimize my impact as much as possible. Of course, I also know my mere presence will have an impact on bird behavior but I try to be respectful and keep my distance always. What gets to me are the folks who feel entitled to it all no matter what. In a recent FB bird group post, the photographer thought nothing of walking under a Red-tailed hawk that was hunting from a power line just to flush the bird in order to get a flight shot. The invasion of space, the pursuit and the total lack of respect…. I can’t even. 😐Hopefully we can keep talking to one another and learning. Once we know better, we can do better and we’re really going to have to do better. I want to thank all of the fellow nature/ bird lovers out there for keeping it ethical! ✊😎
Some people are just "collectors" of "lifers," and are preoccupied with ID'g and counting birds. Others prefer to study and capture behavior with their photography.
Birding ethics is a major issue. "Listers" and certain photographers are the biggest problem. Either group will do ANYTHING to locate and/or photograph a bird -- trample habitat, play taped calls, doesn't matter. Anything goes. Offending photographers in particular act as if spending several thousand dollars on gear exempts them from all rules of conduct. I've suggested to eBird that they require every user to complete a Birding Ethics training course, but I'm sure they won't do it. They won't want to offend anyone. But eBird is riding a very fine line. They encourage and celebrate the submission of high quality images, but will then list a bird as "sensitive" if too many people try to capture its image. They're trying to play both sides. To my mind, this obligates eBird to emphasize and train people on ethical behavior in the field.
Excellent video. You introduced the topics without judging. I would add one more controversy amongst people who feed birds... hawks that eat the feeder birds. Some people love to see a hawk and some people are heartbroken when a hawk takes one of their feeder birds.
I learned that the hard way after calling in the small birds to the feeder noticing I had actually assisted a Coopers hawk in locating them. Now I have the feeder close to the bushes so they can have a chance to protect themselves which they do. I still see that Coopers hawk from time to time.
Your feeders are attracting the Cooper's (or Sharp-shinned) Hawk's favorite meal. I expect it from time to time and it's just nature being like it always has been. But I also put my feeders close to thick cover, so if a hawk does come to my yard, the birds have plenty of places to hide. The entire eastern edge of my property is a huge privacy hedge that's been growing for 10+ years. And we have large waxmyrtle and silverthorn shrubs on the north side. My saddest moment was finding a pile of feathers that belonged to a Great Crested Flycatcher one summer (Flycatchers aren't even a feeder species, but I had one occupying my yard at the time). But, the hawks need to eat just as much as our favorite yard birds, and I always get excited when I see one, even if the poor Mourning Doves are terrified!
While I love seeing hawks do their thing, all our feeders are in covered areas with lots of bushes and trees. Hawks almost never take them but one year we had Broad Wing Hawks. Those guys didn't have a single issue catching birds from the bush. It was an amazing sight to see them weave effortlessly through the branches.
@@margaretknott9506 we've had a rare occupation by a broad winged hawk here in Idaho. It must've gotten lost during last year's migration. Beautiful bird.
Two topics that could be investigated - Hunting and Brown-headed Cowbirds. The Coebirds are native but tons of birders in North America hate them. Idk if Cuckoos are the same way in Europe, but some birders will destroy Cowbird eggs. That is illegal under the MBTA. Then there's the hunting controversy. Hunters and birders tend not to get along, even though hunters (usually) care about the animals as much as birders do. This has really gotten ugly over Sandhill Cranes lately. To make things more complicated, in the US, guns and ammo fund conservation, while no birder (or photographer gear for that matter) does. Some have argued that taxes should be put on binoculars, camping/hiking gear and other outdoor gear like there is on hunting and fishing gear, but these get shot down by outdoor recreation associations. So hunters and fishers are the ones footing the bill, even though they are a dying breed...
Colorado recently realized a 30% increase in wildlife and recreation funding by offering a lower cost state park pass with your vehicle registration. We also have a state tax form check-off for non-game wildlife (a donation via less return). It's a start. If I recall correctly, there was a study in the last ten years or so that showed increased host nest success in nests parasitized by Cuckoos.
Another one that isn't mentioned is incessant loud talking on field trips. This SHOULD be addressed by the field trip leader before the trip begins and if that doesn't "'take", readdressed on the field trip. This is the main reason I stopped going with my local chapter and now bird with a smaller select group of friends who know how to behave on outings to maximize the number of species seen and the quality of observation time.
This information is so very well presented. I am a novice at bird watching and feeding. We enjoy watching and feeding various birds, even cleaning feeders, birdbaths, and birdhouses of debris. Yes, I am frustrated by the sparrows and starlings so we try to discourage them versus doing harm to them. I will pull sparrow nests from the bluebird boxes but had no clue how aggressive people got over taking photos and stealing photos and using as their own until recently. Thank you for your excellent work, commentary and documentation of your efforts and of course sharing and educating birders on current issue. Keep up your ethical work and educating us on all the issues. 😊
Great video. Thank you! Other topics that I've seen start controversies or people ganging up on newbies in birding communities are: 1) whether to feed wild birds or not, and if you do, how to make hummingbird nectar; 2) letting cats outside; 3) what to do if you find an injured bird or a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest; 4) birding while Black.
please make a video about outdoor cats, citing research about how they impact bird populations! i would share it far and wide if you made one with the statistics and context to back it up for those who don't get it!
Yup that’s another controversy. People that own cats that allow them to hunt outside. I’ve tried talking to someone that owned outside cats about recent sightings of coyotes. They told me their cats would be so sad and they hate being indoors. well, she lost both cats I assume to the coyotes. And her cats were hunting and killing the birds in the area. There’s plenty more that allow their cats to roam freely in the area and it kinda sucks when I have to try and shoo them away. Because I do like cats.
@@_Chessa_ In El Paso feral cats have more rights than pet dogs. I've tried to get people to spay but the city stopped paying for it years ago. Now there are hardly any birds and feral cats all over the city. I have 8 in my yard everyday I spray with a hose to keep away.
@@_Chessa_ people like this drive me insane, they just dont' want to actually have to take care of their cats. People get cats because they're usually more independent than dogs but then act like that means they just have to feed them and that's all, and if they let them outside then hey less litterbox mess to clean up. Those owners don't want to accept that when you get a pet, you're completely responsible for it, including keeping it safe and also preventing it from doing damage. Keep your cats inside, play with them, provide them with areas to jump and climb, leash train them, and your cats will be happy AND safe. And yes, you can leash train cats, it's not like walking a dog at all but my cats love it. I never have to worry about them getting attacked by dogs or coyotes, or hurt by cruel humans, or hit by cars, or eating poisoned food, or any of the other things I've seen so many people's outdoor cats be injured or killed by.
@Atroxa I've leash trained a formerly outdoor only cat that moved in with us from a neighbor ( he's almost 16 now). I've leash trained a formal feral ( she's about 18 months old ), who decided to turn in her feral card four days before having kittens. ( I leash trained all the kittens before they went to new homes. ) It didn't take much time, just patience. We take them for "Outside Time" each late afternoon, both on their own ten foot lead. I have bird feeders, and a bird bath about six feet from the distance where the leads end. The cats know how far they can go, and the birds know it, too! If the feral ( that I'm still trying to trap ) wanders near, the birds alarm and take flight. But they seem to know my two cats can't reach. My family of crows that visit each day when we are out with my cats seem to enjoy taunting the cats just a couple of feet from the end of their leads. The cats enjoy lazing about the front porch, the cats and birds are safe, and the crows have a good laugh at the expense of the cats.
@YTCensors I basically refuse to be friends with people who have outdoor cats these days because of people like the neighbor you mentioned. Almost all of them would regularly have one of their cats disappear or would find them dead and then a couple weeks later they'd have a new one and then repeat the process. And every time they talked about losing another cat I wanted to ask them "so when are you going to stop sacrificing the poor things so you can have something furry and cute to play with for a year or two?" Was hard to feel bad for them when in my book it was all their fault (felt bad for the cats tho, they're supposed to be cared for and instead they just get dumped outside and killed). I know cats can and do still get out sometimes but keeping them in as much as possible is just better for everyone. Cause I also can't stand having people's cats in my yard, pissing on everything and killing birds. Sometimes I can tell they're strays and I feel bad for them but most of the time they're someone's pet or they're being fed by someone at least, and are just killing birds for fun. (Which yes, to anyone who wants to argue with me, cats most certainly do, go look it up)
Great topic. I've seen and experienced a lot of what you are saying. There are some birding cliques out there that will all post photos on a bird and then on the post say undisclosed location. It's not an undisclosed location if a person finds it and then tells 10 of their friends and then nobody else. It's happened to me a lot. I consider myself a very ethical bird photographer and wouldn't harass a bird for a shot. I've almost gotten in fights with people who will run out in a field to chase down an owl or other birds to get closer.
I totally agree with you on this. Out in Geneva Illinois there ws a GHO nest and all what I call bad photographers harassed the poor thing by kicking the tree to get photos and it got so stressed it fell out of the nest and died.
@@ozzy942 Wow that is horrible jesus. People really do have no damn sense when they get excited about something. Like the videos of people filming enormous waves or volcanoes until they're all suddenly running for the hills lol. I always research what I'm getting myself into beforehand, whether it's what a venemous snake looks like in an area I'm unfamiliar with, or how to ethically take owl pictures, or what gear to have in cold weather hiking or kayaking. Feels like most people today don't stop to think, they just run out and DO and the odds of things going terribly wrong is much higher.
The exact same thing happens where I am on Long Island. People have their cliques and they all text each other when they find sensitive species like Owls and especially the Snowy Owl. It's horrible sometimes.
I am not much of a birder or photographer at all; but I understand the gatekeeping. Even if it would make it more difficult for me to get into the hobby I still think it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Assuming the group gatekeeping a particular bird or area is treating these often sensitive species and ecosystems with the proper respect; its probably a better thing than having inexperienced or disrespectful people have access to whatever it may be. Even if you do avoid the 'bad eggs' having lots of people go into something like a wetland isn't always the best thing for that environment.
I agree that gatekeeping can be a force for good. No one likes when their little known peaceful hobby becomes trendy. Johnny-Come-Lately’s can ruin your hobby. They don’t understand the etiquette and think you’re being an asshole for trying to explain it to them.
@@smelltheglove2038 My main issue with those new-comers is that a big chunk don't really want to get into understanding wildlife and appreciating it, they want someone else to do it for them essentially. It takes a lot of effort to understand when and where you are most likely to see certain things, then some people without a clue expect you to just tell them where to find each and every thing for themselves. I know in the herping world(reptiles/amphibians) no one shares locations with anyone hardly because these habitats are so sensitive and many people are careless and have a profound negative impact on the things they so badly want to see.
I agree, I’m still very much a novice birder so I hadn’t heard of people gatekeeping as described in the video. The only time I’ve seen restriction on location sharing in my local Facebook group was for very sensitive or protected species. They also sometimes restrict sharing photos of certain species during particular times of year at all, to discourage the community from disrupting them. If I saw a bird on my private property I would most likely not broadcast the location for safety reasons, not because I want to handpick who gets to see a bird. But gatekeeping a bird that is not protected/sensitive that is otherwise publicly accessible… That’s a whole other ballgame, wow.
@@nashiibearSo glad that your Facebook group in mindful! Please consider that a bird who is not protected by law or who chooses to nest on public property is no less deserving of protection. You will be a better birder and have fewer regrets.
Yeah I put up a feeder after a House Sparrow couple showed up and now theres like 30 of them or more plus some pigeons 😂. I dont see it as a large issue though since I still see other birds in the neighborhood and sometimed I'll get a House Finch or an Oak Titmouse on the feeder
There is another controversy that is missing from the video. The fuel burn, and the ethics of transportation and CO2 emissions! I heard about a local birder who did only his local county in Scotland but did 20k miles, or 30k km driving, mostly alone, to be at the perfect spot every single day at the perfect time to see everything, in addition to twitching every single rarity. This is rather an obsession and the fuel burn outweighs the positive environmental aspect of birding and landscape management at the reserves! Your thoughts? Signed by a birder who does 80%-90% on foot, bicycle, train and bus, and once a month carpooling
I was hoping to see some flame wars happening between birders in the comments over these issues...unfortunately the comments seem to be very civil for the most part. :(
Keeping feeders up when a disease is in the area such as house finch eye disease (Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis) or trichomonosis. killing squirrels to keep them away from feeders.
I believe that’s what they are. Their little gray heads and necks are so small and slender. Most sites say they have small black spots but the tail feathers of mine have blue, white and black horizontal stripes. The heads and necks are a perfect match though… are these mourning doves or am I mistaken?
There controversies are incredibly relatable... You did an amazing job at introducing the topics with a neutral tone. On the Woodpecker situation, I believe that it could be found again, but what I don't get is why people get so "excited" (I don't know how to say that in English sorry : / ) about that specie in particular. Many species went "extinct" for a decade, two, sometimes a century or more, before being found again. People shouldn't spend their energy arguing, but looking for the bird instead.
The ivory billed woodpecker is exciting because after the imperial woodpecker went extinct, the ivory billed became the largest woodpecker in the world. Its reasonable that people care about it. People did look for it, they didn't find it so they called it extinct and stopped looking. The only region left with even the slightest chance of finding a live one is frequented by the cartel; it should be understandable why people don't look there.
@@ewan735 I was referring to Sierra Madre Occidental, but I made a mistake. I accidentally attributed to the ivory billed what was actually the case for the imperial woodpecker.
We saw a case of "gatekeeping" when we heard about a Snowy Owl sitting in a school field one weekend. Two women were at the edge of the parking lot with their cameras set up... and for anyone approaching, they would say, "Thanks SO much for coming to see it!". They couldn't stop anyone else from seeing or photographing the owl, and didn't try to stop them. But they seemed to want to establish some sort of priority over the experience, like they were allowing us to participate, by making that statement to us. Like it was their owl, and we were viewing it through their implied permission. It was really annoying. I've bumped into many birders, and they are almost all really nice and friendly. But there are those few that have a superiority and arrogance about it, like the above woman. You know they really don't want others around, they think the world of birds if for them, with better knowledge, equipment and understanding. But there are those like that in ANY hobby... kayaking, bicycling, hiking, anything. The ones who think they alone have some right to the field, and wish everyone else would go away.
Before my retirement and change of residence I volunteered with the local parks department in NW England UK. The rangers attitude to birders was determined by the birders themselves. Disgust and anger at the local college photography student who climbed and damaged fencing round a small copse to get a close up of over wintering long eared owls. Bemused amusement at the keen folk who were at least as interested in logging their sightings in our record books as in the birds themselves and those who came at the end of one year and the start of the next to be able to log sightings even of common birds for each year. But mostly the pleasure of being able to introduce the average nature lover to the beauty of the different species of water fowl and other birds that lived in our parks and wild areas. But my favourite story is when a visitor asked where our 6 to 8 over wintering long eared owls spent their summers. A new junior ranger had looked the species up and read that they summered in Estonia. (A country in the Baltic region of Europe). But the senior ranger rather spoiled the idea when he named a town about 50 miles away that was a summer home to 6 or 8 long eared owls suspected to be the same group. 😅
I went out birding today and hit a bird on the drive back home ☹️ obviously it's out of my control but the fact a bird died for me to go birding sucks... hopefully I can rescue a bird one day in return.
or, you could support local wildlife rehabilitators - they often are in need of support. I know, I cringe when any animal darts in front of me, and sigh with relief when I don't hear a thump or see a victim.
Good summary. Not hear to yuk anyones yum, but I always feel like those who get very entitled/elitist/high church about birding are kinda missing the point. There's always room for healthy discussion and debate in birding (it's actually super important for some topics). But some people are so locked and fixed in on their opinions or really lean on their "experience" as experts. Luckily where I am we have a fairly healthy community but, boy, I've heard some horror stories.
I had a baby starling as a pet. I grew quite attached to him. I would’ve been distraught if someone told me to kill him. He flew away though… I pray that he’s safe. He was so comical and funny, and he’d fly to me when I called his name. I miss Mukudori. :(
And I also saved a young House Sparrow from a Blue Jay one time. Poor little gal was so stunned and scared. Even if I didn’t get to see her for very long, I still loved her. She was so cute. I’d do again if I could.
I never count alien bird species on my lists. But that's a "me" thing. I don't care one way or the other if someone else counts them, or not. It's none of my business. If a bird or any other animal reacts to my presence by moving away, even by a single step, I'm too close. A person's ethics when it comes to wildlife are their own, and none of my business, except when they violate laws and/or regulations. At that point I contact authorities. I'm not an authority. I keep my mouth shut. Ivory-billed Woodpecker? Without testable and repeatable evidence for its existence I put it in the category of the Great Auk and the Carolina Parakeet. I personally never use playback, especially during breeding season. I do a pretty effective screech-owl call the old-fashioned way. As long as people are adhering to laws and regulations it's really none of my business. Other people can be the "Kevins/Karens" of birdwatching. Me? I'll just enjoy hiking, birding, and photography. Life's too short to get my knickers in a twist every time I see someone not behaving exactly how I would prefer.
I hadn't been involved with the birding community in a decade or more, but I recently heard a bird call I had never heard before and so I joined a facebook group to get some help identifying the bird. Another member of that same group was asking how to keep invasive species at bay from her feeders and I was utterly appaled by how incredibly poorly the person was being treated. This is an issue I've seen in cat groups or animal lovers groups on similar topics (feeding wild animals, letting cats roam freely, etc.) Some people love animals to a fault. They don't recognize that nature is not always love and sunshine, and often completely deny what they are doing might actually be harmful to other animals or the environment. I have a rather realistic and pragmatic understanding of nature, so emotional responses really isn't my thing. Fact: Invasive birds bully and chase away other birds, sometimes killing their youngs and stealing their nest. Fact: Outdoor cats, owned or feral, kill more than 4 billion small animals every year and is easily one of the worst invasive species on the planet (and I say that as the owner of 3 cats, btw). Fact: Feeding wild animals disturbs their normal feeding habits, make them less scared of humans (not all of which are kind), making them potentially more aggressive to get food, and considering they may be carying diseases, that's not a good thing. While I do not wish for any species to be culled, I think we should at the very least strive to limit the damage of invasive species and human activity. To me, this seems to be the most rational course of action, but according to some, that's crazy talk... /shrug
Great topic! I still find birders on both sides of the "Outdoor Cats" debate (which personally baffles me). I also think there is still controversy or a lack of general agreement about wind turbines. I hear a lot of all or nothing arguments on both sides of all these topics. This video was a great example of a thoughtful considerate approach to complex arguments.
I find it funny that discussion of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker is so heated. If the believers get their way, more bird habitat is protected. What can we possibly lose by smiling and nodding, even if we don't buy the idea? If people invest great money in going after a possible ghost bird, surely they know what their doing and can't claim they're being swindled.
I'm no birder, but I live near one of their last known areas so I am somewhat familiar with them and they definitely intrigue me. Here's how I see almost every argument start. One person believes that there has not been a confirmed sighting of the bird in decades and the scientific community believes the bird to be extinct. Another person comes along and claims that not only have they seen the supposedly extinct bird, but they "see them all the time." The two experiences almost couldn't be farther from one another. How can one person claim to have multiple sightings but yet no one else has had a confirmed sighting. The stories just don't match. Then there's this bird that, for the uneducated, is nearly identical which adds to the controversy. When people have views/experience that are so far apart from one another, it's hard to find any common ground and each person refuses to understand or believe the other. I have seen someone argue vehemently that they "see them all the time" but when I looked up their location, they lived in a suburban area. Part of the reason that the Ivory Billed Woodpecker went extinct is the reduction of large tracts of old growth forest and yet this lady claimed to see a bunch of them basically in an area devoid of any "old" timber. Claims like this don't help those that claim that the bird is still alive and well.
Nice video Badgerland! The one that touches me the most is your second topic: ethics. In my experience, the superiority of a birders optics tends to be proportional to how much space they feel a species needs.
@@BadgerlandBirding The bigger their lens the more space they give... But more importantly, the more space they proclaim the bird needs (now that they have a bigger lens 😆), and that other birders are "much too close". Kinda combines with the "gatekeeping" debate that you raise in the video.
Awesome awesome video as always, sorry to bring this up , but exclusion is still very much present, I'm Hispanic and still get funny looks, don't get me wrong I have met amazing people in the time I've been birding.
I've been into bird photography strictly as a hobby since retirement back in 2016. I set myself some rules: Do Not Disturb. Wait, what? That's only one. Right. All others follow from that. What I mean is I try to be as minimally intrusive into bird habitat as I can, and this includes when in urban birding landscapes. I never bait or do playback; if I can't photograph a bird in as natural a condition as possible then I don't want the shot. What I really enjoy doing is taking a small folding field chair with me, which fits into my backpack easily, and then pick a spot and just sit and wait and let the birds come to me, if they will. If they don't, I know there's always tomorrow. Be gentle on the land and the land will be gentle to you.
I'm also thinking like that. I comment here because your post reminded me of a situation when I was watching shorebirds in migration. I was just standing there, not moving and some of the birds came so close to me, I had some at my feet!!! There was no use of binoculars, you can guess :) By not chasing birds and respecting the environment, my life has been so well filled with amazing opportunities to look at birds from very close.
I'm guilty of 3 of these "taboos" (bating, caller/playback and gatekeeping). Though, to be fair, I only engaged in them because I was working for the Forest Service at the time and it was part of our protocol.
Living in the US you can hear a lot of negative things about starlings. My own negative view of them softened recently when I learned about their skills in mimicry. It’s not their fault their ancestors were purposely released here. In some parts of this country though their populations are vast and they can do a lot of damage to crops and competition with native species. They sure are beautiful birds though.
Let's do a deal on invasive species. We'll take back the starlings and house sparrows if you take the Canada geese and grey squirrels. Europe did manage to get rid of the ruddy ducks which were threatening our native white-headed ducks, but we still seem to have wood ducks here and there.
@@missharry5727 Then there's the mute swans, imported to the US for estates to have them grace their ponds, I guess. Now they out-compete native ducks and geese. Not their fault humans rarely think about unintended consequences.
Crazy. We feed migrating birds on our private property every winter, and while we mostly see the same visitors every year, we seem to get a new species every couple of years. It's beautiful and my kids have loved growing up watching them visit. We keep it to ourselves, though, and simply enjoy the view from a distance.
There is one controversial issue more - bird ringing. Some approve of that (and in big numbers, to ring as many birds as possible), while others see no point in ringing too many birds of all the species and are concerned with decreasing quality of ringed bird's life, causing him stress.
Birders are human. Every activity involving humans creates some controversy, birding is no exception. There are strongly opinionated people that cannot tolerate those with a different point of view. Most reasonable people recognise that some birding activities can be taken too far.
I’m pro gate keeping. I don’t think birds should be subjected to crowds of people. Nature doesn’t provide equitable viewing. It’s a gift in the moment to those lucky to see the it.
People are not entitled to know what you know. And they sure af don’t have a right to go on someone else’s property if the property owner doesn’t want them there. Doesn’t matter the reason.
All my life I have watched and cared for birds. I have a landscaping company that specialises in creating wildflower meadows and habitats for song birds. I have always been mystified by most 'birdwatchers' they seem more like train spotters than people who actually love wildlife. I can sit and watch a sparrow for hours I don't need to trample my way through a forest to try and get a blurry photo of a greater crested grebe or whatever to tick off a list. I can get better pictures on the internet.
Thanks for doing this video. I happen to love Purple Martins, want to provide housing for them etc but I have contemplated leaving purple martin groups over the amount of vitriol people give to anyone that doesn't kill Starlings or House Sparrows. I understand they are invasive, but it's also not their fault they were introduced to North America. I'm a nature and animal lover and I can't bring myself to kill another creature. I undrstand that others can and I don't comment against them doing what they believe is right but I've been called weak and lack courage, told I shouldn't even bother trying to house Martins if I can't kil invasive species, etc. I thought gently disuading them from nesting would be the way I would go... frequently removing nests, installing starling resistant entries, etc. But unless I'm killing them, I'm an A-Hole to these guys... It's good to know maybe I"m not the only one.
Before fully understanding how invasive and prolific they were, I saved a week old starling that kept getting booted out of the nest and was out in the open freezing during a rainstorm. Obviously no rehab place will take one so I did the job myself lol, feeding it around the clock(til bed time) a mix of wet cat food and eggs, and bringing it insects. I eventually released it once it would eat live bugs in my bathroom and was flying nice and well, but who knows if it survived or not. When I let it go it did a bunch of rapid laps over my head then zoomed off haha. So nope, it's not just you!
@@BadgerlandBirding Interesting, from what I remember(this was 11 yrs ago) they wouldn't or I def wouldn't have tried raising it!. Haha. Definitely a cool experience though. It'd land on my finger or shoulder and bathe in my master bathroom sink. I'd take it outside to practice flying sometimes and had to retrieve it from the trees at times when it could just flutter. I have old videos somewhere of it at 1-2 weeks old with an einstein-hairdo lmao.
Great video. Another topic is people following you on social media with the sole intent of using you to find the location of certain birds. In my opinion, the fun part of this hobby is doing the research and the challenge of locating the birds on our own. Don't get me wrong, I will go see a rare bird if someone publicly shares where they saw it but I'd actually rather find it without prior knowledge. And as for the owls, I'm pretty much a gatekeeper.
Agree. Another issue is photographers who shadow me from a distance in the field because I have some skill at locating owls and other sensitive species. Before I pick up my camera or binoculars I often have to look over my shoulder. I usually will not post my owl shots on Social Media unless it is migratory bird and then I only post after it has moved on. In my neck of the woods situations around shared owl locations quickly descends into a mob of paparazzi minded photographers who will do anything to get a better shot. Many will visit day after day. From sun up to sun down. Encroaching, baiting, and purposely flushing nesting and roosting birds to get a shot. They have absolutely no consideration for the well being of the birds.
I have so much bad behaviour from birders, photographers, dog owners, bicyclists and runners that I have become cynical. I sm amazed at the extent of selfishness and entitlement that people have shown. This includex blatant disregard for rules, regulations, trespassing, baiting, climbing on buildings, breaking and removing branches and vegetation (at federal or state locations that explicitly say not to damage, remove or otherwise disturb the plants and environment). I had one person actually tell me they threw a stick at an owl to get it to open it's eyes for a picture. I have found chopped meat packages and dead mice near where owls frequent. These are the same types that insist on phsically chasing a bird (or animal) from place to place or getting way too close even though they have a long lens. I am saddened and disgusted by this behaviour. As a result, I never post any information or pictures ( wow..look at my picture..tell me how great they are!!!) nor tell anyone if I see anything that could spark a frenzy. I would love to be able to share this with people if they acted responsibly and respectfully. I see this behaviour way too often anymore. Such a shame.
What about the dark side of backyard birding ? The wildly popular hobby isn't without it's controversies, either. Feeder-driven epizootic diseases and pathogens including avian salmonellosis have been well documented for decades now through extensive scientific study. Many of these diseases like avian salmonellosis can also easily spread from bird to bird like wildfire and pose a year-round health threat to garden birds. Backyard birding is a hobby that most that do participate in it, do so mindlessly. Please name another wild creature we nurse along like is done with supplemental feeding of wild birds. There isn't one.
The funny thing is from my perspective the issue of gatekeeping is actually simple: literal gatekeeping is 100 legitimate but figurative gatekeeping is just not right. Enjoy nature but dont harass anyone be they bird, human or other animal.
I do passive sound ID by using Merlin app on my phone. It is great to use in new territory. I am in Switzerland now and Merlin automatically downloaded 22 MB of bird song when I opened app in Zurich. I do use bird calls occasionally, but do this out of nesting season. Thanks for the video!
I also use Merlin sound ID, as I don't have good distance vision and have always relied on identifying the birds around me by their calls. Outdoors, I don't put it on speaker when playing calls on my phone to confirm what I'm hearing. I do play them on speaker indoors sometimes to spook my cats.
With the ivory bill they shouldn’t insist no photos or sightings since they can’t prove one way or the other on that video. it’s a possible sighting but couldn’t be confirmed without the song cause they look a lot like pileated.
when I go birding, I usually get up SUPER early and put up sticky fly-paper on the trees. I get the really expensive shit, then i go wander around and smoke a bit when I get back, every manner of bird has landed on the fly trap. Then the dissections begin
I see swallow tailed kites, wood storks, flying over my house and i have seen bachmans sparrow in my yard. I live in a very diverse region with hardwood slope uplands, dry pine uplands, swampy baygall areas, and many numerous creeks and streams.
I've heard some spirited discussions about eBird and it's influence in birders and birding. It's worth, it's gatekeeping, people who try to inflate their numbers. I've been birding for fifty+ years, and it seems that sometimes the only thing that two birders can agree on, is what the third one is doing wrong.
It's an interesting topic. I love birds and have participated in bird counting etc but i couldn't get too over the top. I let birds be and do their own thing. I make my yard attractive to native birds by planting native trees. If they come great! I want my yard to be like a piece of bushland and eco system. I never feed birds but do leave out birdbaths for drinking water. Like all hobbies I guess, there are some people who are too zealous! As another commenter has said there should be some kind of etiquette outlined, especially for bird photographers.
We set up a bunch of native fruit tree guilds with insect hotels near each one and were rewarded with a tanager deciding our place was home. We've been reforesting our acreage and seeing bluebirds, red winged blackbirds, eastern towhees, downy woodpeckers and my first northern flicker has been exciting. I'm no birder or photographer, but I am an artist and birds are always a fun thing to get down in watercolor. Casual bird photogs would barely have to leave home if they'd plant a fruit tree or two in their yard :)
#1 is cats. Homeowners letting house cats roam kills 3.4B birds annually. Posting about this always erupts into a fiery debate leading to personal attacks etc. There is no debate but the cat people still manage to find one.
I love cats and I love birds. Cats need to be kept inside, except maybe some supervised outdoor time. This also protects the cat. Indoor cats live 15-20+ years. Outdoor cats average 3-5 years.
@@alansach8437 there are cat harnesses for cats that can tolerate it and cat tents for those that dont. it boggles my mind a little bit that its so controversial bc there are pretty easy solutions to keeping an indoor cat that wants to still go outside
My sister has a friend who feeds birds year round. I tried to explain to her that she needs to regulate the feed so the birds will not rely on it as their only food source and stop feeding when native birds begin to migrate. She didn't like that at all.
My friend is currently watching a bald eagle nest. The eagle nest at our local dog park prompted authorities to put up a sign warning people to - not sure how - use extra precautions for their small dogs. It's a mated pair of eagles with hatchlings from the looks of it. I'm just gonna say it: Keep your little dogs outta that park.
Bird drama-love the topic! I think I remember the comments about invasive species last year on your video. I've def ran into all of these issues (still not sure on the ivory billed woodpecker lol). I get most frustrated by non-birders who don't follow general rules (like no pets), litter, or harass animals. Saw a grown woman chasing and screaming at geese at Wehr nature center a few weeks ago...like, why? But that's not totally on topic.
Eponyms are pretty controversial. I'm down for renaming them tho. Wilson's Phalarope could be named something cool like Painted Phalarope and thats just so sick!!!
One issue not mentioned is playing raptor/owl calls to scare birds and flush them out for viewing (as opposed to the target birds song). Not good. Love you guys channel!
"are there any other controversial topics we didn't mention - let us know in the comments below" === YES! when a person insists THEIR way is the ONLY way - I am on the fence on all the issues you brought up lol (except the ivory bill ... I think he is out there lol)
How about high speed camera shutter (30 frame per second) noises, all 15-20 of them together, when someone else near-by is trying to video-graph (and recording audios)?!
A few years ago, I was at this moderate-size pond, maybe 200 yards across. There was a sign saying the birds on the other side can hear your shutter click. I had no idea birds' hearing was that sensitive. Since then I've been conscious of my camera noises, and a year ago I bought a mirrorless to take advantage of its electronic shutter.
@@festerbestertester1658 Good on you mate! I mean I do understand the fact that without the shutter sound they would not feel the sensation of "capturing" something. c'est la vie!
I agree with most of them except the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, I don't want to start a fight but I believe he is somewhere out in the forest! Great video!
I grew up on a island popular with birders and while some were very nice and respectful to the community just as many were rude and they unfortunately made the whole community soured to them coming by. I think there's a large difference between people who birdwatch and people who collect photos/check off birds on their lists
I fall into the group that says, "Just leave them alone!" So, the bird is a non-native species. So what? Is it able to survive better than the birds it is displacing? If so, then simply let nature take its course. It does not pay to disrupt evolution.
Because they werent introduced naturally to they have a bad influence on the ecosystem that evolved for millions of years .. the Birds didn't Evolve around this Bird and would be able to survive to Them in that case ... This is the principe of an invasive specie ... Like human
@@pixazelz You failed to explain why I should favor a native bird to a foreign one. Once a bird is here, it is little different from a bird that was already here. Understand?
@@ManuelGarcia-ww7gjbecause the ecosystem is not setup for the invasive species and when they disrupt it it can cause the ecosystem to collapse and then everything dies
Another idea for bird controversies might be overpopulated native species like cormorants and Canada geese. Or another controversy: should sandhill cranes have a hunting season?
Yet humans are defenitively overpopulated , causing extinction , spreading invasive species and destroying habitats and nothing is done ... The hypocrisy.
The ivorybilled debat is definitely a big hot topic discussion. I am one of the people who is hopeful they still exist. I live near the Pearl River bottomlands in Louisiana where they been reported to occur and have explored the cypress swamps behind my friends house many times and their are still extensive tracts of mature old growth cypress and hardwood trees in abundance out there and the bottomland forest is one of the least disturbed bottomland hardwood habitats remaining.
I have a neighbor that puts out a huge amount of bird feeders. He's a very nice person but I'm having to put my foot down. Not only are all birds damaging my property and others ( this is in the condo community) but all the birds he's brought in are pushing away our birds that were already here like the quail. We've had snakes, owls, falcons and other predators come in. Also, the pack rats and field mice have come in with force to eat the seed on the ground. I've asked him to just have a couple bird feeders but he refuses and gets very defensive.
I quit feeding the birds due to huge amount of mice that it attracted and who are really attracted to living in our house. The number of mice has greatly decreased but we still have a family or two a year. I encourage snakes, especially Black Rat, they are great controller of mice populations.
I once stumbled on an 🦉 nest accidentally, never went back after he dropped down on me, but I did tell another photographer I accidentally scared an 🦉 two weeks after it happened. I would’ve kept my distance if I would’ve been paying more attention.
The issue with any and all hobbies is that those in those hobbies believe their thoughts and rules should be law and want to impose them on everyone. I noticed all kinds of different rules that conflict with other rules and folks that want you and everyone else to follow their rules but will violate them when they see fit. I pretty much try to avoid other people like the plague when out birding or doing stuff in nature.
I'm part of the fanfic community and your comment rings so true. One of the biggest discourses is anti-shippers vs pro-shippers. Proshippers are basically people who think you should be allowed to have any characters in a relationship. Antis believe in trying to impose real-life morals onto fictional characters. There are idiots on both sides. I do frequent the fanfic sub reddit, but I'm not really in any major fic circles outside of that. I just stick to my little corner of the internet and write my stuff and hope I don't invite any sort of anti-shipper sentiment.
While Starlings and "Rock Doves" (pigeons) are merely nuisance birds, European House Sparrows are next level. They kill native cavity nesting birds, and build their nest (and subsequently lay their eggs) on their corpses. They are bullies to the detriment of every other bird. Since people created this problem, as a human, I do what I can to give the native birds a better chance by eliminating as many as I can. I don't hunt or kill things for fun, and am the type of guy who puts spiders back outside. I sleep well at night knowing I may have helped a (now extremely rare) Bluebird to avoid death by an EHS.
Birders in Tucson murdered three beautiful crested cara cara chicks last spring. They showed up in droves and parked their cars, trucks, umbrellas, chairs large camera equipment all within 75 ft of the nest. They yelled and cursed me out when I tried to appeal to their humanity to please respect the signs I got Game and Fish to post ( that’s all those fake overpaid lapdogs would do). The male stopped feeding the chicks and abandoned the nest. Unfortunately, I was too late and they died from the heat and dehydration- a slow agonizing way to go. I wept. And, they are right back at it again this year. Birders do not have any emotional ties to these precious beings. It’s all about the photo, no matter the costs. I hate birders with a passion.
That’s a sad story. If they’re trying to just get a photo, that sounds like photographers are the problem, not so much the birders. We’ve had a lot of issues with photographers getting too close to birds. Birders still do sometimes, but normally it’s someone trying to “get the shot”. The same shot everyone else already took.
This is way I always make sure to stay the distance that the bird is comfortable with away from the bird. I don’t want them to abandon their nest or the area. We have paradise fly catches that nest around our house and they have done this for a number of years. This year I was lucky enough to see them nest in an area I could film them and I did so over 2 days because I respected their space. It was amazing filmed them line the nest and I think I filmed the female laying her eggs. I go to go back to the city for college so I couldn’t film or photograph the chicks which sucks.
