Bartley,

The article completely makes my case.

"Atop my wish list when I traveled to Peru in 2011 was the rare and poorly known Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi)."
You went to Peru to jacklight one of the rarest owls known.

"Before long, to my delight, I heard what I believed to be an Owlet calling in the distance. I began to use the birds call to try to lure him in towards me. It was a jolt of adrenaline and excitement when I realized that the recording was working and the bird was coming closer."
You not only deliberately did something to change this owl's behavior, but in doing so you exposed the owl to its predators. Birds in their excitement to chase away territorial rivals can become careless and therefore easy prey.

"I shone my flashlight in the direction of the fluttering object and there it was not even 20 feet away on an open branch staring right at me—The Owlet."
What kind of flashlight? One of those super bright LED jobs that the cops use to disable suspects with by killing their night vision? Then to use full flash and surely more than one shot? How many flashes before you got that "perfect" record shot?

So, did the owl survive its encounter with you? Or perhaps was it killed shortly thereafter, who can say? You can not.

My main concern with your article is the bad example afforded other avian photographers. I ask that you edit out the offending part about the owl and in the future consider all the possible consequences when doing something that changes the behavior of your subject.

Having just returned from spending 7 days with Glenn Bartley on his Churchill workshop, I can say without reservation that Glenn has nothing but respect for the birds that we were photographing, and did everything possible to minimize any impact that our presence might have had on them, which was, in most cases, zero. I find it very disturbing that someone who does not know Glenn or has never shot with him, would feel that he is in a position to be so critical. At the very least, Mr. Bledsoe should have asked Glenn about the circumstances surrounding this incident before leveling his barrage of poison. If all wildlife photographers subscribed to Glenn's ethics, there would be considerably less friction between photographers and birders.

I'm sorry to see that this thread I started has become an avenue for personal attack (in all directions) between NSN members.

My initial post was a spirited attempt to start a discussion about a topic that I am very interested in, yet understand very little about. I do not need to go into any more details about my own personal feelings as I have clearly expressed my position (currently based on my knowledge of the use/impact of bird calls) in previous posts.

What I will say is that I do hope this thread does not conclude on such a sour note.

So far I feel that I have learned quite a bit and heard some great info on the use of bird calls from both "for" and "against" members. Personally, what I glean from such discussion is a way to respectfully and safely interact with subjects I try to photograph.

I invite Glenn to talk a little more on this subject (if he is willing... and hopefully free from personal attack) so that those of us who are really interested in learning how to be low impact with our bird subjects can strive to find the appropriate balance between "stressing" and "passing by".

I don't think that anyone here would agree that getting a bird to look at you, or simply being present is an unacceptable stress, but there is eventually a line that can be crossed where a detrimental stress to their survival could be crossed.

So if anyone else is interested in steering this conversation in a more productive direction... please continue posting..

Thanks, Chris, for the re-direct!

SFJ

[quote= At the very least, Mr. Bledsoe should have asked Glenn about the circumstances surrounding this incident before leveling his barrage of poison. [/quote]

Mike,

Take the time to read Bartley's article. Take the time to read and understand all my previous posts on thread.

Then realize that your response is completely inappropriate.

You know and like Bartley, fine, But don't throw mud at me.

[quote=I don't think that anyone here would agree that getting a bird to look at you, or simply being present is an unacceptable stress, but there is eventually a line that can be crossed where a detrimental stress to their survival could be crossed. [/quote]

Chris,

I disagree with your getting a bird to look at you statement.

Here in San Diego, Ca. we have endangered species of birds. It is a violation of the Endangered Species Act to even pish to California Gnatcatchers or Least Bell's Vireos. The reason? Causing them to change their behavior is considered harassment which is illegal. Doing something illegal is criminal behavior.

There are good reasons for these laws that are science based and photographers who want to believe that their desire for the photo is more important are just wrong.

Thank you for your clarification, Glenn. Sounds like you took due care and put the image to good use in service of the species.

I am still in favour of a little sentence being added to your interesting article on this site to discourage those without your know-how or access to knowledgable local guides from just going out on their own to attract rare birds.

Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com

Roberta,

As you seem not to have read my reply to Bartley's attempt to justify his actions I am repeating it below.
Upon reading it you will see that no justification is possible.



Re:

Postby richard bledsoe on Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:11 am

Glenn Bartley wrote:This thread was recently brought to my attention. Definitely annoying that someone who has never met me or been in the field with me would make such statements. But I have learned that in life there will always be folks who will want to judge and throw stones without having the information to do so.



Bartley,

The article completely makes my case.

"Atop my wish list when I traveled to Peru in 2011 was the rare and poorly known Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi)."
You went to Peru to jacklight one of the rarest owls known.

"Before long, to my delight, I heard what I believed to be an Owlet calling in the distance. I began to use the birds call to try to lure him in towards me. It was a jolt of adrenaline and excitement when I realized that the recording was working and the bird was coming closer."
You not only deliberately did something to change this owl's behavior, but in doing so you exposed the owl to its predators. Birds in their excitement to chase away territorial rivals can become careless and therefore easy prey.

"I shone my flashlight in the direction of the fluttering object and there it was not even 20 feet away on an open branch staring right at me—The Owlet."
What kind of flashlight? One of those super bright LED jobs that the cops use to disable suspects with by killing their night vision? Then to use full flash and surely more than one shot? How many flashes before you got that "perfect" record shot?

So, did the owl survive its encounter with you? Or perhaps was it killed shortly thereafter, who can say? You can not.

My main concern with your article is the bad example afforded other avian photographers. I ask that you edit out the offending part about the owl and in the future consider all the possible consequences when doing something that changes the behavior of your subject.

Richard,
Your photos of California Gnatcatchers show them looking at you. Does this constitute harassment? The photos of the Baja Bluet on your fingertips are the first recording of the species in CA, according to your posting. Did it land there by itself? Is it endangered? No answers are requested, please! You've made your point. Let this topic go back to being civil, please!

SFJ

SFJ,

Well, you asked.

No the Gnatchatcher was not harassed, these can be photographed from the paved access road around Lake Murray here.These birds are quite tame and they do look at you if they are in the mood. Its tough photographing the birds of the Chaparral but every now and then you get lucky. There is constant pedestrian, bicycle, and roller skate traffic in this metro urban park.

And no, the Baja Bluet was the first California State record however they are in no way endangered. Odes are deaf so no recording was used.

One other point, this has been a civil discussion, sorry if my view does not coincide with yours but that does not make my view uncivil.

Since it has been mentioned, I had a look at your images, Richard. Is it my imagination or are the left wings of the bluet in your image damaged? Looks that way to me and if so, that would affect its ability to fly and feed. (The wings of most insect wings are very delicate and so they should not be picked up or handled by the wings.)

Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com

Roberta,

The Baja Bluet flew away just fine. Wings were not damaged. Dragonflys and Damselflys are commonly held by the folded up wings which are quite tough.

Thanks for looking, should I now go and look through your and SFJ'S images to see if all kosher?

Richard,
Please feel free to review my images, and I welcome your opinions! Then, please tell me where you found them posted!
SFJ

A citizen's arrest?? Don't you think that's a bit over the top ?
This whole mantra that it's harassment if a bird changes it's behaviour due to a photographer's actions is over the top IMHO as well. While it's true life in the wild is tough, I do not believe that their lives are so precarious that being disturbed a couple of times by a human automatically dooms them. If that was true, then ANY type of human activity in the wild shouldn't be allowed. What about banding? I can't imagine any activity as destructive as banding a bird.
From what I've seen , the only thing that happens if calls are used in one area a lot is that the birds IGNORE them. Sure it brings them in the first few times they hear it, but they soon stop responding.

Wow, I deal with people who shoot every bobcat, coyote, or mountain lion that crosses their path and y'all are worried about playing bird calls? Alaska kills wolves and grizzlies from airplanes, I'm not too worried about distracting a bird for a short while.

Get a little perspective.

This has turned into a sad thread. Why don't we step outside, take a deep breath and enjoy nature and the fresh air. New perspective.