Field Craft and Ethics

A watcher can get a better view by being patient, and a worse outcome for the bird by being pushy. This chapter covers the habits that let you see more without disturbing what you came to see: how to approach, when to stay away, and why the hobby has a growing body of etiquette. It follows the kit in Birdwatching Fundamentals 2 and the method in Birdwatching Fundamentals 4, and it picks up the playback caution flagged in Birdwatching Fundamentals 5.

Why Ethics Matter Here

Wikipedia's Birdwatching article says that as the number of birdwatchers grows, so does concern about their impact on birds and habitat, and that "Birdwatching etiquette is evolving in response to this concern." It says birdwatchers can increase pressure on birds and habitats, giving examples such as stressing birds by playing their calls, drawing them out of cover, and exposing birds and nests to predators. It lists impacts including disturbance to birds, the environment and local cultures, and says methods to reduce negative impacts and strengthen conservation value are "the subject of research" without describing specific methods.

Practices the Article Lists

The article cites the American Birding Association's "Code of Birding Ethics", dated 3 January 2020 on the page (I have not read the code itself, so I give no wording from it; check). It names no other code in the part I read. A reader in another country should look for a local code from a national bird or birdwatching organisation (my suggestion; check).

Field Craft: Approaching Birds

The advice in this section is my own general knowledge, not taken from the articles (check):

• Move slowly and quietly. Sudden movement and bright clothing flush birds; muted colours help.
• Use optics, not feet. If you need to move closer to see detail, your binoculars or scope (Chapter 2) are probably not powerful enough, or the bird is too far to be worth chasing.
• Watch the bird's behaviour. Alarm calls, head-up posture or leaving the spot are signs to back away.
• Let birds come to you. Sitting still beside a feeding spot or a path edge often works better than walking.

Hides and Towers

The article describes hides and observation towers as used to conceal observers from birds and also to improve viewing conditions. Using an established hide, where one exists, lets you watch without moving toward the birds. The article does not discuss how to behave inside one; quiet and no sudden movements are my own suggestions (check).

Reporting Sightings and Trust

The article says rare-bird records are hard to prove, so birders try to build trust in their own identifications, and it cites the Hastings Rarities case as one of the few major disputes. It also says the online recording site eBird hides sightings of some sensitive species, and quotes a 2018 article title about "censoring sightings for 325 At-Risk Species". Taken together, the point is that a sighting can be both a record and a risk to the bird, if a location is revealed (my reading; check).

A Short History of Protection

The article says the Audubon Society was started in the United States to protect birds from the growing trade in feathers, and was against the killing of birds. It says the RSPB in Britain initially opposed organised birdwatching, calling the "scientification" of the pastime "undesirable", and that "this stand was to change only in 1936", when Tom Harrisson and others took over. That is 35 years after Selous's 1901 book (1936 minus 1901, from Birdwatching Fundamentals 1).

Not Yet Verified, and Sources

• Sources. Wikipedia's Birdwatching article: the first 100,000 of about 135,500 characters were read; the fetch tool could not show the rest, so any final-section material on ethics is not reflected.
• Not read. The American Birding Association code itself, and any national code in another country.
• Not in the article. The field craft list, the advice on hides, the interpretation of sensitive-species hiding, and the local-code suggestion (all marked check).
• Money figures. The 2006 and 2001 totals are quoted as the article gives them; I have not checked the original source.

Exercises