Digiscoping and the law (UK) (1 Viewer)

KarltheBatman said:

Blimey! I had hoped to get a nice straightforward simple answer when I posted the question, something along the lines of yes or no!
I asked the question with specific regards to the Little Tern colony in North Wales where they set up a viewing site and little hide every year, with my intentions being of borrowing a friends equipment to get some photographs for some local publicity at the site I work on.
I think, after reading the various responses, that maybe the best way for myself in the future and anyone else interested in photyographing Schedule 1 birds from authorised viewing stations would be to contact the local Statutory Agency (CCW, EN, SNH, etc) for advice or to even apply for a licence if required.
It might mean that you could be taking photographs under licence whilst standing alongside an unlicensed member of the public, but at least you would be covered legally if there was any come back when you publish that award winning photo!!!

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If you're only thinking of borrowing equipment from a mate with the hope of getting some shots then there's no point in applying for a licence - you won't get one!

As I alluded to earlier, the licence is actually to give you permission to 'disturb' the birds by being close to them to photograph them at the nest.

Unless the rules have been changed, to get that licence you will have to show that you have the competence to do the job correctly (this applies to the bit about ringing/marking/weighing, or whatever, as well) and you will also have to show why it is necessary for the photos to be taken - i.e. to show some activity, etc., that has not been photographed before, or to illustrate a paper giving a strategy for the conservsation of that species, say. Anything for the benefit of the species, in general would be OK - just for shots for one's own album wouldn't!

Just a short update on this old thread, as I know digiscoping is an increasingly common mode of photography. Earlier this year, along with two other observers, I located the nest of a schedule 1 species. The vantage point from which I saw the nest was on the opposite side of a river valley, around 200 metres away. The approach to this vantage point was completely screened from the nest and the vantage point itself was a very short stretch of a (seldom used) public path. A comparatively busy public path ran above (and quite close to) the nest site on the nest side of the valley. The potential for disturbance from where I planned to photograph these birds was, to my judgement, negligible but I wrote to the licensing section at Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) for advice.

I was told that, based on the information I had given, a license would probably not be needed for me to legally photograph the activity at the nest. However, I was advised to apply for a license because, if an allegation of disturbance were made against me, that might have to be defended in court. Strangely, it is an application 'To disturb schedule 1 birds for the purpose of photography' rather than a photography license per se. Of course one does not take this as an invitation to be anything other than scrupulously careful.

To obtain a license, the applicant has to provide information about equipment to be used, precautions to be taken to eliminate risk of disturbance (such as use of a sensible approach route, use of natural or artificial hides, use of equipment that allows photography from a safe distance), evidence of competence (six examples of photographic work). Two referees have to be cited, and I took this to mean from individuals with a track record in wildlife / conservation work. The license is granted for a specific species at a specific site for a specific reason, i.e. SNH won't just issue a generic schedule 1 license to allow the observer free rein to photograph any schedule 1 bird. As Adey has indicated above, the license is more likely to be granted if the applicant is contributing to the knowledge base (i.e. if it is a new site, if submitting a nest report to BTO or contributing to the work of a survey group such as a raptor monitoring group). I would guess that a license is not likely to be granted to digiscope a known site if the only intention is to take photographs for the album.

I think the law is just about the same in Scotland as in the rest of the UK in this regard as the issues are covered by the Wildlife and Countryside Act which is applied in a broadly similar manner across the UK.

Finally, SNH are very helpful and seem to deal with applications and queries in a friendly, courteous and efficient manner.

Neil