Owl viewing ethics (1 Viewer)

[Parrots]

Hello,

I've been doing some research on owl baiting and owl viewing ethics more generally. I was hoping to learn more about owl viewing outside of North America, where reports of misbehavior for certain species are fairly routine.

Is owl baiting (baiting with live or fake mice to get owls to approach closely) known to occur regularly outside of North America? Have there been any cases where owls have been struck by cars or otherwise injured at sites where they have been baited?

More generally, for sightings of less common owls (e.g., Snowy Owls or other northern migrants), have there been reports of misbehavior such as baiting, close crowding by large numbers of observers, intentional flushing for flight shots, or trespassing? If so, how frequently? Have there been any reports of owls perishing (e.g., due to starvation or collisions) at sites where they have been repeatedly observed by birdwatchers and/or photographers?

Do birdwatchers and/or photographers publicly share roost sites, e.g., for Long-Eared Owls?

In cases where people share owl sightings, how do they do so? (e.g., citizen science platforms, social media, listservs, word of mouth?)

Have environmental officials intervened to protect owls in any cases, e.g., fencing off roost sites at nature reserves?

I'm particularly interested in Snowy Owls. In cases where Snowy Owls are reported in Eurasia, do people reshare the owls' locations on social media and other channels? Do sightings attract attention from the general public (e.g., news outlets, and people who are not dedicated birdwatchers)? Have there been any cases of misbehavior by observers?

Are there particular sites that are known within the birding community to be fairly reliable for Snowy Owls in western or northern Europe, and if so, do observers travel to see them in good numbers (e.g., for their year or life lists)? Are Finland, Norway, and Sweden (where Snowy Owls are listed as CR) known for this at all?

Does Snowy Owls' comparable scarcity in western Europe mean that sightings attract a good deal of interest/attention, or do observers, recognizing the species' fragility in the region, not share or reshare the sightings?

In cases where Snowy Owls have appeared near you, have they been approachable (e.g., perched on a utility pole or resting on a beach) or inaccessible (e.g., on private property or a distant breakwater)?

Thank you so much - I look forward to learning more.

 

[Andy Lakin]

Personally not heard of owl baiting in the U.K but it may happen at places that aren't visited as much. Unfortunately owls of various species are regularly disturbed, mainly by photographers even places that are heavily visited and are nature reserves. You often see photos of owls looking bothered by people being too close especially Long Eared Owls.

Not being anti photographer but owls are a favourite with a lot of People that are more into using a camera rather than bins/ a scope. I have heard a few reports of Snowy Owls in the U.K getting intentionally flushed by people getting too close/ wanting flight shots.

Also it seems that in other European areas outside of the U.K species such as L.E.Owls are much more accepting of human presence i.e large roosts in towns/ villages from what I've read.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Re Snowy Owl - I have seen 3 individuals. One was in Finland, perched on an outhouse, known to be present by our Finnature guide, only our party of about 7 present. One was a twitch able bird in U.K., hundreds of birders present but at least 100 yards from the bird which was simply roosting. The third was in the Outer Hebrides, found on a random scan and again observed roosting at 100 yards or more by 3 of us. I would say they generally do not come into close contact with people, so generally ignore them.

 

[Parrots]

@Andy Lakin @Welsh Peregrine Thank you for your insights!

What’s the infrastructure like in the U.K. for getting word out about sightings? Here in the U.S., reports often begin on eBird before spreading to listservs, social media, etc. Is it similar in the U.K., or does it vary a lot by case, with a single information sharing method like eBird not holding as much sway?

How often do Snowy Owls show up in the U.K.? When they do, are the sightings widely publicized?

@Welsh Peregrine Did the guide encourage observers to keep a distance? And for the twitchable U.K. bird, was the 100 yard distance due to a group consensus that observers shouldn't go closer, or because the area was inaccessible?

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

There are one or two major news services that the twitching fraternity use, subscribers will get the information essentially immediately. We do not get very many twitch able Snowies; there may well be a couple in the country at this moment, maybe one in the Outer Hebrides and one on the Cairngorm plateau, but as these are inaccessible reports of them are sporadic at best. Twitch able individuals occur every few years (depending on your definition of “twitchable “!). The 100 yard “limit” was based on the terrain; the bird was in the centre of a field, the access was only to the edge, while the Finnish bird was clearly visible from a reasonable distance on top of a building; the angles would not have improved the view if anyone tried approaching any closer. Good luck with your quest.

 

[kids]

I know of 3 places in the UK where barns and tawny come in to day old chicks including one person that has them coming in almost to hand, no hide or camouflage at all . The barns are the tamer of the two , the tawny come in and fly straight off whereas the barns in two places will stay and feed in front of you. As regards LE , there is a village in Hungary ( forget the name ) where a 20+ roost is in a residential street tree with bright lighting around it and very relaxed about passer by

 

[temmie]

Hello,

I've been doing some research on owl baiting and owl viewing ethics more generally. I was hoping to learn more about owl viewing outside of North America, where reports of misbehavior for certain species are fairly routine.

Is owl baiting (baiting with live or fake mice to get owls to approach closely) known to occur regularly outside of North America? Have there been any cases where owls have been struck by cars or otherwise injured at sites where they have been baited?

not that I know off. I haven't heard of baiting (like they would bait Great Grey and Snowy in winter, with snow cover, in N America) in Europe.

More generally, for sightings of less common owls (e.g., Snowy Owls or other northern migrants), have there been reports of misbehavior such as baiting, close crowding by large numbers of observers, intentional flushing for flight shots, or trespassing? If so, how frequently? Have there been any reports of owls perishing (e.g., due to starvation or collisions) at sites where they have been repeatedly observed by birdwatchers and/or photographers?

If anything, Snowy owl in W-Europe is a major rarity and while I haven't heard of owls perishing, it wouldn't surprise me if they did, as vagrants often can't cope with changing circumstances (different habitat, climate,...). The last Snowy owls we had in Belgium most probably came with a ship from... N-America!

Do birdwatchers and/or photographers publicly share roost sites, e.g., for Long-Eared Owls?

Some are 'open' on the internet, others are hidden. Places that are open, in an easy-access location, can see numbers of roosting LE Owls go down quite dramatically, but other sites seem to be solid (even year after year) holding more or less the same number of Owls throughout winter.

In cases where people share owl sightings, how do they do so? (e.g., citizen science platforms, social media, listservs, word of mouth?)

citizen science platforms, but a lot is hidden.

Have environmental officials intervened to protect owls in any cases, e.g., fencing off roost sites at nature reserves?

not that I know of, and LE owls often roost in trees in villages.

I'm particularly interested in Snowy Owls. In cases where Snowy Owls are reported in Eurasia, do people reshare the owls' locations on social media and other channels? Do sightings attract attention from the general public (e.g., news outlets, and people who are not dedicated birdwatchers)? Have there been any cases of misbehavior by observers?

Are there particular sites that are known within the birding community to be fairly reliable for Snowy Owls in western or northern Europe, and if so, do observers travel to see them in good numbers (e.g., for their year or life lists)? Are Finland, Norway, and Sweden (where Snowy Owls are listed as CR) known for this at all?

Does Snowy Owls' comparable scarcity in western Europe mean that sightings attract a good deal of interest/attention, or do observers, recognizing the species' fragility in the region, not share or reshare the sightings?

In cases where Snowy Owls have appeared near you, have they been approachable (e.g., perched on a utility pole or resting on a beach) or inaccessible (e.g., on private property or a distant breakwater)?

Thank you so much - I look forward to learning more.

We just don't have that many Snowy Owls. Almost all Snowies don't venture into W-Europe and stay in Scandinavia / Russia and thus much more Northernly compared to N-America. So any Snowy will attract huge crowds, and disturbance all depends on where these owls show up. These owls are seen as vagrants, and I don't think most people think of them specifically in terms of the species' fragility, more in terms of the unique occasion of seeing one. That doesn't mean all those people disturb those owls by default, but it isn't a regular winter bird and won't ever be one for most of Europe.

 

[lockbreeze926]

Don't have a lot to say re the subject in general, but I think the famous LEO roost being referred to is at Kikinda in Serbia, where the numbers can reach into the high hundreds in cold winters, right in the middle of town.

The Long-eared Owl roost in Kikinda | Birdingplaces.eu

The Long-eared Owls of Kikinda SERBIA

Kikinda, Serbia is the world capitol of wintering Long-eared Owls: up to 1500 have been counted. We take you there.

www.birdingbob.com

 

[jurek]

I heard of photographers feeding owls in Poland. Also pulling dead mice on a fishing line so the owl will fly straight at the photographer. In my opinion, this is benign to positive - an equivalent of putting seed for small birds.

There were rumors that live mice were used, and that groups of photographers encircled and scared owls. However, there is also lots of jealousy and malice in this community. There were also large-scale blocking of information. Infamously, one nature journalist suppressed a Hawk Owl (then, the major rarity, first one in decades) which wintered in his village for months, just in case.

In my judgement, over-reaction actually more common than real scaring birds.

Directing people to places where the species can be observed and photographed without disturbance, like in Kids post, seems the best way to go.

BTW, I am amazed what photographers can do to get a photo. One had a vision of photographing a Little Owl surrounded by hawkweed flowers. He found a pair of owls, he saw where the owls are perching. So he dug up a patch of flowering hawkweed and meticulously planted them all around the place. Unfortunately, he picked wrong place and the owl perched in another place. So he duly replanted the flowers. However, in the meantime flowers turned into seeds. So he got an attractive photo of the owl among seed pods.

 

[Farnboro John]

I heard of photographers feeding owls in Poland. Also pulling dead mice on a fishing line so the owl will fly straight at the photographer. In my opinion, this is benign to positive - an equivalent of putting seed for small birds.

There were rumors that live mice were used, and that groups of photographers encircled and scared owls. However, there is also lots of jealousy and malice in this community. There were also large-scale blocking of information. Infamously, one nature journalist suppressed a Hawk Owl (then, the major rarity, first one in decades) which wintered in his village for months, just in case.

In my judgement, over-reaction actually more common than real scaring birds.

Directing people to places where the species can be observed and photographed without disturbance, like in Kids post, seems the best way to go.

BTW, I am amazed what photographers can do to get a photo. One had a vision of photographing a Little Owl surrounded by hawkweed flowers. He found a pair of owls, he saw where the owls are perching. So he dug up a patch of flowering hawkweed and meticulously planted them all around the place. Unfortunately, he picked wrong place and the owl perched in another place. So he duly replanted the flowers. However, in the meantime flowers turned into seeds. So he got an attractive photo of the owl among seed pods.

Yeah, togs.... Allegedly (but very strongly supported story) one photographer carried a huge pot plant right across Thursley Common to get a photo of Colin the Cuckoo in the particular flowering shrub. Colin duly obliged (he'd do anything for a few mealworms!)

John

 

[Mysticete]

I heard of photographers feeding owls in Poland. Also pulling dead mice on a fishing line so the owl will fly straight at the photographer. In my opinion, this is benign to positive - an equivalent of putting seed for small birds.

There were rumors that live mice were used, and that groups of photographers encircled and scared owls. However, there is also lots of jealousy and malice in this community. There were also large-scale blocking of information. Infamously, one nature journalist suppressed a Hawk Owl (then, the major rarity, first one in decades) which wintered in his village for months, just in case.

In my judgement, over-reaction actually more common than real scaring birds.

Directing people to places where the species can be observed and photographed without disturbance, like in Kids post, seems the best way to go.

BTW, I am amazed what photographers can do to get a photo. One had a vision of photographing a Little Owl surrounded by hawkweed flowers. He found a pair of owls, he saw where the owls are perching. So he dug up a patch of flowering hawkweed and meticulously planted them all around the place. Unfortunately, he picked wrong place and the owl perched in another place. So he duly replanted the flowers. However, in the meantime flowers turned into seeds. So he got an attractive photo of the owl among seed pods.

The issue, at least how it is practiced in the states, is photographers generally baiting next to roads, which encourages owls to spend time in areas where they are likely to get hit by a car, which has happened quite often. I think if you were out in the middle of the woods, then yeah, baiting wouldn't be an issue

 

[Surreybirder]

I heard of photographers throwing stones at the little owls at Elmley Nature Reserve in order to get some action shots. When I last visited, the owls had disappeared. But one was seen in August according to https://ebird.org/hotspot/L933593

 

[njlarsen]

Some of these stories make me sad. I heard about three snowy owls in Wisconsin one winter and drove for all three. All were in rural areas, and only the third was even visible when I arrived. Prior to that I have visited three different times in Denmark to locations where Snowy owls were supposed to be present without seeing any. This was all in the 1990ties. Late 90ties, I did get to see Snowy in Denmark after returning from the US, but none of my experiences included baiting.

One thing that comes to mind is that for baiting to change the behavior of a bird it has to be a long term occurrence. Doing so for just one day will not attract a bird that is not already there. So are these long term things that people do?
Niels

 

[Mysticete]

One thing that comes to mind is that for baiting to change the behavior of a bird it has to be a long term occurrence. Doing so for just one day will not attract a bird that is not already there. So are these long term things that people do?
Niels

I would imagine there are photographers who make regular repeat visits to the same birds. Given how obsessed photographers in general can be about owls and how in winter there often isn't as much to shoot in the North, it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[condor1992]

Hello,

I've been doing some research on owl baiting and owl viewing ethics more generally. I was hoping to learn more about owl viewing outside of North America, where reports of misbehavior for certain species are fairly routine.

Is owl baiting (baiting with live or fake mice to get owls to approach closely) known to occur regularly outside of North America? Have there been any cases where owls have been struck by cars or otherwise injured at sites where they have been baited?

More generally, for sightings of less common owls (e.g., Snowy Owls or other northern migrants), have there been reports of misbehavior such as baiting, close crowding by large numbers of observers, intentional flushing for flight shots, or trespassing? If so, how frequently? Have there been any reports of owls perishing (e.g., due to starvation or collisions) at sites where they have been repeatedly observed by birdwatchers and/or photographers?

Do birdwatchers and/or photographers publicly share roost sites, e.g., for Long-Eared Owls?

In cases where people share owl sightings, how do they do so? (e.g., citizen science platforms, social media, listservs, word of mouth?)

Have environmental officials intervened to protect owls in any cases, e.g., fencing off roost sites at nature reserves?

I'm particularly interested in Snowy Owls. In cases where Snowy Owls are reported in Eurasia, do people reshare the owls' locations on social media and other channels? Do sightings attract attention from the general public (e.g., news outlets, and people who are not dedicated birdwatchers)? Have there been any cases of misbehavior by observers?

Are there particular sites that are known within the birding community to be fairly reliable for Snowy Owls in western or northern Europe, and if so, do observers travel to see them in good numbers (e.g., for their year or life lists)? Are Finland, Norway, and Sweden (where Snowy Owls are listed as CR) known for this at all?

Does Snowy Owls' comparable scarcity in western Europe mean that sightings attract a good deal of interest/attention, or do observers, recognizing the species' fragility in the region, not share or reshare the sightings?

In cases where Snowy Owls have appeared near you, have they been approachable (e.g., perched on a utility pole or resting on a beach) or inaccessible (e.g., on private property or a distant breakwater)?

Thank you so much - I look forward to learning more.

Yes, unfortunately it does happen. In the UK it happens a lot, and seems to happen by far the most with the long-eared owl, the scarcest and most elusive species of owl that we have.
For snowy owls, I'm just as hopeful as you are. The owl at Snettisham in 2018 was lovely, though
There have been many high-profile incidents of owl disturbance at places which I visit.
In one particularly awful case, a few people with cameras apparently went on private land, climbed over a fence and climbed into a bush where three short-eared owl were roosting. The owls of course immediately flew off and I consider it near-miraculous that they returned there again this year. I believe some people were climbing into fields to do the same this year.
Long-eared owls can and do get crowded, we have BirdGuides to thank for that. One long-eared owl in particular last year at a certain nature reserve, which I then saw had moved backwards into the bush after that
The local Cambridge barn owl unfortunately gets disturbed every day in the summer because the nest box is located right across the river from a very popular swimming spot and in the evenings gets crowded with screaming teenagers.
In one other situation, I was in a hide with a long-eared owl 10 meters away from me. I was sitting with my camera, trying to stay as silent as possible and keeping an eye on the bird's behaviour (fast asleep). Someone else near me with a huge camera started making noises to try and get it to open its eyes

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Do birdwatchers and/or photographers publicly share roost sites, e.g., for Long-Eared Owls?

Once over I would have done but through experience you learn to keep your mouth shut when you stumble upon owls.

My experience tells me that owls and their pictures are very much sought after and in the event you tell one person (with good intentions, just trying to do someone a favour who you think will see the bird, enjoy it and that will be it) then it will spread like wildfire. The reason being that people mix in circles and they're obliged to tell others in their circle otherwise they'll have no information coming back the other way. Furthermore, bird photography is competitive and people will go back time after time trying to get a better picture to the point they're pretty much on hooting terms with the bird.

That's not to say photographers are 'bad' or any worse than say those without cameras, there are always a few who buck the trend in any group of human beings. A Long-eared Owl had a hard time 'round these parts when it was trying to raise its young, with people stood around the nest site. I heard a horror story of a Tawny Owl being baited to the point the owl didn't know whether it was coming or going (speakers used to get the bird flying), this information came from somebody who told me that a lad was cautioned and fined for disturbing a Marsh Warbler's nest, which turned out to be true and so I've no reason to doubt that information. I've heard of people banging Barn Owl boxes to wake the bird up and get it moving also.

The daft thing is that anyone committed to finding owls 'round these parts would have no problem providing they read up on their preferred habitats and habits.

There was a Tawny Owl bringing up its young in a cemetery last year not too far from me, and although I didn't go I was told that there was a good number of photographers stood not far from the nest site. My instinct tells me that a Tawny Owl doesn't need a load of people pointing big cameras at it when it's trying to raise its young. That's what you're going to get in the event you mention an owl site to almost any photographer, as I say it will spread like wildfire. The fellas who have their patch 'round here don't mention it to anyone because they know what the outcome will be. It's particularly good 'round here for Tawny and Long-eared.

You learn from experience just as other people do. There's a fella I know who finds all sorts 'round here partly because in he's on good terms farmers who let him onto their land. Not an owl, but a similar situation in that he found a Green Woodpecker family bringing up their young viewable from a path. This is a seasoned bird watcher, decades of experience. He told one person who he'd known for years, 'thought he could trust, and next thing you know there are loads of photographers stood around. The bird didn't nest in that location the following year. Lesson learned for him, even the more experienced can make a mistake.

There are certain birds that are highly prized and owls are definitely in that category. In my experience, 'best to say nothing when it comes to these birds.

 

[opisska]

The Hawk Owl a couple years ago in NE Poland was being baited by photographers. There was a bit of an uproar about it, but I am not sure how harmful that is - the owl got at least nicely fed and when it was too bothered it took off and was never re-found - as it was in the middle of an endless area of all the same habitat, I am not sure how much of a trouble it suffered from it. I took one record picture of it from a long distance (several hundred meters) with a flash in the dusk and was endlessly chastised for that even though the owl itself seemed completely disinterested. But people just need to feel righteous ... I have read a bit about flash effects on owls and repeated high-power flashing can be detrimental, but I do not think that my flash from the distance was brighter than the headlights of passing cars. Also one should never flash an owl in flight, it can actually crash!

We had famously one vagrant Hawk Owl die in the Czech Republic, it actually is on video - but not the observer's fault, it was hunting roadkills over a road and got smashed by a van, not much anyone could have done about it.

There are LEO roosts in winter scattered through the Czech Republic, many are publicly known. I have seen a study that while they are tolerant to people passing by, they do notice when those people look at them for a long time and this may lead them to abandon the roost, so this may be a bit of a problem. On the other hand, LEO is a very common bird in the country, this does not threaten them heavily. SEO on the other hand winter in relatively small numbers, in tall grass and people do sometimes flush them on purpose and they are known to abandon the sites - and there aren't many good sites around, so I can understand why people keep those secret (even though for anyone who knows the landscape, the places are pretty obvious).

What I do not really get is the secrecy around Barn Owls - they live in agricultural buildings, but somehow the sites are like super secret. They are not very common, I have been out in the night for a lot of hours and found just one by accident.

 

[Strontium Dog]

There's an RSPB reserve I know which has Little Owls and is totally paranoid about anyone mentioning their existence on social media. In fact, the unofficial Facebook discussion group is presently "paused" as the admin is fed up with actually adminning the group to remove posts about them.

It's a most bizarre thing, especially for what is, after all, a non-endangered, non-native species.

 

[Surreybirder]

We had an example locally where a short-eared owl site was posted on Facebook. (They are not at all common in Surrey but there were at least four present.) Photographers were wandering all over the feeding area trying to get the perfect shot. It's hard to be sure but my instinct is that it wasn't good news for the owls. It's less of a problem for little owls as they are widespread.

 

[Farnboro John]

We had an example locally where a short-eared owl site was posted on Facebook. (They are not at all common in Surrey but there were at least four present.) Photographers were wandering all over the feeding area trying to get the perfect shot. It's hard to be sure but my instinct is that it wasn't good news for the owls. It's less of a problem for little owls as they are widespread.

Little Owls seem to be less common and widespread than they used to be. Most if not all of our local ones are gone: from being a common species to zero in about ten years.

I assume the SEO site was in West London and I agree idiots wandering about trying to get a perfect shot was a problem (though the owls seemed to just head off to hunt wherever the people weren't and I can vouch for their success having seen prey-carrying and feeding on the ground across the whole area, with bins). Birders were not the problem, gathering in a few spots mainly aimed at getting the light in their favour, inconspicuous (not invisible to sharp-eyed predators of course) against bushes. But grockles desperate to get their teeny-weeny lenses close to the birds and no-bins non-birder photographers: yeah, definitely a problem as none of them had any field skills whatsoever and also no inclination to either mimic or take advice from the birders present.

John