I was at Salthouse beach, Norfolk last Tuesday and there were two photpgraphers with huge lenses lying down at the edge of a pool about 50 yards west of the car park. Turnstones were feeding a matter of a few feet away from them. They had either got there in the dark or they must initially have disturbed the birds when they arrived. They were still lying there 30 minutes later. How many photos of Turnstones do you need?. The birds seemed not to mind their presence though and it was the Snow Buntings that were occasionally flushed by visiting Birders like me.
There is also a warning at Sculthorpe Reserve to the effect that Photographers were not to monopolise the hides so that other visitors could not get in.
An ongoing problem I fear. Roger
A couple of years ago I went to Salthouse beach car park to photograph Snow Buntings and Lapland Buntings which were spending most (but not all) of their time on seed put out for them.
When the flock flew to the far end of the car park I scooted into the seed area and lay down with my camera. After a while the birders at the far end ot the car park went incautiously close to the buntings, which flushed right back to me. I started photographing them and continued until they flew off again some twenty minutes later.
They were coming to within the minimum focus distance of my lens and you would think I could get all the pix I wanted, but in fact when you are lying down your movement is quite restricted, especially if you are anxious about flushing the birds. You are therefore required to wait for the birds to move into the right position, and you may be watching the wrong bird at the wrong moment and miss more shots than you get. Try it sometime, its an education (and of course a rare and stunning privilege).
I could see a few Turnstones in front of me but - again because I was lying down - I was completely unaware that there were also numbers behind and not quite upon me! Once the buntings flew off I moved off as carefully as I possibly could but inevitably a few of the birds behind me fluttered a little way off. Fortunately the birders present who were watching the whole performance were amused rather than annoyed. Lucky me, and lucky them for not having lost their sense of humour over the years.
I am of course wholly against behaviour such as Jane described. As others have said, it doesn't even help their photography.
I like Sculthorpe but the biggest problem in the hides seems to be people who won't walk softly, talk softly, or open and close doors and shutters softly.
BTW it has taken me nearly 30 years to work up to a 500 mm "white lens", and it took my late father's estate to get it for me, so where anyone gets the idea its cheap is well beyond me.
John
