Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Birding Ethics Debate: To Call or Not to Call










  1. Without going into detail I would say that responsible use of call backs is benign in most cases. Many birders use "spishing" and/or small owl imitations to attract land birds and there is no evidence this has any negative effect and is generally considered to be acceptable. In very popular birding locations call backs might be problematic (for various reasons) but that is a fairly rare situation - especially in a state like Idaho.

  2. Maybe if ABA Rules prohibited adding a bird to a Life List if a recorded call was played (under the "captive birds don't count" rule), that would keep the use of such devices to a minimum. There are degrees of "sporting" in hunting, and the same goes for birding. If a person can successfully attract a bird with pishing there is a direct communication between birder and bird that strikes me as unique and special. Pishing communicates to the birds a transient danger (person or owl or whatever) is nearby, so birds flock to the site of the danger and scold. By this act, the danger will be mitigated and calm will soon return to the region.

    The use of audio playback during a season where territory is being claimed by birds would seem to me to be risking displacing the real bird. I've thought about getting a device but have resisted the temptation. While birding, I always feel disappointed in my ability if the bird ceases natural behaviour and consider myself to have erred if the bird flies away. Consider ducks, for example ... I consider it successful if they just continue to swim and feed, less successful if they dive or swim slowly away, and a "poor performance" on my part if they take flight.

    If the recording attracts the bird, we see it and are pleased ... but what if the recording has actually caused the bird to flee? We would never see the bird and not know. Is there any study which can alleviate my concern?

    Throwing a big rock into a bush (called a "Dickey Bird" by a professional birder I knew as a child) can cause a hidden bird to come into view, but I don't do it.

  3. Thanks Charles and Jonathan. There is indeed something "less-sporting" about playing callbacks. I have noticed that I don't feel as satisfied seeing a life bird using this method.