I can see that Mike has some valid concerns about protecting owls, but I just respectfully disagree. Yes, there are some people who violate the rules, just as this weekend people will violate private property to get a deer.
I have a fondness for birds, but also really enjoy photography. I've invested in equipment, have a web page, and am trying to take my hobby to the next level. As a birder, I have 9 feeders, and regularly go out to find all sorts of birds, using this list as a key informational tool to visit different spots. Thanks to MOU, I've found many great places to bird and go. Raptors are my favorite birds, and I love owls. I've only seen a hawk owl, saw whet owl and great horned owl - I'd like to see more of these birds. I realize people earn money as guides, and I hired one twice last year at Sax-Zim, but these are also public roads open for all to enjoy. I'm not sure the traffic on MOU but I'm guessing this list isn't as busy as the Drudge Report. I realize that baiting a bird is a debatable topic, but my opinion on that is if it is such a bad thing, or harmful to an owl, wouldn't the DNR make a law or regulation that says you can't do this? That's a separate post. I don't bring bait with me, just my camera gear. I can't buy mice at the wild bird store, but I love hawks, and one could say having a group of birds around my feeder is in a sense baiting the red tail to have a chickadee for lunch. I live in the Twin Cities, and last spring a poster let me know about a great horned owl in a tree. I didn't get good photos, but would like to try again. He was very specific, and I set up my tripod and camera below the tree, and there was no issue. Frankly as I said, I'd find it quite frustrating if someone posted about an owl or any bird but didn't want to give out any information on it's location - even if unintended I'd almost take it as a gloat. I see this list as a place to share information, and think the best route is to ask people to use etiquette. Quite a lot of posts on this one and good discussion. Thanks, Fr. Paul ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
