I did not want to get into this discussion, because I think that threads like this are not productive, but now I believe that I have too. I think that the real problem here is too many people over reacting. I was photographing the owl for 4 hours on Monday evening including the time of the reported incident. I was probably within 10 feet of the roosting owl but I was much further away than the classes of school children at the nature center that sat directly below the owl at the base of the tree. The branch shaking incident was not instigated by a birder who read about the owl on the list serve. It was instigated by a gentleman who seemed to be associated with the nature center. This gentleman has named the bird and has been photographing / filming it for weeks, well before it was reported on the list serve. He was shaking branches and calling out to the bird to try and get it to open its eyes. After everyone else left and it was just the two of us left I did try to explain to him that small owls often internalize their stress. I am not sure if it sunk in though as he left and came back later with a rake to break up the ice that was building below the tree. In my opinion moderating the forums so that no one could post the location of a roosting owl would be a mistake. In this case kids at the nature center were the first to spot the owl. Staff at the nature center marked the path and even marked the tree that the owl roosts in. They had signs at the office with directions on how to get there. Besides birders I also watched as neighbors, classes, and people walking dogs came walked right up to the tree to see the owl. So I am sure there would have been less people to stress the bird out had it not been posted but to think that all the stress that the bird was getting was coming from people who read about the owl on the list serve would be a wrong assumption.
My point is that I think that there are better ways to handle these situations. If you are there and you witness behavior that you do not think is appropriate then talk to the person/people. Take the time to educate the person and maybe they will learn so that the next time there will not be an issue. Make sure you do so politely, in this case since I believe that the gentleman in question was somehow involved with the nature center I waited until there were less people around because I did not want to possibly embrace him ________________________________ From: linda whyte <bi...@moosewoods.us> To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 10:51 PM Subject: Re: [mou-net] Saw Whet Owl Thread As I understand it, the nature center staff has now had the issues brought to their attention, and is taking steps of educational intervention by way of crowd control for this bird. In this case, at least, some good may come out of any disturbance that was caused. The open and objective expression of different points of view on the listserve continues to shape my attitude and behavior. From past discussions I learned that sharing is valuable but must be weighed against the effects on both an individual bird and sometimes its species in the case of endangered or threatened ones. By the way, thank you Laura, for explaining that viewers standing together would be less stressful for the bird. It re-emphasizes the need for us to limit our numbers as well as time and proximity in such situations. Linda Whyte On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 10:01 PM, Laura Erickson < chickadee.erick...@gmail.com> wrote: > As someone who has lived with an Eastern Screech-Owl for 12 years, and > who has cared for many owls, including saw-whets, during my time as a > rehabber, the only point I'd like to add here is that owls do not > sleep all day, as is commonly believed. My education owl's sleep > patterns are like my cats'--they sleep whenever they feel like, day or > night. Small owls that normally roost in cavities do spend the day > with their eyes closed as much as possible, almost certainly in order > to keep from being noticed by chickadees and other birds. Chickadees > won't hurt them, but their mobbing will alert more dangerous birds, > such as jays, crows, and robins (which pack a mean wallop when they > divebomb little owls). > > I took a photo of a roosting Northern Saw-whet Owl in Two Harbors > several winters ago. (The same bird, photographed from a slightly > different angle by Sparky Stensaas, appears in Dave Benson's book > about owls.) You need to look very closely, but even though the eye is > mostly hidden by the wing (the bird's head is tucked), it was still > looking directly at me while I took the photo (from a distance--this > was digiscoped). http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/15920014/ > > People gathering around an owl are probably stressing it somewhat. > When there is more than one person looking at any bird, it's far less > stressful for them to be grouped together rather than apart--the bird > can focus in just one direction then, rather than turning its head > this way and that to keep track of what seem like potential predators. > > Our society has become too polarized and contentious--I wish we could > all just try to be kind. To the birds, and to one another. > > Laura Erickson > Duluth, MN > > For the love, understanding, and protection of birds > > There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. > There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of > nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after > the winter. > > —Rachel Carson > > Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
