i think that if one thinks through it logically, one would see that baiting is against what birding's about.
first, bird feeders. one can argue that an in a big city environment, bird feeders play an important roll. it provides birds with food, especially during the seasons where its harder for them to find nutrients. i'm not sure about you guys, but the birds that come to my feeder are still incredibly hesitant and fearful of people and don't let me come close. therefore i would consider my behaviours to not be harmful to the birds.
feeding birds food by hand. i've done this at Cranberry Marsh, where it seems like its the norm. it also is done to non-migrating birds like nuthatches, chickadees, etc. feeding water foul by hands is not good. it prevents winter migration and may make some species (e.g. Canada geese) more aggressive. take a look at the winter mess in Lambton Woods to see what hand-feeding water foul does. the 100 birds that live in the tiny pond don't venture south for the winter because they are kept plump with non-nutritional bread. if this happened in parks all over toronto, you would have some sort of ecosystem or breeding gap that would be detrimental.
baiting. we've talked about the kestrel at Sam Smith and how peculiar its behaviour is. that's the key: a change in behaviour. if birds relate humans to food, it changes how they act. it probably reduces their desire to hunt and it does put them at risk simply because humans are stupid animals. we do things without worrying about the consequences.
i had a chance to see the barred owls in Presquile Park twice. both times, i marvelled and wondered how the hell i could get within 15 feet of a barred owl, yet snowy owls fly away if you are 100 feet from them. from what i understand, the answer is: baiting.
my final question/point is: just like fishing, isn't the fun of birding/bird photography to be able to catch a bird or scenario that's out of the ordinary? my personal "got it!" moments involved a great story. tying a mouse to your tripod and trying to time a bird's killing swoop is not a great story. it actually makes for poor photography. hey, why don't i remove a stop sign at a major intersection, set up a camera and wait for the ensuing car accident? that also would make for a great picture!
intelligence-wise, you can't compare birds to fish. i personally don't understand or participate in sport fishing, but fish are quite stupid and, for the most part, quite plentiful. you see a kestrel or 2. you see a hawk or 2. you don't have 10 000 in a small area to capture (on film).
