Leslie Street Spit Sunday

[Anonymous]

Good Morning

 Yersterday my friends and I birded The Spit on a very nice fall day. I don't name my friends because I don't want them to be painted with the same brush I will be after my report.

 All in all it was a good birding day with Great Black-backed Gull, 23 Waterfowl species including 30+ Common Loons, Horned Grebe, Brant, Ring-necked and Ruddy Ducks, N. Shovelers, Canvasback, Redhead, Many Bufflehead, A. Goldeneye, Long-tailed Ducks and Greater Scaup, all 3 Mergansers including 60+ Hooded, a migrating Short-eared Owl heading west overhead, 7 Dunlin, Cooper's and Red-tailed Hawks ( we missed the Merlin and Sharp-shinned Hawk ), Great Blue Herons, Belted Kingfisher, 5 Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flickers, both Kinglets, lots of Chickadees, Brown Creepers, Winter Wrens, Hermit Thrushes, Tree, White-crowned, White-throated and Song Sparrows, Many Juncos and Goldfinches and a few hundred Red-winged Blackbirds moving west overhead with a few Rusty Blackbirds.

 One of the birds we were looking forward to seeing was a reported Saw-whet Owl but before we arrived at the Owl location we were stopped and informed that the Owl was flushed by a photographer with a large, long lens that approached the Owl so closely that it flew off ( a little Owl that is very tolerant of Humans and is hard to flush if not approached too closely ) leaving it's hard won Vole prey. A shame as these little Owls are generally tired and only want to rest and feed before moving on south. It is a wonder why so many people question why birders or others do not want to reveal Owl locations. Again ONE and I repeat ONE person can spoil it for so many wether it is a photographer, birder or in fact anyone.

 Go ahead and call me a photographerphobic but we were only miffed at this ONE particular photographer. He will probaby post his great closeup on this site. Perhaps he got HIS reward with an action shot of it as it flew off.

[mr.sharp-photo]

Good Morning

One of the birds we were looking forward to seeing was a reported Saw-whet Owl but before we arrived at the Owl location we were stopped and informed that the Owl was flushed by a photographer with a large, long lens that approached the Owl so closely that it flew off ( a little Owl that is very tolerant of Humans and is hard to flush if not approached too closely ) leaving it's hard won Vole prey. A shame as these little Owls are generally tired and only want to rest and feed before moving on south. It is a wonder why so many people question why birders or others do not want to reveal Owl locations. Again ONE and I repeat ONE person can spoil it for so many wether it is a photographer, birder or in fact anyone.

 Go ahead and call me a photographerphobic but we were only miffed at this ONE particular photographer. He will probaby post his great closeup on this site. Perhaps he got HIS reward with an action shot of it as it flew off.

i certainly hope this isn't in reference to my previous post asking about owls. and i really hope this isn't insinuating that I was this photographer, because i a) haven't been to the Spit in months, b) am smart and respectful enough to keep my distance, c) have a 400 mm lens which, according to this description, would NOT allow a photographer to go "right up" to an owl.

so your disdain towards all photographers is slightly misguided. not all of us break the rules and are disrespectful.

thanks

[Mathieu Siol]

Then obviously, if you haven't been on the spit in months you are not the one who scared the owl off. As for the criticism I fully agree with Norm. Because of this idiot nobody else will see the bird (I am especially disappointed because I've never seen this species), but most importantly this little jewel will not get its hard-won rest. As said it takes only one irresponsible photographer (or birder as noted by Norm for that matter) to spoil the fun for everybody else.
So thank you mister photographer (let's call you that since I doubt you will have the guts to make yourself known).

Good birding to all of the others who truly love the birds.

Mathieu

[Bluffs Birder]

I too agree with Norm and well said Mathieu.  Nature is for everyone to enjoy and sometimes it only takes the irresponsibility of one person (photographer or birder) to ruin it for all others.  I've not had the pleasure of seeing a Northern Saw-whet myself and several other owl species for that matter and this type of careless behaviour is only going to ruin my chances that much more...THANKYOU, whoever you are.

Walter

[josullivan]

As a long-time birder who has seen many, many Saw-Whet Owls over the years---I saw one here in Mississauga today---I have yet to see one flush or fly in all those years!   That tells me that this individual harassed this bird big-time.   This is totally unacceptable. I concur with Mr. Murr's sentiments completely and, once more one jackass ruins the game for everybody and I will continue to refuse to reveal any owl locations I know of to anybody except those I know to be ethical birder/photographers.
    It looks like the "silly-season' down at the Spit has begun again---what a bummer.

Brendan O'Sullivan
Mississauga

[Niloc]

Many good points made... but from the photographer side I try to represent on a positive note my motto is earn the picture never disturb the natural habitat and respect the birders they know what your actually photographing!...

[P1Guy]

It seems unlikely Norm that it was a photographer with a big long lens.
You birders seem to have a distane for all photographers good or bad.
If it was a large tele, like a 500mm the focusing distance of a lens like that or even a smaller 400mm is over 11 feet.
An as you and the other birders that chirpped in, should know that a saw-whet won't flush that easily.

At Amherst Island I saw a girl put a point and shoot within a two feet of one and it did not flush.

Also while waiting for a lark sparrow recently in Hamilton, hunkered down out of sight I had more than three birders with bins yelling out, where is the sparrow, is it still around? Instead of quietly looking for it, they were like a herd of cattle at a stampede. I said you have the bins, look for it and please keep quiet if you want it to land close by and feed.

You again do seem to paint all photographers with the same brush, if not you would not have posted this.
And how do you know for certain that it was a photographer, when it was hear say from another (most likely a birder).

Funny thing is, on the last OFO outing more and more birders now have cameras.  :lol:

[KPaw]

Yogistewart – I do not believe Mr. Murr is being disdainful towards all photographers, as you put it.    Mr. Murr is a highly respected and knowledgeable birder ….  Let’s not put words in the mouths of others.

I am both a birder and a photographer and, as ‘Bluffs Birder’ put it, nature is for everyone to enjoy but I agree with Josullivan that Saw-Whet Owls do not easily flush or fly so, clearly, something went wrong with whatever  this ‘photographer’ was doing.   Would everyone not agree that this is unacceptable?   Of course.  Any decent bird photographer would certainly agree that the natural habitat or the occupants thereof are never to be disturbed and Mr. Murr’s views are obviously echoed by others on this forum.

[Al McGiven]

Last year on the spit I and two others witnessed a photographer kicking stones at a snowy owl to try and get it to flush (which it did).  This is not OK.  I like to take photos too but I'm a birder first whereas these guys seem only to care about their photograph.  Of course not all photographers are like this, but clearly some are.  Unfortunately its impossible to tell in advance so the safe bet is not to tell them where the owls are.  I will be on the spit tomorrow and unless I see a pair of bins I will not be revealing the location of any owls to anyone.

[mr.sharp-photo]

Last year on the spit I and two others witnessed a photographer kicking stones at a snowy owl to try and get it to flush (which it did).  This is not OK.  I like to take photos too but I'm a birder first whereas these guys seem only to care about their photograph.  Of course not all photographers are like this, but clearly some are.  Unfortunately its impossible to tell in advance so the safe bet is not to tell them where the owls are.  I will be on the spit tomorrow and unless I see a pair of bins I will not be revealing the location of any owls to anyone.

the photographerphobia is unreal. really is.
perhaps we need a secret signal for people on this website?

[skyviewer]

Being new to birding and this forum this year you could call me a newb.  But even still being a nature and animal lover its not too difficult to realize when you are disturbing a bird or animal.  Early in the year i had a redtail hawk sitting in a tree let me take pictures of him for awhile.  I would have loved for him to fly off to get some flight shots but even then being a newb i knew it wouldn't be right to try and scare him off his perch in the spring when he was hunting.

In the summer when i was at one of my favourite birding spots i saw a great horned owl.  The pics were not that great cause i was far away but i posted them because i was excited to see my first owl in the wild.  Well then came the private messages asking me to reveal the location.  I even had one photographer on this forum tell me that it was against forum policy not to tell him where the owl was.  Unfortunately i told two people and after realized i was an idiot for doing so cause i really didn't know either of these people and who they might tell or what they might do to get a picture.  Also i then started to see people at my favourite spot that i never saw people at before.  Lesson learned

On the other hand to see a post where it gives the wherabouts of a bird is great if you go there and are able to have a nice experience but i don't know if it is in the best interest of the bird especially an owl that could attract lots of people and stress the bird out.  I say keep it t yourself and tell only fellow birders that you know who are respectful.

[Anonymous]

I think computers are amazing.

 Each time I mention ONE photographer the computer seems to rearrange replies to mean that I have distain for ALL photographers or that I paint ALL photographers with the same brush. It seems that it is better than a spell checker and is a word or quote converter that suits the person replying so as to guarantee an arguement instead of acknowledging that there are a few birders or photographers out there that step over the line ( so to speak ) once in awhile either intentionally or by accident and did not really realize that they had gotten too close. We have all done that at one time I think. I know I have.

 I must say though that it is sad to see that a few of those that replied have such distain for ALL birders and seem to want to foster this distain at ALL birders expense and to pit outdoors lovers against each other, wether photographers, birders or just nature viewers, sad.

[surfinbird]

I was right behind Mr.Murr walking towards the tree where the saw whet roosts when you and your friends were leaving . I was the one with a semi big lens [300m] , which is why I probably got a funny look walking up the hill . I too was disappointed to hear that the owl was flushed by someone after I had walked so far , or at least that is what the English fellow had told me . I saw the headless vole and a large lens would have been useless here because the photographer would need to stand 15 feet away . A big lens in such a small place and in my face , I'd fly away too.
Rob

[jjmb]

I don't really want to resurrect this inflammatory string, but I just got back from a vacation, and couldn't chime in earlier.

Why can't we all just get along? I consider myself a nature lover first, and a photographer second. I have seen many people, BOTH photographers and birders, walk off trails or behind barricades, leave trash behind, bend branches and flush birds. We all need to remember that we have to take care of nature and our environment. No one group is more destructive than the other, but we all have to work together (harmoniously, please!) to make sure that we put the environment and the animals within it first.

So really, it shouldn't be seen as photographer vs birder. It is people who want to treat nature right vs people who need to learn to appreciate it better.

On a side note, my vacation was to Ecuador and Galapagos - heaven for photographers and birders alike!

[Lloyd]

Amen. Well said. How about an update on your trip?