Warning: Birding and bird photography can be dangerous to one’s health … if one is a bird.
“We are loving our birds to death,” said Dan Stephens, president of the Washington Ornithological Society.
Take the recent case of two long-eared owls roosting not far from a parking area on Department of Fish and Wildlife property near Stanwood.
Thanks (or no thanks) to social media, word quickly spread.
“There’s a huge network of birders and photographers online, such as e-Bird, so pretty soon there were dozens of people. It’s the nature of things today with social media,” he said.
Many of those birdwatchers did not respect the owls’ needs. They approached too close to the owls, usually in an attempt to get a better photograph.
It’s easier to see a bird in the daytime. Long-eared owls are mainly nocturnal.
“During the day they find a thick brush or tree and hold tight. Someone spotted them. If people see them, it wasn’t a thick-enough tree,” he said. “Ninety percent of the people will stay (a good distance) away. It’s the 10 percent that becomes a problem.”
“The owls, particularly those owls, don’t think you can see them and their strategy is to just hold real still,” Stephens said, which allows spectators to approach. In this case, there were people standing fewer than 10 feet away while watching owls that were 6 to 8 feet above the ground.
“This is a defense mechanism so that they remain as undisturbed as possible. There are telltale signs that a roosting owl has been disturbed including a forward crouching defensive stance, wide open eyes that follow the observer, and changing positions on its perch. The very last thing that an observer should do is get too close, which can cause an owl to flush.”
Flying in the day is not without risk.
“Often, a day-flying owl can attract the attention of larger daytime predators to the detriment of the owl,” Stephens said.
Yellow eyes, long exclamation-point-like ear tufts and two vertical white lines between the eyes help identify the long-eared owl. The nocturnal owls usually roost during the day, often near the trunk to better blend in. They hunt by making very low passes over open ground. Acute hearing locates prey, mostly small mammals.
The Seattle Audubon Societydescribes the owls as uncommon residents, mostly east of the Cascades. Monogamous pairs often form at winter roosts. They are rare breeders and uncommon winter visitors in Western Washington.
The Washington Ornithological Society provides a forum for state birders to meet and share information. Membership is open to anyone. WOS sponsors the Washington Bird Records Committee, which maintains the official state bird list and the records that substantiate it. For more, go to www.wos.org.
There is a code of ethics for birders and photographers. Information can be found at www.naturephotographers.net/ethics.html and www.aba.org/about/ethics.html.
Being respectful of another living creature has an upside for humans.
“If they are left undisturbed, they may return in future years for all of us to once again have the opportunity to observe these magnificent secretive birds,” Stephens said.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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