現正踏入春夏季，生機處處。若細心留意大自然的變化，除了能見到一些春季遷徙雀鳥路過香港之外，還有不少雀鳥開始繁衍下一代。有幸的話，更能目睹親鳥帶著幼鳥「全家總動員」。看見生命的誕生及成長，總是令人喜悅。
可是，本會留意到不少雀鳥家庭在這個敏感時期被人類騷擾，包括近距離拍攝或觀察、長時間在鳥巢附近逗留或活動、晚上用強光照射鳥巢或雀鳥等。這些行為都有機會嚇走親鳥，令鳥蛋和雛鳥會失去護蔭及照料，或令雛鳥受驚到處亂竄。雛鳥餓死、曝曬而死或溺斃都可能會發生。
以上人為干擾會嚴重影響雀鳥生存及繁殖。根據《野生動物保護條例》（Cap.170），所有野生雀鳥均為受保護野生動物，未經許可，任何人不得捕捉或故意干擾任何野生雀鳥，亦不得取去、移走、損害、銷毀或故意干擾任何野生雀鳥的巢或蛋，否則即屬違法。
為了推廣「尊重雀鳥、不干擾」的守則，本會設計了一個「不干擾」的浮水印，供大家用來放在照片上，以下是使用浮水印的三大承諾：
一. 以身作則，聲明作品以盡量不影響鳥類的正常活動為原則而拍攝
二. 提醒大家尊重雀鳥，不要干擾牠們，也不要隨便公開鳥巢的位置
三. 示範與雀鳥保持距離也可以拍得精彩的照片
希望大家在欣賞相片中雀鳥的美態之餘，也能宣揚愛護雀鳥及保育生態的訊息！
＊下載「不干擾」浮水印（白色）：
https://bit.ly/2Sha3CX
＊下載「不干擾」浮水印（灰色）：
https://bit.ly/2VO3A4z
＊＊【香港觀鳥會觀鳥及鳥類攝影守則】：
https://bit.ly/2KlxwOV
Wildlife thrives as spring is here and summer is approaching. If you notice carefully, you might spot some spring migrants passing through Hong Kong, but what’s more, many birds start to breed. Luckily enough, you may even get to see the whole family with parents bringing up their chicks, which always make people’s heart melt.
However, the Society recently noticed many “bird families” are being disturbed by humans during this sensitive period, including photo-shooting or observation at close distance, lingering around the active bird nest for a long time, and shining strong light towards the nest or bird at night. These activities would scare the parents away, leaving the eggs and chicks unprotected and unattended, or frightening the chicks so they run around in panic. It is possible that the chicks will starve, dehydrate, or got drowned to death.
The above human disturbance would seriously disturb the survival and breeding of the birds. According to the “Wild Animals Protection Ordinance”, all wild birds are protected. Without a special permit, it is illegal to hunt or wilfully disturb any wild birds, or take, remove, injure, destroy or wilfully disturb a nest or egg of any wild birds.
To promote the principle of “Respect birds, do not disturb”, the Society has designed a “Don’t disturb” watermark for people to use on their photos. Below is the pledge for using the watermark:
1. declare that the work was taken with minimum interference to the birds
2. remind everyone to respect birds, not to disturb them, and not to disclose their nest location
3. demonstrate that awesome photos can also be captured at a distance from the bird
We hope everyone can appreciate the beauty of the birds in the photo, at the same time spread the message of protecting birds and conserving the nature!
*Download the “Don’t disturb” watermark (white):
https://bit.ly/2Sha3CX
*Download the “Don’t disturb” watermark (grey):
https://bit.ly/2VO3A4z
**HKBWS Code of Conduct for Birdwatching and Photography:
https://bit.ly/2KlxwOV
