wgeoff

We are getting confused between opinion and fact.

The fact is that we have a rule which states that anyone posting photographs on this website should declare the location (in detail if necessary) and the date of the photo. This rule does not appear to have been followed in this case, but everyone posting photos on this website should now be aware of the rule.

There may be a few occasions when the rule should not apply, these were covered by John Allcock and I can only quote his comment
'There may be circumstances when it is better for the bird that the location is not publicised. This could apply, for example, to sensitive breeding or roosting species or if the bird is on private land (although I would encourage anyone to seek permission from the landowner to permit visitors). If you are not prepared to reveal the location, it would be best to give a reason for this on the website.'
So, if you don't want to publish the details, declare the fact and the reason when you post the photos.

It then becomes a matter of opinion whether we should retain this rule. For me, we should, for two main reasons

1. birds are amazingly resilient. In their normal lives, they are probably challenged 100 times daily by other birds, let alone other animals and humans. They have the ability to fly away if they don't like it. Whilst we cannot guarantee the behaviour of everyone watching or photographing birds, it has rarely proved a problem elsewhere except under the circumstances described by John above.

2. this is a society for watching birds. A very important part of this is the free exchange of information. I for one would be reluctant to contribute to the website if I felt others were doing so on a different basis.

Finally, I think this submission and the previous one should appear under the heading 'should locations of rarities be publicised' and ask an official to change them over.

wgeoff

I will make my final comment on this matter.

This is not an attack on Ms Twaiyi. In fact, it is a congratulatory note to her. By sharing the news of her great find with others, she has given a great deal of enjoyment to many members. This is the value of sharing in a society of like-minded people. Well done Ms Twaiyi, by sharing you have achieved a great deal and the bird was not affected.

On the subject of excessive disturbance. Of course we cannot guarantee the behaviour of all of our members. But what is ‘excessive disturbance’ for a bird? Does flushing a bird from its natural habitat, catching it in a net, manhandling it and sticking a ring on its leg constitute ‘excessive disturbance’? It would certainly come higher on my list than disturbing it when taking photographs of it. Am I advocating stopping bird ringing? No, because birds toleration of this activity is considered acceptable by all authorities.

Let us not get too hung up by disturbance, otherwise, as Captain says, we should never go bird watching at all. Birds are used to disturbance, its part of their daily lives and they have their own mechanism for dealing with it – they can fly away.

I am not advocating disturbing birds. But sometimes it happens, we all do it, and the bird knows how to react. The only circumstances where they cannot do this is in breeding, roosting and when tired immediately after long migration flights. In these situations they must be protected. But otherwise – trust the bird – they know how to look after themselves.

If we change our rules from a commitment to share information to one in which individuals can post photos but withhold information that others need to see the bird, I think this would be a retrograde step for the Society.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 14/10/2008 09:09 ]