Dear Mr. Lazaro,
What you describe has been an ongoing problem for as long as I can
remember.
The blatant type of harassment you describe is against the law as
useless expenditure of energy threatens the owls very lives.
If you see this again call for a DEC Wildlife Enforcement Officer.
People should carry thees #'s with their cell phones.
Region 1 (Long Island) Law enforcement # is 631-444-0250
On weekends statewide call the 24/7 Dispatch # 877-457-5680
Although the officer may not get there in time just telling the folks
involved in the harassment that a DEC cop is on the way could solve
the problem.
Thank you for posting this.
Rick K. NYS-DEC WRL
On Dec 21, 2014, at 9:50 PM, John Lazaro wrote:
Today my girlfriend and I had the pleasure of seeing a beautiful
snowy owl at Jones Beach next to the jetty. As we approached the
jetty we saw the bird fly in and settle close to a pair of
photographers.
As we watched the photographers approach the bird, they caused it
to fly further down the beach. I thought it was unfortunate that
the bird was disturbed like that and was incredulous as I watched
the photographers walk down the beach to where the bird had landed
and flushed it again.
Upon speaking with some other birders at the jetty we discovered
that these same photographers had been there for two hours chasing
this poor bird up and down the beach.
I have seen this behavior before in Maine. The attitude that these
birds exist only for us to take photos of them. The light wasn't
great today and one of the photographers was using a flash to try
and light the birds beautiful eyes.
I'm appealing to all of my fellow birders to help discourage this
kind of behavior. These birds have value as individuals and deserve
a rest after their long journey. They are exhausted and just need
some nice prey and a safe place to rest.
I'm hoping that the photographers I saw today are reading this post
and will refrain from treating other wild animals in this manner.
Happy birding and Happy Holidays to you all.
Sent from my iPhone
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