Everybody is getting really worked up over this. I’m both a birder and a photographer. I have a nice pair of binoculars, a nice scope AND I shoot with a 600mm lens. Sometimes, in the birding community, people may have antagonist feelings toward photographers and at times and use the word “big lens“ in a negative tone. In my mind, a big lens means you don’t need to get close to the subject. It keeps you at a safe distance. Distance keeps the bird performing their normal behavior. I care about the birds that I photograph and I keep a respectful distance. I pull off the the side of the road to park. I’ve been to that spot a couple of times and I recognized both birders and photographers and I even made a few new friends along the way. While there are always the bad apples that ruin the bunch, from the photography perspective, I call those people out if they’re being reckless. That being said, the reckless people I’ve seen over the years aren’t always true wildlife photographers. They are people trying to photograph a bird up close with a cell phone. True ‘Birders’ are typically almost always caring for the birds that they see.
I feel like I’m arguing about politics right now. Us against them. Can’t we be both? Both a birder and a photographer? I like to think that I strike the balance of both. Most of the people that I’m acquainted with do also. In this particular situation, sometimes you have to wait hours before you even get a glimpse of the owl. I can understand why this would be frustrating for locals, seeing cars and people on their quiet road. It’s like having paparazzi there. That being said, it won’t last forever. I love that people are out enjoying nature during a time that we are still in a pandemic and we have a war going on in Ukraine. People need something else to care about. If people don’t say something beautiful, they’re less apt to care about it. Can’t we all get along? Andi-Douglas County, Bird Nerd and photographer On Thu, Mar 3, 2022 at 5:03 PM DAVID J WALTMAN <[email protected]> wrote: > Dave’s latest message explained a mystery I had. I was at the Lyons owl > site this morning for the first time in weeks. There must have been at > least twenty owl photographers there. What puzzled me is why I didn’t > recognize a single person. I’ve been birding in Boulder county for many > decades and I typically know several birders when there is gathering for a > good bird, but not today. I took one photo of the photographers with my > iPhone. There are twelve people in my photo (blocking both lanes of the > road). Every single person has a camera, and many have cameras with large > to huge lenses, and I can only spot one person with possible binoculars. > These are not birders. These are photographers that have heard about the > photo op from the internet. It’s no wonder I didn’t recognize any of > them. And maybe that’s why they don’t observe birding etiquette? > David Waltman > Boulder > > On 03/03/2022 4:23 PM DAVID A LEATHERMAN <[email protected]> wrote: > > > What do you get when you mix the following ingredients: a nice peaceful > and beautiful area near bigger, fast-growing human population centers; an > owl that attracts another owl and they appear in the same area on a repeat > basis; humans under the influence of a multi-year covid pandemic and spring > fever; locals who remember fondly the "way it used to be"; high quality > photography equipment within the price range of many; Facebook and COBIRDS > and eBird and other sources of up-to-date intel? Answer: a situation > (Boulder). > > I appreciate all the public and private responses. Based on what you all > have shared about various ingredients, the "situation" is quite > understandable. > > Fully acknowledging the truth of what Robin said about broad brushes, I > was made aware of a Facebook group called the "Colorado Bird Photographers" > which has 9800 members. Wow, that's a lot of folks and I'm sure 90% have > parents who brag about them. Several photos of the Lyons' pygmy-owls have > appeared on that site. Sometimes unpredictable, strange things happen as a > result of social media. I remember well the night the rental house next to > my apartment complex advertised a party to a limited number of friends. To > the surprise of the party organizers, over 100 cars descended on our street > and alley. Soon under-the-influence kids were walking, yelling, littering > and worse in their yard, our courtyard and elsewhere. While not nearly as > disturbing, maybe something like that is happening west of Lyons. Personal > discoveries added to word-of-mouth chats added to postings within rather > large groups have led to a situation with unintended consequences. I have > suggested to one of our leaders that a formal contact be made between us > and the Facebook photography group. We should exchange organizational > goals, ethics guidelines and be on the same team. > > I am glad to know birders don't seem to be main culprits in this situation > and just hope we all behave. > > Dave Leatherman > Fort Collins > > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CY4PR0601MB3763BB78F19932F203219C02C1049%40CY4PR0601MB3763.namprd06.prod.outlook.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CY4PR0601MB3763BB78F19932F203219C02C1049%40CY4PR0601MB3763.namprd06.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. > > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/2062352725.266000.1646352209367%40connect.xfinity.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/2062352725.266000.1646352209367%40connect.xfinity.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- *Andi Poland, Colorado Nature Photography* Colorado Nature Photography - Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colorado-Nature-Photography/269802626489167> Colorado Nature Photography - Website <http://coloradonaturephotography.smugmug.com/> [email protected] *Instagram:* coloradonaturephotography *720-363-3874 - Cell* -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACNJ561ETzx1w4nMp5v14mnCb%3DS5S8_L2%2BAYgBCQAWYwWGu3WQ%40mail.gmail.com.
