David, I need to listen to what you and others are saying about photographers ``just there for the shot", I want to undertsand the concern of people with cameras disturbing others there to "just" bird . One thing I would mention however regarding your comment about the group being composed of all photographers and no one you recognized. Did it occur to anyone that this COBirds group is spreading the word of the owl to people all over the state who are willing to travel a few miles to see it? This crowd phenomena to see a rare or special bird is happening all over the State due to the popularity of birding and also efficient and timely communication of the location of the birds. Two other recent examples, the Eurasian Wigeon at Pella Crossing and the Pyrrhuloxia in Wheatridge. The word gets out and is discussed in great detail here in this group motivating many people to converge on the sighting. I don't advocate disbanding COBirds, but people using common sense, practicing respect for the residents in the area and each other whether they carry a set of binoculars or a camera.
John 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> > . > -- -- 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/CAAyUNC%3D8hHtEcqfm470B4%2Bu5%2BWypzVAY6cKFp59hEjnTuAmiHQ%40mail.gmail.com.
