I completely love bird photography. I am not a very good birder. I am not a good photographer. Each one makes me better at the other. I a technically not a neighbor, either, though my heart feels it must be so. A few hotspots are not simply interesting places to see different, out-of-season, or out-of-their-range birds. They are also places of peace, serenity, and near-solitude. Imagine belonging to a monastery that welcomes visitors, but it has recently become pinned as a must-see site. Some additional tourists come as do more pilgrims. This is a mixed blessing.
The greater number of people I've seen owling in Lyons is palpable, not alarming. I've met no one who was less than pleasant. I've seen no unethical photography. The largest crowds, if "crowd" means 10-15 people standing in a group, have been the various birding clubs. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. It just feels odd and disquieting because a very quiet place has become, at least for the moment, a more moderately visited one. The really good photographers often work alone or in pairs. If they seem to be gawking, then so are we all. For good reason, they make many people impatient. They just stand there. This is called patience, and it is considered a virtue. What each one is trying to do is to capture something about a beautiful soul in its lovely surroundings as an enduring, sharable memory. Something a robin or house wren can bring. A tiny little owl, though, even better. In any case, as part of the problem (as is anyone who visits, there,) I have been making my visits less frequently. But, I'm not going to stop. David On Friday, March 4, 2022 at 1:40:48 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > Peter, > > These are good thoughts. I don't wish to belabor anything but I was in > the vicinity when the homeowner mentioned in Dave Leatherman's original > post was talking to the group. I've been at this particular road many > times (over 200 eBird checklists submitted) and am pretty familiar with the > typical rhythms and ebb and flow of visitors. Yes, there were a lot of > people and a lot of cars but I would guess up to a third of the people and > the cars were non-birders, non-photographers who were out for a stroll or > walking their dogs (it was a really nice day!) To your point, most > passers-by were very interested, asking questions, etc. I certainly > wouldn't characterize it as a "mob scene" > > My first sighting of the pygmy-owl this winter was on October 4 and one > (and recently two) birds have been present off and on all winter and the > sightings have been anywhere in a roughly one mile stretch along the road. > Over the last week or so, the birds seem to have decided to hang out right > in front of some poor guy's house. > > Since October, I've encountered one or more pygmy-owls on 9 of my 21 > visits to this location. The birds have never seemed very bothered by > people and, in fact, regularly were seen very close to (even right over) > the road. I've never seen any photographers at this location who were off > the road or "crawling up under branches." In general, birders, > photographers, and passers-by have been pretty well behaved. > > Carl Bendorf > Longmont > On Friday, March 4, 2022 at 11:13:28 AM UTC-7 Peter Burke wrote: > >> COBirders, >> The pygmy-owl scene in Lyons is one of those times when "our" hobby >> spills over into the public consciousness. We see this when a rare bird >> shows up in a residential area, or when a group of non-birders happen >> across a group of birders. In these moments we can focus on what we have in >> common or what makes us different. >> >> Somewhere in all this conflict is an opportunity for us birders to share >> our knowledge and appreciation of birds with these other folks who are >> clearly interested, but maybe less familiar with some of the finer points >> of birding etiquette. Sharing a scope or binoculars is a great way to >> strike up conversation. >> >> The homeowners on Old Saint Vrain Rd. have been putting up with us >> birders for decades. Many of them have politely engaged with us and forged >> an alliance of sorts. Perhaps we can do the same with the photographers >> drawn to this location with the dream of getting good photos of an >> otherwise hard to see bird. >> >> On a personal note, I too am a birder+photographer. It takes a while to >> learn when it is ok to approach birds and when it's not, and part of that >> process is feedback from other photographers, birders, homeowners, etc. If >> we provide that feedback constructively, then we're helping. >> >> Good birding everyone, >> >> Peter Burke >> CFO Board of Directors >> > -- -- 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/e66650f4-d719-48c7-9aa4-8e5202034a64n%40googlegroups.com.
