Perhaps Michael had the problems from last year in mind or other equally disturbing incidents?
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1012&L=MOU-NET&T=0&F=&S=&P=2549 It is easy enough to contact folks off-list for specific locations if they are forthcoming, but I think it makes sense to limit specifics. From his post last December (photographers chime in on the thread linked above): > When we hear about people any where in Minnesota who are disturbing birds or > being destructive on public lands for example ripping branches off trees to > get > better photos of a roosting owls, rip branches off live trees for perches, > over > tape use, using fishing poles with artificial bait that look like mice on the > end of the fishing line to tease owls to get flight shots, or basically any > act > that is doing harm to the environment or to the birds we are asked to > document > the event and expose these people. Well below is documentation of how three > people in the Sax-Zim Bog decided to be selfish and to manipulate an area in > the > Sax-Zim Bog to get photos of birds. > > Well today I was guiding two people and we were coming south on the Admiral > Rd. > I was intrigue to see the newly erected feeders that were placed up on > Thursday > of this week. My friend Jim emailed me to inform me that he will be > maintaining > the Admiral Rd feeding station this year as the person who created the > feeding > site decided not to continue maintaining the site this winter. Jim inform me > he > put up a large platform feeder with black oil sunflower seeds on the tree > that > was previous used in the past. The platform feeder was NOT nailed to the tree > but it was hung up instead and Jim also put up a large onion sack full of > beef > suet chunks on the same tree or possibly the tree across the road where in > past > a suet feeder was hung up there that attracted Boreal Chickadees. > > So I am coming down Admiral Road and I see a group of three photographers at > the > site. I get out of the car and the platform feeder was taken down, the suet > bag > was on top of a make shift snow bank along the side of the road with the > platform feeder on top of the suet bag! I inform that the feeders belong to > Jim > XXXX and they said not much accept they will put the feeders back up when > they > are done photographing the birds. I asked why they moved the feeders ?, and > they > said they took the suet feeder down because they wanted to concentrate the > birds > to one spot rather than having the birds go to both feeders. They moved the > platform feeder off the tree because they wanted to set the platform feeder > so > they can get a better background with the perches they set up. I looked at > their > set up with fresh branches clipped to tripods right over the platform feeder > so > they can get some photos. As I walked into the snow to hang up my suet > feeders > on the tree that I know Boreal Chickadees used last year I noticed the tree > branches were ripped off that tree and the ground where they were standing > were > full of ripped branches! I looked at the perches they used on the tripods > and > saw they matched the areas where they ripped them off and the branches on the > ground were branches they decided not to use for perches. > > Yes they are professional photographers because all of them have websites > that > sell photos they took and all their websites talk about how they have respect > for wildlife, the environment and how they create "natural" photos of > wildlife. > > > http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/2010/12/destructive-photograhers.html > > ( to see the photos ) > > Its not just ripping off branches of live trees to get perches that angers me > but to interfere with someone else feeders they put up to feed the birds and > to > deliberately concentrate birds to one area so they can get photos to me is > wrong > and I think everyone on this listserv would agree. If they want to > manipulate > birds they should create their own feeding station in their own neck of the > woods! This Admiral Rd site is a good site to photograph birds and see > Boreal > Chickadees very close up but I ask that when you bird the Sax-Zim Bog please > do > not interfere with any bird feeding stations on private land or in this case > on > county land. > > > Who are these photographers? They are Derek Griggs, Chad Griggs and Chad > Gustafson. I ask everyone to boycott purchasing their photos for any type of > publication! I been inform that their photos will NEVER be used for > publication > in the Loon which is good news and I hope other sources will follow suit. Bill Kahn a Minneapolis, sometime birder ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
