Birders
It may hardly seem to be breeding season but yesterday we had our first
report of the year of nesting Great Horned Owls. They are one of our
earliest breeders and the timing this year is only surprising because of
the weather.
Breeding birds are of interest to many birders. I would like to remind
everyone to exercise extra care in minimizing contact and disturbance
when observing and reporting nesting birds. Obviously breeding season
is important to birds and disrupting a nesting is unacceptable.
Many of you know that the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) has a Code
of Ethics outlining how birders are expected to behave in the field.
Adherence to OFO's Code of Ethics is expected year-round but is
especially important during the breeding season. It can be read on the
OFO website at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/aboutus.ethics
Nesting birds can be reported but the circumstances of an individual
nesting may be such that a report to Ontbirds could increase the chances
of a nest failure. If that is the case a report on Ontbirds is a bad
idea. Our posting guidelines for reporting endangered breeding species
can and probably should be adapted to all breeding birds. A review of
Ontbirds posting guidelines can be had at
http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
Finally there are other ways of documenting a sighting that you might
consider such as reporting to your local nature club and/or their local
area compiler. Ebird is another option but make sure you follow their
recommended protocols for reporting breeding birds. But always remember
to error on the side of caution when making the decision to report or not.
--
---
Mark Cranford
ONTBIRDS Coordinator
Mississauga, ON
mark.cranf...@ofo.ca
905 279 9576
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca
For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit
http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
