Most unfortunate Bill. One thing I'd suggest would be prohibiting
posting or linking to photos of nesting or roosting sensitive species on
this list serve or on eBird. Posting photos draws the attention of
overenthusiastic photographers, and also may provide clues to the bird's
location. Restricting publication of such photos may also make
obtaining the photos less desirable to begin with.
But in any event, I'd guess whoever the guilty party is was likely told
of the bird's location by another birder. He or she did not learn the
exact location from eBird or this list. These types of things have
occurred long before the internet came into being, as I'm sure you are
aware. (Though, as I've said before, I personally would not post
sightings to this list at all.) Birders who pass on the information
need to be careful about whom they disclose it to, and make sure the
person understands the sensitive nature of the situation.
I think the good news though is that I suspect there are probably a lot
more LEOWs in MD than what birders become aware of. So the overall
impact of birder/photographer disturbance on the population is likely
minimal.
My 2 cents,
Jim Moore
Rockville, MD
On 2/5/2013 10:00 PM, Bill Hubick wrote:
> All,
>
> I received a highly troubling report today that a known Long-eared Owl
> roost site has been seriously disturbed. It appears someone has cut
> branches from the roost tree to allow for better photography. The cuts
> were fresh, only on the roost tree, and clearly not part of a larger
> park maintenance effort. At least one of the branches cut was
> described as being nearly the width of the observer's arm. Horrible.
>
> The topic of sensitive species has received some recent discussion,
> with the more vocal parties being on the "why is information being
> suppressed?" side. Unfortunately, unacceptable events like this one
> have happened many times before. It is the significantly increased
> risk of events like this that makes open discussion of sensitive
> species so dangerous. In most cases, it's not a problem if a few more
> respectful people observe from a distance. However, as traffic
> increases, the likelihood of poor behavior drastically increases. One
> could argue that education is the key ("don't keep it secret | tell
> people how to behave"), but people who do something like this aren't
> just lacking mentoring. The changes in the communication of bird
> sightings in the last five years can hardly be overstated. We have a
> primary list-serve at record-setting membership that is supplemented
> by many new members. We have a Maryland Facebook page attracting many
> new and enthusiastic people. We are also one of the states with the
> most comprehensive eBird buy-in in the country. And eBird, of course,
> has fundamentally changed how we share our sightings, with the various
> hourly "needs" alerts that are so popular certainly factoring in
> heavily in these cases. These are all very good things, and I actively
> support all of them. The wider net is a great thing and is not going
> away. That said, these technological changes certainly have a lot to
> do with the increased attention these Long-eared Owls have received.
> Balancing transparency and sensitivity is going to remain a challenge,
> and self-policing what is shared, when, and how needs to be further
> considered.
>
> This list-serve just yesterday amended its guidelines to explicitly
> state that locations for Long-eared Owls are not allowed. I am a
> Maryland eBird reviewer and I personally lean toward hiding all
> specific locations for LEOW there as well. However, I must discus that
> opinion as part of a team and with input from corporate eBird. This is
> far from a black-and-white issue. The "we can't protect it if we don't
> know it's there" argument is sound. But how do you balance that with
> "we know we're not protecting them when we're sawing @#$#*% branches
> off their roost trees"? So as a reviewer, I assure you we will revisit
> this topic. In the mean time, remember that eBird is a public
> communication tool like this list-serve. You can make decisions to use
> the "hide" functionality, to report such species at the county level,
> and so on. More importantly, you can encourage others to do the same.
> Whatever suggestions you make, please do so politely. There have been
> some barbs thrown recently that were unwarranted. This list-serve
> wants productive discussion of such topics, but will cut off any
> threads that turn into flame wars.
>
> Our growth as a nature study community only matters if we find ways to
> harness it for good things. Let's find ways to do so.
>
> Bill
> Bill Hubick
> Pasadena, Maryland
> <bill_hubick...>
> http://www.billhubick.com
> http://www.marylandbiodiversity.com
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