This news is indeed very disturbing. In recent discussions among friends,
I have defended how these recent owl postings have been managed. In
general, I am in favor of more people seeing more birds and I don't know
many people that would argue that principle. However, it is situations
like this where we are reminded how careful we need to be.
Personally, I don't feel like any of the recent owl sightings have been
handled poorly. No one has posted the exact location of the roost trees.
If you wanted to see these birds, you would have to talk/email with a real
person, not just read directions online with no human interaction. Whoever
cut these branches, must have been given directions to the birds.
Now here is where I feel the system failed. When you are passing along
information about birds (any birds, not just sensitive/endangered/rare
species), you should try to explain any specific conditions about viewing.
Best viewing spots without disturbing, private landowner concerns, general
habits of the bird, etc. By going into an area with this type of
knowledge, you can maximize your chances of seeing the bird while
minimizing disturbance to the bird and property owner (if on private
land).
Of course we don't know the effect branch cutting will have on the owls.
The owls obviously chose the roost tree for a reason and this one was
well-camouflaged. Perhaps they will be more exposed to predators and a
Great Horned Owl will take them. Perhaps they will realize they are more
exposed to predators and just switch roost trees. They wouldn't have to
move far to become essentially invisible to us birders. Perhaps nothing
will change and the birds will still be there and visible. We don't know
just yet, but the probability of these birds not being present in a few
days has increased due to the actions of an inconsiderate person.
I sincerely hope that the person who cut these branches was simply someone
who didn't realize what they were doing and will learn from their mistake.
I'd hate to think that this was an experienced observer/birder/photographer
who should have known better because then I don't know how we can better
handle these situations.
Matt Hafner
Forest Hill, MD
On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 10:00 PM, Bill Hubick <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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