Maurice Barnhill wrote:
> "I don't see how birders, even large numbers, who are on a regularly used trail can be significantly more of a disturbance than the usual hikers. 
>   
Some years back, there was a Great Horned Owl nest with two young right 
next to a well used trail.    Most of those who passed under the tree 
were oblivious to the fact there were owlets just 30 feet over their 
heads.  We viewed the nest from a distance, but the owlets seemed to be 
looking straight at us and our scope.  We never saw where the adults 
were perched, but I am sure they were watching us also. 

Tom Stock wrote:
> Having been out to the site and seen how masterfully Bob Ringler handled things, I would urge that the latter option be followed as long as this "show" might last. 
But who among these viewers will return on their own without witnesses 
to keep them in check and repeatedly get too close?  I was on a park 
ranger led walk where we happened on a black-chinned hummingbird's 
nest.  We met the same ranger later in the day & learned that the nest 
was no longer there, obviously collected by someone whose concern was 
not for the hummer's progeny.  Not everyone goes to see birds with pure 
motives.
> There appears to be a huge volume of equestrian traffic 
The previously mentioned Great Horneds had bicycle traffic and noisy 
children passing below the nest.  However, none of the bike or child 
traffic directed their attention towards the nest and may have been 
classified by the owls in the same category as the white-tailed deer, as 
"background clutter".

I would think it best to assume possible nesting and back off the human 
observation to the minimum necessary to monitor for breeding 
confirmation.  There are always exceptions to breeding ranges, as the 
scissor-tailed flycatchers in Culpeper Co, VA showed us in 2000.

Georgia McDonald     Towson, Balt Co.