[Tweeters] Edison eagle extravaganza

[Ann Kramer via Tweeters]

Seems we have all had these unpleasant encounters.

I want to clarify my comments above.  In case anyone read that as shaming
it was not my intent.  I include myself with these issues, and have to
continually remind myself not to generalize and to let the bad behavior
go.Some of this was related to another thread about hunters.

I sure have tried to talk to people when I see disturbing behavior, but as
some of you may well know and have back messaged about, they are not always
amenable.  I remember years ago when I went back to a site where a group of
us had gone with a leader to a field with several burrowing owl nests.  I
drove back later to mark the location, and saw a woman standing right over
the nest and flushing the owls and owlets. just to get photographs.  I told
her that was disturbing them, and she just brushed me off.  I sat in my car
waiting for her to leave and it took her ten minutes to finally leave.  Do
I think she probably returned to an unmonitored location?  Yes, most
likely.

Anyway, my comments were about how we generalize these incidents and make
decisions about a whole group then.  Perhaps some of you don't do that and
you might be better or more evolved than I am, but I have to fight that in
myself.  I'm especially focused on things like this that we do because of
the divided times we are living in.  And, as Dennis said, it takes away
from our enjoyment of birds and nature.

Just trying not to let anger and division rule me this year.

*Ann*

Ann Pultz Kramer
Stanwood, WA

"*Use what talents you possess; the wood would be very silent if no birds
sang there except those that sang best**."*
*Henry Van Dyke*



On Wed, Jan 22, 2025 at 8:57 AM Deli Kiz via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:


> Completely agree on these points Kevin and Dennis. The generalization is

> not on the population a group represents but a behavior. Whether they are

> bird listers, hunters, bird watchers, runners, hikers, cherry pickers -

> doesn't matter. The behavior is what makes them the "bad apples" of the

> group. Throwing out excess for birds is not about whether it's the hunters

> or farmers or whomever are doing it, it's not a good thing to do as

> it affects bird behavior and poses a risk to them. Approaching birds (or

> any other wildlife (if you don't follow TouronsofYellowstone on Instagram I

> highly recommend it)), too closely, or sounding their alarm calls, or

> feeding them, doesn't make an entire population of a hobby you follow or

> genes you happen to carry bad, you just join the "bad apples" behavior

> group. There is no reason to even mention the polluting folk.

>

> What I do hope is that everyone reading these messages actually SAY

> something rather than choose the more comfortable silence route and enable

> people to become the bullies they are exhibit such behaviors as above. They

> rely on silence. I have zero inhibition to speak up for wildlife, whether

> it's to the Governor or the person taking photos of a short eared owl with

> a 600mm lens getting 10 ft from the darn thing on the ground and flushing

> it, or name an example. I do wish there were more people who spoke up to

> the offenders rather than just returning to the echo chamber and

> complaining about the behavior. They are very unlikely to change because

> they SEE how it impacts the wildlife (hello, look at our world around us.

> Isn't the wildlife already showing all the signs it needs to show about

> being affected from our behavior and nobody's changing their policies and

> laws unless WE speak up, and demand it!). The only thing that stops them

> from doing what they're doing is being called out and providing the proper

> way with no tolerance to harmful behavior. Surely, be kind, no need to

> display aggression, but please don't be silent and quiet. Most of the

> birds/wildlife are in trouble as it is, this is not the time for silence.

>

> PLEASE speak up. The wildlife we love and photograph do not have the

> voice, but we do.

>

> Nothing here is intended to be personal against anyone who is part of this

> group.

>

> Thanks for listening/reading.

> Deli Kiz

>

> On Wed, Jan 22, 2025 at 8:12 AM Kevin Lucas via Tweeters <

> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>

>> I think that generalization and polarization are natural and not

>> shameful. Working to get over generalization and polarization, as well as

>> speaking out about and trying to fix what we see as wrongdoing are

>> appropriate responses by me.

>>

>> I don't have to get back to enjoying birds and nature; I keep enjoying

>> birds and nature even while I pick up trash and call out bad behavior and

>> seek solutions to problems. I enjoy working while I whistle.

>>

>> Bird seed bags are great for collecting trash at places where I bird

>> watch. They're quite tough -- don't shred with broken glass and sharp

>> pieces of metal.

>>

>>

>> Good Birding,

>> Kevin Lucas

>> Yakima County, WA

>>

>> https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/

>>

>>

>> *Qui tacet consentire videtur*

>>

>>

>> On Wed, Jan 22, 2025 at 7:36 AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <

>> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>>

>>> Ann, I couldn’t agree more. Shame on us for every generalization that

>>> leads to polarization. We do it all too well. Let’s go back to enjoying

>>> birds and nature, which we all have in common, no matter how we approach it.

>>>

>>> Dennis

>>>

>>> On Jan 21, 2025, at 8:35 PM, Ann Kramer <lens4birds at gmail.com> wrote:

>>>

>>> I think it was ducks, Dennis.  I'd heard it last year, I think.

>>>

>>> As I read this thread, I read negative comments about hunters and bird

>>> listers, and I'm surprised bird photographers aren't in the mix.  We are

>>> often high on the list of people's disdain.  Including my own, at times,

>>> when I observe how photographers pursue and flush birds and disregard signs

>>> of their discomfort.  As a bird photographer who spends a lot of time with

>>> birders, the ones I know are respectful and ethical.

>>>

>>> It just seems like it's all too easy for all of us to get into the place

>>> where we generalize any bad experiences we've had with one or two

>>> representatives of any of these groups to the whole group, which is

>>> obviously a mistake and prevents us from seeing people individually and not

>>> lumping them all together.  It's something I also have to remind myself of

>>> regularly.

>>>

>>>

>>> *Ann*

>>>

>>> Ann Pultz Kramer

>>> Stanwood, WA

>>>

>>> "*Use what talents you possess; the wood would be very silent if no

>>> birds sang there except those that sang best**."*

>>> *Henry Van Dyke*

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> On Tue, Jan 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM Dennis Paulson <

>>> dennispaulson at comcast.net> wrote:

>>>

>>>> Thanks, Ann. There may have been fish parts but we saw several fly up

>>>> with ducks. I suppose “baiting” would be hard to prove, as maybe some

>>>> hunters just toss the ducks they don’t want out in a field. Although these

>>>> were well away from the road, so it seems that they were placed their

>>>> intentionally. We can just hope that none of the ducks had avian flu, as

>>>> eating sick waterfowl is one way it is known to spread to raptors.

>>>>

>>>> Dennis Paulson

>>>> Seattle

>>>>

>>>> On Jan 21, 2025, at 12:57 PM, Ann Kramer via Tweeters <

>>>> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>>>>

>>>> Someone has left large amounts of bait in the past in that area in

>>>> years past.  I think it was fish parts.  I heard about it so I wouldn't be

>>>> surprised if that is what's happening again.

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> *Ann*

>>>>

>>>> Ann Pultz Kramer

>>>> Stanwood, WA

>>>>

>>>> "*Use what talents you possess; the wood would be very silent if no

>>>> birds sang there except those that sang best**."*

>>>> *Henry Van Dyke*

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> On Tue, Jan 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM Tom Benedict via Tweeters <

>>>> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>>>>

>>>>> If this is intentional baiting, would that be a violation of the Bad

>>>>> and Golden Eagle Protection Act?

>>>>>

>>>>> Tom Benedict

>>>>> Seahurst, WA

>>>>>

>>>>> > On Jan 21, 2025, at 12:40, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <

>>>>> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>>>>> >

>>>>> > Hello tweets,

>>>>> >

>>>>> > A few days ago we drove through the Samish Flats and again saw a

>>>>> huge concentration of Bald Eagles, north of the Bayview-Edison Road and not

>>>>> far west from the East 90. Many were on the ground, but they were

>>>>> interacting constantly in the air, chasing one another for what looked like

>>>>> carcasses or pieces therefrom, and one we got a good look at was a duck.

>>>>> They certainly didn’t catch all those ducks and carry them to a common

>>>>> feeding area, so we wondered what was going on.

>>>>> >

>>>>> > It was absolutely spectacular for photography, eclipsing the

>>>>> Short-eared Owls that were also flying in the bright sun at 11 am. The

>>>>> usual number of cars and photogaphers were there.

>>>>> >

>>>>> > Are people putting out carcasses in those fields to attact eagles?

>>>>> Does anyone know?

>>>>> >

>>>>> > Dennis Paulson

>>>>> > Seattle

>>>>>

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>>>>>

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