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<p>Hi,<br>
<br>
Kim mentioned using a brightly colored hat. I'm supporting that and will <br>
even go so far as to state that my experience is that birds, in general,<br>
pay attention to the following in terms of being disturbed/flushing (in <br>
order of importance):<br>
<br>
Movement - especially movement in their directiion/more in their<br>
direction than not. This means that if you can move perpendicular to<br>
their location they will OFTEN pay no attention to you. And the<br>
larger the relative size of the movement the more they pay attention<br>
(when we are farther away we take up less of the space). And the<br>
speed of the movement matters - for instance if you raise your arm<br>
up very slowly it won't be noticed nearly as much as if you raise it<br>
quickly.<br>
<br>
Proximity - each bird species has a 'you're too close' meter. In <br>
general the smaller the bird the closer it will let you get before it<br>
notices/flushes. I even have a simple to apply general rule for<br>
"how close" - actually it is more of a "relative measure" - if you<br>
have a camera with a particular lens ... the size of the bird in<br>
the viewfinder will be about the same no matter what species<br>
or individual.<br>
<br>
Color - birds are pretty much "color blind" in terms of how close<br>
you can get to them. Camouflage clothing does help - but not <br>
nearly as much as we are told it does.<br>
<br>
Sound - most birds pay -very- little attention to any sounds we<br>
might make. This includes talking, talking loudly, and even the<br>
occasional clunk when we do something like step on a board or<br>
our camera hits our belt buckle.<br>
<br>
Lastly - individual birds can and do have very different sensitivities<br>
with respect to the above guidelines. For example - certain of the<br>
Short-eared Owls at the East 90 are much more likely to get - and<br>
stay - much close to you than others.<br>
<br>
****<br>
<br>
Netting the above out - you can move closer, but moving directly<br>
towards a bird/flock is much more likely to be noticed and acted<br>
upon. You can easily talk to each other without the birds noticing, <br>
and whispering is not required. When you are close to the<br>
critical distance - any movement is 'exaggerated' with respect to<br>
how likely the bird is to notice/flush. If you can position yourself<br>
(move to a location) that a bird will later come near - and you<br>
sit/stand relatively motionless ... the bird(s) will "come to you".<br>
<br>
Again - these are my observations/experiences. However, I have<br>
many individual situations that have built up into the above.<br>
<br>
- Jim in Skagit County</p>
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