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1\/200, f\/10, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nI became aware of this developing effort last November when Janice Gardner of Great Salt Lake Audubon (GSLA) put out a request through UBird for some “attractive graphics” from\u00a0bird photographers to illustrate an informational package for distribution to city managers, county officials, state leaders, park managers and others informing them how they can protect migratory birds, especially during breeding season. I sent her several images that I thought might be appropriate and helpful and eventually this\u00a0Northern Flicker image was chosen for one of the documents.<\/p>\n
The photo was taken\u00a0near Montana’s Wade\u00a0Lake as the flicker emerged from its nest cavity (which at first I didn’t even realize was occupied). It’s the same image as in the document below, though it has been\u00a0“flipped” and cropped for compositional purposes.<\/p>\n
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Each year migratory birds that are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (50 CFR \u00a7 10.12) are needlessly killed or harmed during the course of planned construction, tree trimming, mowing vegetation, and other habitat-altering projects. Unfortunately the surge in these types of human activities in spring and summer\u00a0coincides with the nesting\u00a0seasons of most bird species and the results can be catastrophic for them.<\/p>\n
Nearly all birds in the United States are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, with the\u00a0exception some upland game birds and non-native species such as European Starling and House Sparrow. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is unlawful for anyone to \u201ctake\u201d a migratory bird or their parts, nests, or eggs unless permitted to do so. The term \u201ctake\u201d is defined as to \u201cpursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect.\u201d<\/p>\n
These activities that negatively impact birds are often\u00a0unintentional and many members of the public and private community do not understand their responsibilities under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. With the goal of spreading information on the protection of birds, Great Salt Lake Audubon teamed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and\u00a0Tracy Aviary to distribute information on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.\u00a0They received valuable input from Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. Together\u00a0they have created and distributed an informational brochure and \u201cbest practices\u201d document to regional public managers and other interested parties.<\/p>\n
Compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and avoiding impacts to breeding birds can generally be accomplished by conducting habitat-altering projects when birds are not breeding. In Utah, the peak breeding season when most birds breed, is April through July. The entire breeding season for all birds, including raptors and eagles, is January through August. If projects can be timed to avoid the breeding season, impacts are greatly minimized or avoided.<\/p>\n
These documents\u00a0have\u00a0now been distributed in hardcopy and online (GSLA\u00a0website, USFWS website, UBird, etc). I’ve included links to them below where the PDF’s can be downloaded and distributed by interested parties.<\/p>\n
Best Practices<\/a><\/p>\n