For three days in a row now my blog has had a decidedly bipolar flavor with each post covering two different subjects. Today’s edition should be the last of that trend.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-9657b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-9657b-ron-dudley\\"")
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nBut first yesterday’s red-tail.<\/p>\n
It’s “only a raptor on a post” but it’s a handsome bird, the fence post is old, weathered and leaning and I like the setting and the relaxed foot-up pose. The only pose variety it gave me before taking off (away from me of course) was looking both left and right and I like the hawk looking this direction best because it means I can include more of the out of focus vegetation on the left for a better sense of habitat.<\/p>\n
I haven’t been seeing many raptors all summer but I’m encouraged because I’m now seeing significantly more of them in our canyons. I hope that trend continues.<\/p>\n
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Ok, now I’m going to shift gears, just like I did in yesterday’s post that included a photo of a Merlin and then a discussion about the ethics of baiting raptors.<\/p>\n
I felt badly when I read Elephants Child’s (or EC as I call her) comment on yesterday’s post because based on what she said I may not have been clear about the fact that baiting raptors for purposes of photography is clearly unethical (and often illegal) while back yard bird feeding rarely is (even though some ethically challenged bird photographers try to justify their raptor baiting by claiming that it’s no different than feeding birds in our back yards, which is classic rationalization.)<\/p>\n
My lack of clarity obviously caused EC significant angst. EC truly has a heart when it comes to all things natural, including critters of all kinds, and she would never knowingly use unethical practices for anything. But she feeds songbirds and others in her yard and occasionally photographs them there so she was afraid that she was unknowingly doing something wrong.<\/p>\n
I’ll let her comment speak for itself (I’ve left out one part of it that concerned another matter.) EC lives in Australia so she gets other birds besides songbirds, various members of the parrot family for example, in her yard and her Aussie background explains her reference to “drought”.<\/p>\n
\n- “A tricky post for me today. Baiting? EMPHATICALLY not a fan, which has me wondering\/squirming about my own behaviour. We do feed the wild birds. Seed and apples which many of them adore. Particularly in times of drought (which means almost always). I photograph the birds who visit too (though that is not my reason for feeding them). Just the same, I am increasingly wondering whether feeding them is doing harm. We also plant for the birds, paticularly the nectar eaters. And drat them they view all of our planting as for them. I don\u2019t mind them eating plants, but do object when they behead and shred apparently just because they can (without eating any of it). Thinking, thinking, thinking\u2026”<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Feeding birds in our back yards certainly is not akin to baiting raptors for photography, even if we photograph birds at our feeders (which I occasionally do for practice or to test new photo equipment).<\/p>\n
About 50 million North Americans feed birds and research and data analysis strongly suggests the following about its effects on bird populations:<\/p>\n
\n- Species that come to feeders are either helped or not hurt by bird feeding.<\/li>\n
- Species that don’t come to feeders (sea birds, shore birds and tropical forest dwellers) tend to be the ones in the most trouble so it really doesn’t directly affect the birds that most need our assistance and support.<\/li>\n
- Feeding birds allows us to feel connected to the natural world and often inspires us to engage in conservation action and environmental advocacy which does help<\/em> species that need more than just bird seed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
So keep feeding your birds! Just keep your feeders clean so they don’t contribute to the spread of avian diseases and avoid locating feeders in areas that might further increase the incidence of window strikes.<\/p>\n
Some suggest that we should also avoid locating feeders where they might increase predation from accipiters such as Cooper’s Hawks but I have mixed feelings about that one. Predatory birds have to eat too and the predator\/prey relationship keeps all wild birds fit and adapting.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Note: If you’d like a more thorough analysis of the effects of bird feeders on birds check out this link from All About Birds<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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Plus… Is backyard bird feeding comparable to the unethical and often illegal practice of baiting raptors? Yesterday’s post caused at least some confusion on that subject so I’d like to set the record straight.<\/p>\n
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