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Icarus

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Friends had been feeding this bird a mouse now and again, so I went to photograph him when he came in for a mouse. Mouse was in place and I sat and waited. Eventually he cruised
by, got a good look at the situation, went on his way and did not return. :) I was pretty happy to get this quick opportunity.


Northern Harrier 11 x 14 Gulag DSC0777401162022.jpg
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eft said:
unfortunate that it doesn't adhere to ethical bird photography
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Reading Audubon's statement on ethical photography makes me shake my head -- feeding stations are OK but it's not OK to use bait to lure predatory birds. Are there any birds that aren't at least occasionally predatory. Is there really any difference between using seeds as "bait" or using mealworms or suet or meat scraps, or a roadkilled carcass or a mouse? Just asking!
 
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Woody Meristem said:
Reading Audubon's statement on ethical photography makes me shake my head -- feeding stations are OK but it's not OK to use bait to lure predatory birds. Are there any birds that aren't at least occasionally predatory. Is there really any difference between using seeds as "bait" or using mealworms or suet or meat scraps, or a roadkilled carcass or a mouse? Just asking!
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I Totaly agree with your question. For the record, this bird was not "baited" in so I could photograph him. My friends have a small ranch and feed wildlife. They put a dead white mouse out on a post in their field morning and evening so they can see what comes in to it. Neither are photographers. When they told me the Harrier was coming in to take mice, I asked if I could come and photograph the bird. What is interesting is that this species does not normally come in to dead things. This bird was smart enough to key into the fact that this dead white mouse was something he could eat.
 
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Woody Meristem said:
Reading Audubon's statement on ethical photography makes me shake my head -- feeding stations are OK but it's not OK to use bait to lure predatory birds. Are there any birds that aren't at least occasionally predatory. Is there really any difference between using seeds as "bait" or using mealworms or suet or meat scraps, or a roadkilled carcass or a mouse? Just asking!
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I agree…the whole 'ethical photography' crowd seems to want to lord it over the rest of us. A bird feeder or hummer feeder isn't any different than leaving a mouse out for the hawk/falcon…it probably just thinks the mouse was too slow.

I've got way more important things to worry about than whether or not I'm an ethical photographer. The guidelines seem a bit arbitrary to me and one could say that going out into the savannah in a jeep to photo lions affects their behavior…so it really just depends on where you want to draw the line.
 
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Woody Meristem said:
Reading Audubon's statement on ethical photography makes me shake my head -- feeding stations are OK but it's not OK to use bait to lure predatory birds. Are there any birds that aren't at least occasionally predatory. Is there really any difference between using seeds as "bait" or using mealworms or suet or meat scraps, or a roadkilled carcass or a mouse? Just asking!
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I have heard concern over pet store mice and the possible diseases they may have. There is a difference between hunting for food and eating seeds from trees and such as one requires a bit more skill and practice. I don’t really know how much one would have to feed a bird of prey to change the behavior. I’ve always wondered about the bird feeder aspect of feeding wild animals too.
 
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