Most people's visceral reaction to being told "you shouldn't be doing that" is hostility, even if at some level they really know that what they are doing is wrong. In my admittedly limited experience with these kinds of situations, I have found the best and possibly only path to successfully stopping the questionable behavior is "distract, befriend, and suggest." You maybe can engage in a brief conversation that ends with the offending person thinking that being considerate of the wild animal is his/her own idea. Yeah, it's a longshot, but the alternative is (usually) being perceived as illegitimately trying to exert authority you don't have.
My only memorable story in this regard was that one time my son and I were birding and taking photographs at a beach in San Diego, and there was a roosting area for terns and other birds. A woman was walking her dog and the dog kept running towards the flock of birds so that they would all fly up, circle around, and come back down. Over and over. So I tried to quietly suggest to the woman that maybe this was a situation where her dog should be on its leash. Her response was haughty and dismissive ("And you are with WHAT AGENCY?") Unfortunately, my son was more aggressive verbally and the exchange turned a bit ugly before she and the dog stormed off.
I reported this issue to the local Audubon chapter, suggesting that maybe if there were a sign warning against bothering the birds some people would heed it. A few months later I got an email from an Audubon official that included a photo of the new sign .
Let me add that most people, I think, try to be considerate of wildlife, and that, as my fourth grade teacher used to say (over and over), "a few people spoil things for everybody."
My only memorable story in this regard was that one time my son and I were birding and taking photographs at a beach in San Diego, and there was a roosting area for terns and other birds. A woman was walking her dog and the dog kept running towards the flock of birds so that they would all fly up, circle around, and come back down. Over and over. So I tried to quietly suggest to the woman that maybe this was a situation where her dog should be on its leash. Her response was haughty and dismissive ("And you are with WHAT AGENCY?") Unfortunately, my son was more aggressive verbally and the exchange turned a bit ugly before she and the dog stormed off.
I reported this issue to the local Audubon chapter, suggesting that maybe if there were a sign warning against bothering the birds some people would heed it. A few months later I got an email from an Audubon official that included a photo of the new sign .
Let me add that most people, I think, try to be considerate of wildlife, and that, as my fourth grade teacher used to say (over and over), "a few people spoil things for everybody."