Over the past few days we've been considering whether or not to include bird nest photos in the
Gallery and have decided that, for the moment, we won't be including them in.
Across the birding world it's fairly common for bird nests to not be included in galleries, as the pictures may have been taken in circumstances that could scare parents away from their chicks and possibly abandon the nest.
In addition to this, there are various laws and regulations that make it illegal to photograph the nests of schedule 1 birds, or get too close to any nest in Scotland etc.
As a result, we've currently moved bird nest images to a hidden 'quarantine'
Gallery and we won't be posting any new nest images, until we've at least found a better way of highlighting the issues
Personally, if it's legal, I'm in favour of showing the images, as long as they include a clear notice about the issues concerned. We could also add a facility for the uploader to verify that the circumstances under which the photograph was taken meets all current legislation etc. That way, every time a photo is displayed, the notice is also displayed and the topic is kept current. However, without any nest photos on the site, the topic will hardly ever come up.
In addition to the above, there are also many bird nest images that are clearly taken from a distance with/without a zoom. It's very unlikely that the photographer would have caused any disturbance to the nest and it seems a shame to leave some of these great pictures out of the
Gallery.
So, as well as contacting some of the large birding organisations for their advice, we'd also welcome your opinion on the subject. Please let us know what you think, for and against, having bird nest photos on the site.
Thanks
Stu