guilty pleasures

[dunlin]

I just had a quick flick through the RSPB birds magazine winter 2011. The picture of a dormouse on page 7 and accompanying text got me thinking.
To quote
" my husband and i were amazed to find this dormouse on our peanut feeder. It was 1130 in the morning and he remained on the feeder in a sleepy trance, until i got just that little bit to close"

I think its pretty safe to say the majority of wab members have a love for there hobby, of being in and around nature, watching wildlife and sometimes photographing it.
The picture on this months front cover looks like its been taken using flash photography, a great picture though im sure you'll agree.

When out pursuing our hobby how many of us are guilty of getting to close to what we are trying to observe? only for the creature to take flight in fear for its life.
In natures day to day struggle to survive what impact are we having on the
things we care so much about?

[Wild-Woman]

We should always put the animal first. That goes without saying really.
But nature is equipped to withstand a certain amount of disturbance without damaging it. Heightened responses are just the thing that keeps animals and birds alive and protects them from predation.
However, if we are careless/wreckless in our behaviour around them, then we are guilty of unnecessary disturbance. If we educate ourselves before we persue anything, then we would greatly improve our chances of actually seeing what we would like to see and have less impact on the creature itself.
So what I'm probably getting around to saying is that good fieldcraft practise is key and if we are not sure how to do this, then learn it from those that can teach us.

[AfternoonLemon]

I understand that you wouldn't want to unnecessarily frighten wildlife when trying to get closer for a look, but at the same time, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

They're not like you or I, who would find a life threatening situation incredibly traumatic, and never forget it for the rest of your life.

I'd imagine most small creatures and birds have their life threatened on an almost daily basis, and it's something they've evolved to live with.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be cautious in your approach, but if you're clumsy enough to scare them away then it's really just you that's losing out.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by AfternoonLemon

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be cautious in your approach, but if you're clumsy enough to scare them away then it's really just you that's losing out.

I'd say that this is a pretty true statement. There are very few situations where you are likely to cause any real problems for wildlife that is able to flee, although repeated approaches could potentially cause problems in some situations.
The only real time that there are likely to be problems is when people keep parents away from their young, or flush animals that are too young to care for themselves.