Obnoxious bird photographers disrupt birdwatchers viewing the rare Kirtland's Warbler

On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, three Kirtland's Warblers (KIWA) were seen at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. Two were seen on the east beach and one on the west beach.

KIWA like to nest on sandy soil under young, scrubby jack pines, especially in central Michigan. In migration, birds sometimes like to forage in habitat that is similar to their nesting grounds.

The beaches at Magee Marsh contain short, scrubby vegetation. Over the years, the beaches have been the best places to see this rare songbird in migration. It winters in the Bahamas, so its route to central Michigan takes it through northwest Ohio.

People can certainly see this bird on its nesting grounds, but seeing one in migration is a rare treat. Magee Marsh is probably the best place in the country to see a KIWA in migration.

Because of its specialized nesting requirements, the KIWA is an endangered bird. But thanks to management by multiple agencies in the KIWA's nesting grounds, the KIWA numbers have increased over the past 25 years.

The likelihood of seeing a KIWA in migration has also increased in recent years. Three KIWA were seen last year on different days at Magee Marsh. At least two were seen in 2011 and/or 2010.

I have never heard of two KIWA being seen in the same day in migration, so the May 15, 2013 news of three KIWA being seen at MMWA was amazing.

One KIWA was seen on the east beach on Tuesday, May 14, 2013. This bird was a female. The KIWA like many songbirds migrate at night. They like warm nights, clear skies, and brisk winds from the south-southwest.

The conditions overnight Tuesday into Wednesday of this week were favorable for another big migration, but the female KIWA seen on Tuesday decided to stay around, and she was seen again on Wednesday, May 15.

The other two KIWA seen on May 15, 2013 were males.

Since three KIWA were present on May 15, 2013, and since most birdwatchers on May 15 probably saw the two on the east beach, trying to see the third KIWA may be considered greedy or pointless, but again, it's rare to see one, and I've never heard of two being seen on the same day.

Birdwatchers or "birders" are suppose to follow a code of ethics. This also applies to photographers who are obviously watching the birds as they photograph them.

Sometimes birders and photographers are extremely rude by showing no regard for private property, by disrupting the experience of others, and most importantly by showing no concern for the birds. These people are selfishly trying to satisfy a bizarre personal urge, and they will do so by all means necessary.

They are not environmentalists, nor do they care about nature. They will fake concern, but their actions could be deemed hypocritical. Their opinions concerning nature should not to be taken seriously.

Every group has its knuckleheads, and the birdwatching/birding community is no different.

Apparently on May 15, 2013, the west beach KIWA birdwatching experience was disrupted by an obnoxious photographer. What's amazing is this person had no trouble offending others publicly, and apparently, he wore a shirt advertising his business.

Here's a thread posted at rarebird.org about the Tuesday and Wednesday, May 14 and 15, 2013 sightings of the KIWA along with photos and a comment about the rude photographer:

http://rarebird.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7447&title=female-kirtlands-warbler-east-beach

Comment posted on May 16, 2013:

Kirtland's on west beach was present in the late afternoon but difficult to see because a photographer (Jim Ridley from Brighton, MI) insisted on getting WAY TOO CLOSE to the bird and walking IN the habitat that the bird was in.

He pushed the bird all the way down the west beach until it couldn't be seen again. He was so proud of all the pictures that he had gotten of the bird from earlier in the day that he wanted to show his great shots to someone in the group of birders trying to see the Kirtland's. The birder turned their back and just walked away because if we wanted to see a picture of a Kirtland's, all we have to do is open a field guide, I would rather see the real thing.

My intentions are not to bash all photographers but this guy was definitely in the wrong. The funniest part of all this, is that the photographer was wearing a T-shirt advertising his business. If you are going to act without any "birder or photographer ethics", you probably shouldn't be advertising who you are.

Update May 21, 2013: The above comment at rarebird.org was removed. I'm not surprised. Cowards. Removing the comment does a disservice to nature. This kind of abhorrent behavior needs exposed.

It's good that this photographer was called out. I think someone should have photographed or videotaped this photographer and posted that on the Web.

It's bad to act that way for any bird, but to act that way in front of what was probably a good-sized group of people and around an endangered bird is obscene and repugnant.

It's probably easier to photograph the bird in migration than on its nesting grounds. That's why so many people including photographers visit Magee Marsh in May. And the KIWA is known for not fearing people and allowing humans to approach closely at least in migration. An ideal setup for an overzealous photographer.

This despicable behavior may have occurred twice on Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

May 15, 2013 post to the Birding Ohio Facebook page:

Just got a few glimpses of the Kirtland's on the Magee east beach, but there's a woman crawling in the brush only three feet from the bird, scaring it away. When we all asked her to back up ( first politely and then more vehemently), she refused and told us to 'calm yourselves down'. I'm appalled at the arrogance and rudeness.

70 comments exist with that Facebook post. Here's one:

As Kathi stated "Most" of the people at Magee were very helpful and friendly....that being said, we had our share of rude people as well. I was waiting ever so patiently one day for a black and white warbler to settle down a bit and come into the clear, so I could get a nice pic of him, you know how hyper they are. I was all alone and being very still with my camera to my face. Two men and a 10 or so year old boy approach, one man says "Oh look a black and white", the boy says "where, I don't see it", man says "down there on the branch by the water". Kid says "oh yeah, there he is", grabbing the branch and shaking it........!!! OMG, did that just happen?

I'm glad that I missed all of that. I've seen KIWA in migration before at Magee Marsh.

Many times the best birdwatching experience is enjoyed with only a spouse or other family members or close friends and away from the crowd of other humans. Good birdwatching can be enjoyed in our city parks, county metroparks, and cemeteries that will be mostly distanced from annoying "birders."

Old comment:

This is why I try to say I'm a "Birdwatcher" and not a "birder." I slip sometimes and say "birder." But to me, the word "birder" more and more implies something inappropriate and disrespectful.

"Birder" is becoming defined as "nature thug."

#birds
#moronism
#blog_jr