I enjoy adding identifications to observations, especially when they relate to my main area of interest, Scottish birds. However I am sometimes conflicted about what to do with an observation concerning a Schedule 1 breeding bird. These are birds which are protected by additional legislation making it illegal to disturb them, especially at their breeding sites. When the observation is supported by photographs obviously taken at a fair distance, or from a public hide, or outside the breeding season, I don’t have any problem. However I am unsure what to do when there appears to have been the potential for disturbance (e.g. a close up of the bird on or near the nest). I am aware that it is possible to obtain permits to photograph some of these species, and the observer may well have gone down this route. It is also difficult to determine just what is “too close”, for instance if the photograph has been taken at a safe distance using a long lens. I suppose my question is, what do I do when I am concerned that a law might have been broken in the process of obtaining an observation.
P.S. This post is definitely NOT intended to criticise or accuse anyone. I am certain the vast majority of (if not all) observers behave in an exemplary, ethical fashion. However I think the imperative to act ethically applies as much to identifiers as observers. Does anyone have any thoughts on this tricky topic?
not everyone is as familiar with laws and best practices. if you’re concerned about the birds, i don’t think it’s terrible to let observers know that it’s not a great thing to get too close to birds and why, and hopefully done in a nonconfrontational way, that can make them better observers. if you notice that a particular observer ignores you and do it again (or does something really egregious to begin with), you could always notify your local wildlife agency, and i guess it would be up to them how to handle the situation. if there are going to be more serious consequences, the wildlife agencies are usually going to be the ones to initiate that process.
if you want to skip identification of any observation, that’s also up to you. i skip stuff all the time for various reasons.
I work with a critically endangered animal that’s illegal to disturb, but that’s adjacent to a very heavily touristed area. What I do when I see observations that are obviously to close is make a comment along the lines of,
Fantastic that you got to see these animals. Keep in mind that it’s illegal to go out looking for them or for companies to offer tours based on search for them. If you do happen to come across them as part of a normal visit then great, but a 50 meter horizontal minimum distance wherever possible is required. This photo looks like it was taken a bit too close and there was the potential of disturbing the animals.
I may not include all of that, but that’s the general gist.