Birding Rules

I promise I will get to actual outtings and posting of pictures and sharing stories of getting out there and finding birds. As discussed in the first blog, other responsibilities have kept me from getting out there during the past couple weeks. We have suffered the loss of my wife's mother, who passed almost exactly one week ago. She passed with all her children, (save one), at her bedside and after having the best of care from some wonderful people. She was 88 and will be sorely missed.

So, an event of this size took precedence over all other activities and everything else was put on the "back burner", understandably. There are no hard feelings, just an explanation. Birding is fun, but we would all prefer to share with Grandma.

At any rate, it occurred to me that we needed to share some of the ground rules for birding before we run willy-nilly into the wild looking for flying creatures. The American Birding Association has published a set of rules for birding that all birders should make every attempt at following. They are designed for the benefits of all birders, and more importantly for the birds themselves. If we all followed these rules, then there would be more birds around for all of us to enjoy. If the estimates are correct, that is between 48 and 80 million birders out looking for their feathered friends. If we stress the birds or confuse them and they decide to leave, we may have several million people very angry with us.

So, I have printed below the actual American Birding Association Code of Ethics,that describes the do's and don'ts of birding in North America.


Code of Birding Ethics
1. Promote the welfare of birds and their environment.

1(a) Support the protection of important bird habitat.

1(b) To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography, sound recording, or filming.

Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area;

Keep well back from nests and nesting colonies, roosts, display areas, and important feeding sites. In such sensitive areas, if there is a need for extended observation, photography, filming, or recording, try to use a blind or hide, and take advantage of natural cover.

Use artificial light sparingly for filming or photography, especially for close-ups.

1(c) Before advertising the presence of a rare bird, evaluate the potential for disturbance to the bird, its surroundings, and other people in the area, and proceed only if access can be controlled, disturbance minimized, and permission has been obtained from private land-owners. The sites of rare nesting birds should be divulged only to the proper conservation authorities.

1(d) Stay on roads, trails, and paths where they exist; otherwise keep habitat disturbance to a minimum.

2. Respect the law, and the rights of others.

2(a) Do not enter private property without the owner's explicit permission.

2(b) Follow all laws, rules, and regulations governing use of roads and public areas, both at home and abroad.

2(c) Practice common courtesy in contacts with other people. Your exemplary behavior will generate goodwill with birders and non-birders alike.

3. Ensure that feeders, nest structures, and other artificial bird environments are safe.

3(a) Keep dispensers, water, and food clean, and free of decay or disease. It is important to feed birds continually during harsh weather.

3(b) Maintain and clean nest structures regularly.

3(c) If you are attracting birds to an area, ensure the birds are not exposed to predation from cats and other domestic animals, or dangers posed by artificial hazards.

4. Group birding, whether organized or impromptu, requires special care.

Each individual in the group, in addition to the obligations spelled out in Items #1 and #2, has responsibilities as a Group Member.

4(a) Respect the interests, rights, and skills of fellow birders, as well as people participating in other legitimate outdoor activities. Freely share your knowledge and experience, except where code 1(c) applies. Be especially helpful to beginning birders.

4(b) If you witness unethical birding behavior, assess the situation, and intervene if you think it prudent. When interceding, inform the person(s) of the inappropriate action, and attempt, within reason, to have it stopped. If the behavior continues, document it, and notify appropriate individuals or organizations.

Group Leader Responsibilities [amateur and professional trips and tours].

4(c) Be an exemplary ethical role model for the group. Teach through word and example.

4(d) Keep groups to a size that limits impact on the environment, and does not interfere with others using the same area.

4(e) Ensure everyone in the group knows of and practices this code.

4(f) Learn and inform the group of any special circumstances applicable to the areas being visited (e.g. no tape recorders allowed).

4(g) Acknowledge that professional tour companies bear a special responsibility to place the welfare of birds and the benefits of public knowledge ahead of the company's commercial interests. Ideally, leaders should keep track of tour sightings, document unusual occurrences, and submit records to appropriate organizations.

Please Follow this Code and Distribute and Teach it to Others

The American Birding Association's Code of Birding Ethics may be freely reproduced for distribution/dissemination. Please acknowledge the role of ABA in developing and promoting this code with a link to the ABA website using the url http://www.aba.org. Thank you.

In addition to the above Code of Ethics, the ABA also has a rating system or codes you may have seen in field guides, or on pamphlets on your outtings. There are 6 codes and I will list them below for your edification:

Code 1 Includes regular breeding species and visitors. These are the more widespread and numerous varieties.

Code 2 Regular breeding species and visitors, with a restricted North American range, may occur in lower densities or are quite secretive making detection difficult.

Code 3 Rare-species occur in very low numbers, but annually, in ABA Checklist Area, includes visitors and rare breadding residents.

Code 4 Casual- not rcorded annually in ABA Checklist Area, but with 6 or more total records, including 3 or more in the past 30 years, reflecting some pattern of occurrence.

Code 5 Accidental- Species recorded 5 or fewer times in ABA Checklist Area, or fewer than 3 records in past 30 years.

Code 6 Cannot be found. Species probably or actually extinct or extirpated from ABA Checklist Area, or all survivors held in captivity.

So now, armed with the rules of birding, we can confidently go out there and conduct our business. This reminds me, one of the accepted ways of calling a bird out to see it better is to pish.

Yes, pish. For those who don't know, or are thinking of something different, this is when you make a sound like a tire leaking air with your lips. It sounds a lot like you are saying the word pish when you do this, and for some reason it seems to make the bird pop out of the bush or tree to see what the heck you are doing.

This was a source of amusement when I went on a school hike with kids, and their parents, who were non-birders, and the hike leader demonstrated pishing early one morning. So from then on, at least one of the parents greets me with; "Have you pished this morning?" This usually gets a couple heads to turn nearby, and we giggle at the shared joke and begin to talk more like adults.

So, You Might be a BirdNerd if...you actually practice "pishing" in the morning.