Ethical birding: how to watch birds without harming them

Birdwatching is gentle, but it is not harmless. Too many people in the wrong place, a recording played too often, or one step too close to a nest can stress birds or put them at risk. Birders have worked out a shared set of habits to prevent that. The best known is the American Birding Association’s Code of Birding Ethics, which many birding groups have adopted or adapted. This is what it means in practice.

The birds come first

The principle behind the code is simple: when the interests of birds and birders conflict, the welfare of the birds and their habitat comes first. Everything else follows from that.

Keep your distance

The code asks birders to stay well back from nests and nesting colonies, roosts, display areas and important feeding sites. These are also the places where birds are easiest to see, so the temptation to get closer is strong. Do not approach a nest. You do not need to see a nest to record that birds are breeding, because other breeding behavior can confirm it. Stay on trails where they exist, and avoid trampling vegetation, since trampling near a nest can make it easier for predators to find.

Use recorded calls sparingly, or not at all

Playing a recording of a bird’s call is an effective way to bring an elusive species into view, and that is exactly the problem: it can harm nesting birds if overused. The ABA advice is to limit the use of recordings, and never to use them in heavily birded areas or to attract a species that is threatened, endangered or of special concern, or rare in your area. Audubon’s photography guidelines add that playback should never be used with endangered birds or with birds at a critical point in their nesting cycle. Some parks and refuges ban audio playback outright, so check the rules before you go and ask your guide.

Light and photography

Use artificial light sparingly for filming or photography, especially for close-ups. Audubon’s guidelines also say never to lure birds with bait, since baiting can change the behavior of predatory birds. As a rule of thumb, if a bird changes what it is doing because of you, you are too close.

Before you publish the location of a rare bird, think about what might happen. The code asks you to weigh the disturbance to the bird, its surroundings and other people, and to go ahead only if access can be controlled, disturbance can be kept low and any needed permission has been given. In the same spirit, it has become common practice to avoid disclosing the location of rare owls.

In groups

Keep groups to a size that limits damage to the environment and does not get in the way of others. Make sure everyone in the group knows the code and the local rules, such as a ban on playback. If you lead, you set the example: beginners copy what they see.

A short checklist

Stay back from nests, roosts and display areas
Avoid playback, and never use it with threatened species or during nesting
Use light sparingly and never bait
Think before you share a sensitive location
Know the park rules, and follow your guide

Want to birdwatch in West Java with guides who follow these principles? Send us an inquiry through the contact page.

Sources

Georgia Ornithological Society, “Birding Ethics” (based on the ABA Code): https://www.gos.org/birding-ethics
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, ABA Code of Birding Ethics: https://scvbirdalliance.org/aba-code-of-ethics
eBird Atlas, ethics guidance: https://ebird.org/atlasny/about/ethics
Audubon-based photography and playback guidelines (East Cascades Audubon): https://ecbirds.org/?p=16217
Observer-Reporter, “Birdcall playback on phones prompts an ethics debate”: https://www.observer-reporter.com/lifestyles/2014/jun/07/birdcall-playback-on-phones-prompts-an-ethics-debate/
Observer (Maine), on birding ethics and park rules: https://observer-me.com/?p=38731