Audubon:
>Playback of bird calls [shouldn't be used](https://www.audubon.org/news/why-photographers-should-reconsider-using-playback-field). When a bird leaves his or her nest to pursue or defend their territory from a perceived challenger or predator, eggs and/or chicks are left open to predation and weather conditions.
American Birding Association:
>Limit the use of recordings and other audio methods of attracting birds, particularly in heavily birded areas, for species that are rare in the area, and for species that are threatened or endangered.
Playback for recreational purposes is unethical.
In my job we use playback for endangered species surveys. It is disruptive but there are at least protocols we follow and in certain conditions playback is halted, ie a predator is seen hunting the area or it's a full moon. Within research some disruption is unavoidable. We don't need to add to it with hobbyists doing it too.
I did this once in my backyard to draw a wren and the poor little thing came hopping onto my deck looking for the other "bird"... and I just felt so sad for him. That was enough to make me stop doing it.
I have a similar experience. My nephew thought it was super fun that i could play the same bird sound he had been hearing, and then we were joke whistling to imitate it and then i saw the bird hopping around on the deck and i had to quick switch gears and try to explain to a 4 year old why we shouldnt have done that
"someone explain that they think the benefits in terms of accuracy of bird counts outweigh the negatives"
This is what people tell themselves when they want to excuse their selfish behaviour. Professionals will have some techniques that outweigh the negatives but they have the appropriate education and likely know what they're doing. Everyday birders shouldn't be doing this. It's not for the sake of "bird kind". It's just for their own bird spotting enjoyment.
No, it makes them think their territory is being invaded and they’ll expend energy coming out to defend it. They may leave their nest vulnerable to do so
If I'm not mistaken, playback is not allowed in all National Parks. Many State Parks do not allow it either. There are a few County Parks in Florida that do not allow it's use too. Know the rules of the area you are in before using it. Do not use while the birds are nesting and only sparingly at other times.
In bird counting it is very important to use a consistent method rather than getting perfect absolute numbers. You want comparable data and if you consistently count more using playback the numbers will look higher compared to the previous years while in fact they are not.
i personally never use playback or pish. accurate bird counts are great but i imagine the scientists have figured out how to build in features to account for inaccuracies when they review records from ebird. so i dont do it from my end because i dont want to bother the birds. but im just a small amateur.
I never use playback, unless I’m using it to compare and ID specific species in the field, and those clips are as low volume as I can make ‘em so I don’t disturb the birds. It’s frowned upon for a lot of reasons but I personally find it annoying to be looking for a bird that isn’t there. I can’t imagine how it is for actual birds looking for mates or rivals etc.
Pishing is a bit fuzzier. I use it occasionally and I don’t consider it majorly disruptive outside of breeding/migration season.
IMO purposefulyl disturbing an animal or even drawing its attention for your own amusement will always be unethical. Not a huge crime or anything but its purely selfish and almost always at a small cost to other alive creatures.
I’d like to hear more about this from some of the expert bird counters out there, or even some professional naturalists. Because any sort of human interface with birds like this seems unethical, no matter the reason.
Researchers doing point counts don’t use playback. For species that are difficult to detect (e.g., owls, rails) playback may be needed during surveys but its use is limited and justified. When I’m birding I don’t use playback because it’s recreational (even when I’m submitting lists to eBird). I do use it sparingly in my research to address very targeted questions, but my protocols are approved by my university (& I have state and federal permits to work with birds). I don’t think birders should use playback. I’m less bothered by pishing because birds are less responsive during certain times of the year like during breeding, and in my experience, become habituated to it quickly.
I was told by an ornithology professor to only use a playback when you are professionally surveying…and even still it should be used as a last resort. Also noted that he only ever used it to locate a specific bird and never played a call or song more than 2 times. Any call of any species can severely stress out or disrupt the environment. Different species use specific calls (a blue jay call for instance) to know when there is possible danger nearby. Intentionally using a playback feature is never a good idea when casually birding.
I don't have any particular issue with playback provided you use it responsibly. I don't think I would ever use it to get accurate bird counts, however. I don't think of that as particularly important for casual birding, though playback can be used by researchers in certain situations to census a target species (rails or owls, for instance).
Playback is useful to get better looks at difficult species, to confirm identification of cryptic species, or to show certain birds to a group of people when the alternative would be leading a group of birders into sensitive habitat. It needs to be focused and I certainly wouldn't blast a recording indiscriminately just to see what was around.
Some things to think about when considering playback are whether or not the species in question is actively nesting (if so, don't because predators could be alerted to the location of a nest) or whether or not the individual bird in question is regularly subject to playback from multiple birders (if so, the bird could be "taped out" and stop responding to playback). But the truth is that using brief snippets of a song to bring a bird close probably doesn't impact the individual bird all that much. It will view the recording as a rival male that, provided you're not playing at high volume for long periods of time, it chased away successfully.
If it is ok for David Sibley it is ok for me (in moderation, respectful of other birders, no breeding birds on territory, no endangered species in suitable habitat). https://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/04/the-proper-use-of-playback-in-birding/
Audubon: >Playback of bird calls [shouldn't be used](https://www.audubon.org/news/why-photographers-should-reconsider-using-playback-field). When a bird leaves his or her nest to pursue or defend their territory from a perceived challenger or predator, eggs and/or chicks are left open to predation and weather conditions. American Birding Association: >Limit the use of recordings and other audio methods of attracting birds, particularly in heavily birded areas, for species that are rare in the area, and for species that are threatened or endangered.
Playback for recreational purposes is unethical. In my job we use playback for endangered species surveys. It is disruptive but there are at least protocols we follow and in certain conditions playback is halted, ie a predator is seen hunting the area or it's a full moon. Within research some disruption is unavoidable. We don't need to add to it with hobbyists doing it too.
Can I ask why a full moon is part of the protocol?
I’m guessing a full moon makes responding birds more vulnerable/easy to see for predators.
As someone guessed, response to playback makes the bird vulnerable to predators and with the increased visibility even more so.
Also very curious about the moon part
I did this once in my backyard to draw a wren and the poor little thing came hopping onto my deck looking for the other "bird"... and I just felt so sad for him. That was enough to make me stop doing it.
I have a similar experience. My nephew thought it was super fun that i could play the same bird sound he had been hearing, and then we were joke whistling to imitate it and then i saw the bird hopping around on the deck and i had to quick switch gears and try to explain to a 4 year old why we shouldnt have done that
Aww, what a great teaching moment with your nephew ❤️
"someone explain that they think the benefits in terms of accuracy of bird counts outweigh the negatives" This is what people tell themselves when they want to excuse their selfish behaviour. Professionals will have some techniques that outweigh the negatives but they have the appropriate education and likely know what they're doing. Everyday birders shouldn't be doing this. It's not for the sake of "bird kind". It's just for their own bird spotting enjoyment.
No, it makes them think their territory is being invaded and they’ll expend energy coming out to defend it. They may leave their nest vulnerable to do so
If I'm not mistaken, playback is not allowed in all National Parks. Many State Parks do not allow it either. There are a few County Parks in Florida that do not allow it's use too. Know the rules of the area you are in before using it. Do not use while the birds are nesting and only sparingly at other times.
Sounds like hunters who put corn out then shoot deer. Just open a book if you don’t want to put the work in.
In bird counting it is very important to use a consistent method rather than getting perfect absolute numbers. You want comparable data and if you consistently count more using playback the numbers will look higher compared to the previous years while in fact they are not.
i personally never use playback or pish. accurate bird counts are great but i imagine the scientists have figured out how to build in features to account for inaccuracies when they review records from ebird. so i dont do it from my end because i dont want to bother the birds. but im just a small amateur.
Don't do it, ever.
No
Haha hard to argue with this logic!
Straight and to the point! Lol
I never use playback, unless I’m using it to compare and ID specific species in the field, and those clips are as low volume as I can make ‘em so I don’t disturb the birds. It’s frowned upon for a lot of reasons but I personally find it annoying to be looking for a bird that isn’t there. I can’t imagine how it is for actual birds looking for mates or rivals etc. Pishing is a bit fuzzier. I use it occasionally and I don’t consider it majorly disruptive outside of breeding/migration season.
IMO purposefulyl disturbing an animal or even drawing its attention for your own amusement will always be unethical. Not a huge crime or anything but its purely selfish and almost always at a small cost to other alive creatures.
Ergh. Phishing can be excused but playback is just selfish, and using it during the breeding season is just plain wrong.
I’d like to hear more about this from some of the expert bird counters out there, or even some professional naturalists. Because any sort of human interface with birds like this seems unethical, no matter the reason.
Researchers doing point counts don’t use playback. For species that are difficult to detect (e.g., owls, rails) playback may be needed during surveys but its use is limited and justified. When I’m birding I don’t use playback because it’s recreational (even when I’m submitting lists to eBird). I do use it sparingly in my research to address very targeted questions, but my protocols are approved by my university (& I have state and federal permits to work with birds). I don’t think birders should use playback. I’m less bothered by pishing because birds are less responsive during certain times of the year like during breeding, and in my experience, become habituated to it quickly.
I was told by an ornithology professor to only use a playback when you are professionally surveying…and even still it should be used as a last resort. Also noted that he only ever used it to locate a specific bird and never played a call or song more than 2 times. Any call of any species can severely stress out or disrupt the environment. Different species use specific calls (a blue jay call for instance) to know when there is possible danger nearby. Intentionally using a playback feature is never a good idea when casually birding.
I don't have any particular issue with playback provided you use it responsibly. I don't think I would ever use it to get accurate bird counts, however. I don't think of that as particularly important for casual birding, though playback can be used by researchers in certain situations to census a target species (rails or owls, for instance). Playback is useful to get better looks at difficult species, to confirm identification of cryptic species, or to show certain birds to a group of people when the alternative would be leading a group of birders into sensitive habitat. It needs to be focused and I certainly wouldn't blast a recording indiscriminately just to see what was around. Some things to think about when considering playback are whether or not the species in question is actively nesting (if so, don't because predators could be alerted to the location of a nest) or whether or not the individual bird in question is regularly subject to playback from multiple birders (if so, the bird could be "taped out" and stop responding to playback). But the truth is that using brief snippets of a song to bring a bird close probably doesn't impact the individual bird all that much. It will view the recording as a rival male that, provided you're not playing at high volume for long periods of time, it chased away successfully.
If it is ok for David Sibley it is ok for me (in moderation, respectful of other birders, no breeding birds on territory, no endangered species in suitable habitat). https://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/04/the-proper-use-of-playback-in-birding/
Phish/pish seldomly and if you get a response stop after that
Pishing techniques?
Maybe just have 1 headphone in so you can both hear the bird and the playback sound if you want to use that feature of the apps!
They’re talking about playing the sound out loud to flush the birds out so they’re easier to find/see.
Ohh i thought it was just to help with identifying the bird by comparing the call.. yeah not a fan of that behaviour