Friday, March 8, 2013

Great Gray Owl Photos

This past week I took Christine to see a Great Gray Owl.  We spent the day watching it, taking pictures and video, and enjoyed our quiet time as the girls played with Grandma back home.  Below is a 2 minute video combining the most exciting views from that day. We hope you enjoy.


Great Gray Owl
 The actions of a few individuals viewing this owl were not legal and deemed unethical by many in the birding community.  These actions were observed by many and have been discussed in discussion forums heavily the past two weeks. While observing the owl on two different days I did get out of my car to talk to others, but remained in the car quiet most of the time.  I was reminded in these interactions the definition of ethics is subjective and differs greatly by individuals. There are many deciding guiding principles that could be used when a group of people get together, ranging from groupthink to use of social norms. Actions can be guided by a governing group such as the American Birding Association, but only if people know about the expectations.  Most viewers of this blog are not birders, so please take the time to follow this link and read about ethics in birding. I hope other vested parties use this experience as an education experience, both for others and themselves.

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