martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

Hey guys just found a bird sighting site called ebird. It's world wide and what the site does is allow you and other members to enter bird sightings and Locations. You can use with your phone to help give specific location of the sightings. I used a few days ago here for our area, highlands county, and learned some Hooded Mergansers had been spotted in retention ponds of a local hospital. I gave it a try and sure enough I found a few to photograph. Not at all easy to get close, but I did manage to capture a few. You can customize your search, timelines and locations with the app or use on your computer from the comfort of home. Happy Shooting......

(Download)

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Good info and good shot.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

oops

ronichas Loc: Long Island

I do quite a bit of birding on Long Island. There are many here that do not want to post where the birds are...snowy owl, peregrine falcon, owls. People are NOT respectful of the wildlife and cause such stress on the birds & other wildlife. They want to get the birds in flight and will cause the bird to fly just to get away from some aggressive photographer.

A few years back, there was a family of foxes. People were feeding them to bring them to a better location to photograph. It go so bad that as soon as a car pulled into the adjoining parking lot, the foxes would go right up to the cars! One of the young kits ended up getting killed.
There were people feeding the deer, bread & cereal. Their bodies cannot handle that and it killed a half dozen deer.

So please be respectful of the wildlife. Check out the guidelines by Audubon.org guide to ethical bird photography.

https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography

bajadreamer Loc: Baja California Sur

[quote=ronichas]I do quite a bit of birding on Long Island. There are many here that do not want to post where the birds are...snowy owl, peregrine falcon, owls. People are NOT respectful of the wildlife and cause such stress on the birds & other wildlife. They want to get the birds in flight and will cause the bird to fly just to get away from some aggressive photographer.

Certainly true, but eBird developers have considered that. When you make an entry for a sighting, you can designate the location as closely or as "vaguely" as you want. The app will enter a precise GPS location if you so choose, but it will enter a very vague location, like "New York state" if you choose. This ability will protect rare or transient birds from being harassed. Like what you have suggested, people should educate themselves concerning the dangers to the creatures we love and are fascinated by.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

Thanks, I'm already tracking another bird using the app.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

Here's the website I mentioned in my post.. Maybe you can send your concerns to them. https://ebird.org/about

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

I think if anyone takes the time to read and learn about e-bird they will see how much of a contribution they are making to science and conservation. It's a great app as well for photography. It's a great tool if your passionate about your photography... Thanks for commenting..[quote=bajadreamer]

Einreb92 Loc: Philadelphia

We found this last year and I use it regularly to see what action is taking place at the hotspots in my area. Great resource for shooters and those who love to watch.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI