We all love the falcons. We've been watching their every move for nearly 3 months. They fill us with wonder and admiration; they make us think, laugh and cry. The last thing we want is for anything bad to happen to them.
But the truth is, there are people who want to get close to the birds who will stop at nothing. They want close encounters and proof.
Here's the thing about the falcons' nest. It's actually not safe. Countless natural factors went into the recipe that cooked up 3 little falcons this year - all of which could have gone wrong. We've heard and read about those via the Orange Falcons website and Dr Hurley's Fact Sheets on "367 Collins Falcon Watchers" Facebook group.
Another problem is us. We can disturb them in any number of ways. So, the question is, are we committed to keeping human disturbance to a minimum?
BirdLife Australia's ethical birdwatching guidelines state: "The welfare of birds (when birdwatching) always comes first."
BirdLife Photography Group's Code of Ethics is another useful document. It discusses stressing birds by "close intrusion on the birds’ personal space/nest sites."
Stress can cause some birds to become ill or worse, die. Our birds are precious, and it's understood their numbers have dropped alarmingly...
Birds (and other wildlife) are already under stress from natural competition for survival, but human activites have resulted in greater stressors that are having a more serious impact on our bird populations and species.
If photographers...cause more stress to the birds on top of those existing stressors, we bird photographers could have an ironically sad impact on our already vulnerable avifauna/wildlife.
So why does this matter? Peregrine falcons are increasing their use of human-made structures. They've been forced by habitat loss to live in our spaces. If we care, we need to adjust what we do.
One example of this is Dr Hurley's advice to building management about window cleaning activities. This is done in the non-breeding season, lest an angry falcon be incited to attack to protect its chicks. Watch what happens when the researcher temporarily removes falcon nestlings in this news clip from 2010:
Our main security policy is not to identify the ledge. We believe that this goes a small way towards making disturbance more difficult.
Is this over the top? Maybe. But at issue is the life and death of these birds. If we want to be good custodians, we do the right thing. We take all possible measures.
Therefore:
Posts that help facilitate disturbance to the birds won't be published.
Posts that direct traffic to the author's platform rather than put the birds' welfare first aren't welcome.
If you're planning to post or share content that may help create a threat to the Melbourne "Perries", please...don't.
We know you're sensible and you'll do the right thing. Because you're a Peregrine Falcon fan!
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