Photographing Schedule 1 Bird Species
will enable excellent views with patience and possibly photographic opportunities without disturbance or the need to leave the footpath. There is actually nothing wrong in photographing birds during the breeding season with common sense but that’s where the main concerns start. Most birds are creatures of habit and so territorial movements can be seen from a distance and by observing the routine first, it may help you achieve better photographs.
Barn Owl There seems to a growing trend of people starting in bird photography and bird watching with little or no knowledge of what they are actually photographing and totally unaware that wildlife and especially a number of bird’s, are protected under legislation called the Wildlife & Countryside Act of 1981. I hear you say “what’s that and how can that affect me”. Well, a large number of bird species are protected from disturbance during the breeding season and it is illegal to wantonly take appropriate steps which may affect the welfare of young birds still dependant on regular feeding from adult birds. The act enables anyone to be prosecuted where disturbance to a nest site has caused adults to abandon the young in the nest. It is actually a fairly emotive subject as the guidelines do not give a clear indication on what the photographer or observer is actually allowed to do but the desire to get that award winning shot can easily lead to some form of disturbance. The wildlife should be respected and working within the guidelines of the legislation should allowed the continued enjoyment for watchers for years to come. The Dartford warblers on Dunwich Heath in Suffolk have attracted a number of photographers who seem to have overstepped the mark to the extent that the local press have highlighted the issue recently. There are a number of males holding territory on the heath which can be seen singing from regular bushes on their patch, careful observation 16.
Tape luring is strictly forbidden and against the law and can lead to adult birds abandoning their nests causing failure in breeding. The footpaths that criss-cross the heath are designed to protect both birds and habitat and therefore moving into the heather and the birds territory to gain that extra few feet is not appropriate behaviour. The best advice is to keep away from the area during the breeding season to reduce disturbance to a minimum. Give them time and visit the area for photography later in the year when breeding has finished. I often see stunning images of Barn Owls on the net which suggest that the photographer has stood just outside the next box. We know of one example where Barn Owls nesting in a church tower in Norfolk failed to fledge because a local photographer sat on a step ladder outside the church for four days until the young birds were so desperate that they actually came to the opening looking for the adults. The photographer had little respect or concern for the birds welfare, only about Dartford Warbler
winning a club photography competition. To him it was only a bird. Let’s hope we can educate everyone to work with the Wildlife and Countryside act of 1981 and be aware that birds such Kingfisher, Barn Owl, Cetti’s Warbler to name a few are protected and disturbance should be kept to minimum. It should however be common sense in the first place to disturb no wildlife whilst in the breeding season. Below is the list: Avocet Bee-eater Bittern Bittern, little Bluethroat Brambling Bunting, cirl Bunting, Lapland Bunting, snow Buzzard, honey Capercaillie (Scotland only) Chough Corncrake Crake, spotted Crossbills (all species) Divers (all species) Dotterel Duck, long-tailed Eagle, golden Eagle, white-tailed Falcon, gyr Fieldfare Firecrest Garganey Godwit, black-tailed Goshawk Cetti’s Warbler
Grebe, black-necked Grebe, Slavonian Greenshank Gull, little Gull, Mediterranean Harriers (all species) Heron, purple Hobby Hoopoe Kingfisher Kite, red Merlin Oriole, golden Osprey Owl, barn Owl, snowy Peregrine Petrel, Leach’s Phalarope, red-necked Plover, Kentish Plover, little ringed Quail, common Redstart, black Redwing Rosefinch, scarlet Ruff Sandpiper, green Sandpiper, purple Sandpiper, wood Scaup Scoter, common Scoter, velvet Serin Shorelark Shrike, red-backed Spoonbill Stilt, black-winged Stint, Temminck’s Stone-curlew Swan, Bewick’s Swan, whooper Tern, black Tern, little Tern, roseate Tit, bearded Tit, crested Treecreeper, short-toed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Dartford Warbler, marsh Warbler, Savi’s Whimbrel Woodlark Wryneck 17.