News Karnataka
Friday, March 29 2024
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Nature

Wanted: A blue tailed bee-eater – shoot at sight!

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Now that DSLR cameras have become sophisticated but cheaper, everybody and everyone who has a creative bent of mind and a penchant for the visual medium, is into photography these days. The favorite kind of photography among budding amateur photographers is Wildlife photography

Wildlife photography satisfies both the soul and the intellect. Bird photography as compared to wild animal photography is easier and safer and there are many spots in and around the city where these photographers pursue their passion.

The Blue tailed bee-eater

The Blue tailed bee-eater is a favorite of many photographers, especially during its breeding season which lasts from March to June and is seen in many different parts of peninsular India. One such place is Naguvanahalli near Mysuru.

During their breeding season, this species of bird   builds its sand nest on the bank of the river. These birds consume insects, ants and are usually seen in small groups and often roost communally in 200-300 numbers.  During the breeding season, the birds move excitedly at the roost site and call loudly for mates.

A photographer’s delight, but the blue bird’s nightmare!

Sadly however, photographers often disturb these birds to satisfy their creative instincts.  Photography, when and if it’s done in these habitats, must be done very carefully.

Dr Krishna Mohan, the founder of Prabhu Hospital, Moodabidri, and an expert wildlife photographer himself, shared his views on these birds and the intervention of humans in their environment especially with reference to photography.

He advised, “Please don’t take nesting shots. Please do not post nest photos. The problem with publishing nest photographs is that whilst you may know it was taken carefully and with no harm to the birds, directly or indirectly, people looking at the photo don’t know that. People may see photos of birds at nests and think that’s a good idea, and try it themselves without understanding the issues involved”.

He added, “Nesting birds vary in the extent that they tolerate disturbance and some will desert their nest at just the slightest provocation. Being approached for a photograph, or simply having a photographer hanging around nearby, is plenty to cause some birds to desert their nests”.

In some cases the bird will sit tight while the photographer is there leading the photographer to think that they are not causing any problems, but leave after he/she has departed.  As well as causing desertion there are a number of other problems. The presence of a careful photographer who is not him or herself creating disturbance can nevertheless draw other people’s attention to the nest – and they may not be so careful. I believe non-human predators such as cats have been known to find and predate a nest after observing a human paying attention to it.

Sometimes photographers may remove vegetation from around the nest in order to create a clear view or to improve the photo. This is not acceptable and if it doesn’t directly cause the birds to desert it will make the nest more visible to predators.

“There are some circumstances where it can be reasonable to assume that photographing the nest does no harm, such as where a large bird is nesting in a public area and the nest is photographed from a long distance through a long lens/telescope, or where the nest is visible from, and photographed from, a hideout (blind).”

The urge for an instant photograph

The blue tailed bee-eaters are usually seen in small groups and they are active in the morning and in the late evening after 4 pm. The male offers food to the female to develop energy for egg creation. But the real problem starts after the egg hatches. The Parent birds go out to bring food to feed the young ones (chicks). It is at this time that photographers create a perch near the nest and close the nest where the young ones are nested to ensure that the parents sit on the created perch as a feed for their photographic needs.

Suhas Premkumar, Founder  of  Soulscope Photography Services Pvt Ltd and a Naturalist, Photographer, and Educator,  expressed the view that unethical birding practices  like using baits, call playback, approaching nests, disturbing nests and perches must be avoided. They create a disturbance in the natural cycle of creation.

“Disturbing perched birds for the sake of flight photographs, flash photography, using powerful torch lights for a long time to photograph nocturnal birds, intentionally flushing birds from roosting places will cause harm to these birds”, he said.

He suggested that photographers practice ethical photography, and spread this awareness among all.

A disturbed habitat

The majority of photographers, who visit Naguvanahalli, are amateur photographers with an IT background. They often follow unethical photographic practices, and consequently the nesting bird population has drastically reduced. Many experts say that if these practices continue, the birds may stop migrating here. 

Matters get even more complicated for the breeding birds when, unknowingly the localities, come to wash clothes, block the nest by spreading their  clothes on the area where these birds build their nest. Birds are also disturbed from their nesting habits by the waste strewn by visitors including bottles and plastic.  Cattle walking over the nest whilst grazing is another hazard the birds face, both the parents, and the young ones. 

Shoot at sight!

A photographers virtue is patience. Often one needs to wait for hours, months and years to get the right frame and this quality was often found in the photographers of yore. However the modern fast food generation have the latest equipment and believe in instant frames. When  these are not available  for the asking, they  invade their wild life habitats and try to create their own frames. One of the methods adopted by photographers, is to bring bird feed and feed the birds for a frame. This can cause the death of the chicks.  Passion for a shoot at sight has reached a peak with the kind of sophisticated equipment currently available in the market.

 “Unfortunately respect for privacy of nature is lost. High time some measures are taken to protect birds and animals at least during their mating season”, said Raghu Venkatachalaiah,  Assistant Professor, Vijaya College, Jayanagar.

Awareness is the key

As a photo journalist myself, I believe it’s my duty to spread awareness of the do’s and don’t’s of wildlife photography especially bird photography. First and foremost wildlife photographers should avoid photographing at least during the breeding season and feeding the chicks because many young one’s die. Using hideouts and telephoto lens’ will also help conservation and breeding. Wearing green clothes as a camouflage will also reduce the disturbance to their habitat.  We must, as a community, do our bit to conserve and encourage this colorful species to make our world a better place.

 

 

 

 

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