outdoorphotographycanada.com

[Morozko]

Greetings: On a shoot today, I was watching some Bald Eagles (one adult and two juveniles), soaring and floating on the wind. I waited in anticipation that they would venture into the range of my optics to no avail. Another 'togger arrived and we exchanged some pleasantries. I mentioned that I had been waiting for some time for these birds to venture close so I could capture their images. This prompted him to return to his vehicle and come back with a bag of fish (looked like smelt). He explained that he had caught them and kept them in his freezer, then uses them as bait to attract various fish eating avians.
At first thought, "good idea", second thought, 'never feed wild animals'.
When I arrived home, I googled 'bird baiting' . From the results I am thinking it is probably not a good idea to provide seed in my feeders.

For me me this has become a moral and ethical dillema.
Question:Do you, Have you, or would you bait for that one shot???
HONEST answers only. Please.
Bob.
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There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold; R.W. Service.

[Bluenoser]

Interesting topic, and one that gets much debate on many forums.

There are those who see nothing wrong with it, and those who think it is very wrong.

My personal take - I don't have a problem with putting birdfeeders out in my backyard. I've done this year round for so many years and well before I ever became interested in photography. I don't consider that baiting, but that's just my opinion.

As for "baiting" out in the wilderness, well, I don't do it and don't particularly think it's a good idea. Feeding the animals weakens them, they come to depend on provided food and soon lose hunting and survival skills.

I know, putting a bird feeder out is "feeding" the animals. I can't explain it really, but I just don't put a backyard feeder in the same light as I would bringing smelts to a bird shoot out in the wilderness.
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We don't stop laughing because we get old, we get old because we stop laughing.

[Hendrik]

I don`t do it, I would think I have a faked shot. Was out shooting eagles yesterday and had to wait several hours to get my shot, which make me twice as happy now.

I think it`s wrong.

[radiorabbi]

This is a topic that bothers some people while others seem to take it in stride.

Feeding birds [ or any species] on a regular basis does help them through a cold winter; not only the strong but the weak as well and if the weak or stupid survive to breed ultimately that species is weaker for it.
[ Just look at our own species]

When a lot of birds are fed in a given area it can allow disease to spread amongst all the birds in the area; where if they were foraging on their own they may not come in contact with diseased individuals and avoid a potentially deadly situation.

On the flip side Eagles are opportunists and will feast on Carrion whenever available. the Ethics of wether or not they should take what man offers is rarely considered.
Lots of people feed birds to get better photo opportunities. Some have evolved to the point where they shoot the ones perched on the approach to food so the bait remains invisible. That way the casual observer may not know they are cutting corners.

While cutting corners will get the shot on occassion it reenforces the idea that cutting corners is the way to go. Get in to that habit and one stops learning and ultimately stagnates. The Quality of your work will never improve if your first objective is to cut corners.

I recall a story about Ansel Adams. him and a helper packed into a mountain with a load of Gear . one full day across the desert with a mule.
Spent the next morning carrying 200lbs of gear up the mountain to where he wanted to shoot.They waited all day for the right light because he only had 8 unexposed plates. Imagine, 3 days round trip packing 200lbs of gear up a mountain for 8 frames. Was he Nuts? or just willing to do what it takes?

In this day and age would anybody be willing to spend 3 days in hopes of getting the right conditions for a dozen shots? I suppose it really goes with the territory. Does Buying into the technology force us to go faster and do more?
we are hiting 60.000 frames with a camera we have had less than 4 1/2 years; for over a year we have had a second body. I had a pentax K1000 for 20+ years and doubt i put 1/10 of that many frames through it I think i learned more from all those shots but was it really necessary to shoot all those frames?

Getting back to Eagles and Ethics it would be awesome to capture an Eagle pulling a Salmon out of a lake or river.But most of us will never get to see that because we are too busy hurrying to the next place to take a picture. Who has the time to stand around waiting for something exciting ? as to ethics we each have to make up our own mind on that and live by our morals and ethics not those of others. They won't change to suit our ideas; they'll make up their own minds and cut corners.

If you want really Great shots without cutting corners or having to Face the Ethics Questions

Slow down , Get out in the wilderness and sit and Watch, Enjoy, Use a blind so you can observe without stressing your intended subjects, you might actually enjoy life away from the Rat Race.

Thoughts

Mike

[derekcox]

This is a touchy subject for a lot of people. This is my personal experience and as such, it is also JUST my opinion. no hate mail plz.

I was a commercial fisherman on the west coast for many years,and had many opportunities to take pictures of all kinds of wildlife during that time. Everything from orcas,to sea otters,eagles,and white bears in the north coast islands.

I lived on a fishing boat and i must admit that i very often would jig up a cod when i saw eagles in the trees along the shore and i had no reservations about tossing a cod over the side to entice a baldy to come and get it while i snapped off a roll of film.

As mike said, eagles are not above snapping up a convenient meal. In fact,on vancouver island,it is not uncommon to see eagles perched with ravens at the dump. I don't encourage people to feed baldies at the local dump! That isn't a natural behaviour for that bird, however, To ME personally, there is a difference between tossing a cod out for a baldy to either grab it or not (sometimes they don't)... and bringing frozen fish from your home to bait the bird in. The difference, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION... is this: is the bird in its natural place, doing what it normally would do? There is a difference between a baldy picking up a fish off the water and someone dumping a bunch of frozen herring on a rock.

I've personally had eagles steal salmon off the end of my fishing line, and i've seen countless times, eagles land on the deck and grab salmon before they get dumped in the fish hold. More than anything,i think one should really consider whether or not what you are doing is causing an eagle (for example) to deviate dangerously from their regular behaviour. Are you bringing in a baldy close to a road? or power lines? ... is so, you are doing the wrong thing!

Having said that,it depends on the animal. It is never a best practice to chase an orca in your boat to get a picture , but if you are drifting and an orca comes up to YOU... that is different. NEVER bait a bear for pictures because you are sentencing it to a premature death. A fed bear is a dead bear. Every kid in B.C. learns that from grade 1.

Overall, the best practice is to just be where the wildlife is and wait til they pass by and hope you are fortunate enough to get a few good shots. BUT for me, i dont feel bad about chucking a cod over the side of my boat to get a few pics of a baldy. and i don't think i was ever wrong to do it. *shrug*

Also.... i don't think having a bird feeder in your yard is going to land anyone in hell... just my opinion...again