Fred
We've seen lots of angst on this subject, particularly from birders --- try posting it over on a birding list if you really want to get flamed.
that being said, I agree with Doug - I've seen no ill effects for hummingbirds or owls.
Don
Fred
We've seen lots of angst on this subject, particularly from birders --- try posting it over on a birding list if you really want to get flamed.
that being said, I agree with Doug - I've seen no ill effects for hummingbirds or owls.
Don
UNDERSTATEMENT ALERT!!! This sure is an understatement if I have ever seen one. This subject seems to come up on pretty much every forum, I appreciate the sanity here, rather than simply flaming over a subject that is, well, quite subjective. I, personally, have yet to completely form my own opinion, but I can respect both points of view.Originally Posted by Don Nelson
One thing I have noticed in my backyard, as I attempt to learn to use a Better Beemer better, is that often the birds on the feeders become quite startled when the flash goes off, but they don't if I don't use flash, which leads me to believe it is not shutter sound that startles them. Any thoughts on this? Perhaps I am using the Beemer incorrectly? The shots do not look over-exposed or over-flashed so I don't think that is the problem.
Bill
Experience in over ten seasons of flashing hummingbirds at multiple sites.
Most notably, those sites having multiple nectar sources (natural and manmade), when a flashed setup is put together, the same birds will come back time after time to the setup even though alternate sources are available without flashes on them. I've even had multiple instances of a single bird guarding the setup and driving others away (Annas and Broad billed are notable for this behavior within the US). So if the flash was hurting them, why would they exhibit these behaviors?
Second, with owls in Arizona, its common for at least two sites that I know of for the owls to get heavily flashed every evening by multiple photographers. In spite of this they don't relocate. Further, in one instance a pair of owls sitting in a commonly used site gets flashed, and then male goes off to bring back a nice juicy centipede for his mate -- if he was "blinded" or otherwise hurt, how could he quickly hunt up prey for his mate? You will also note that there is no dilation of the pupils after flashing -- its so fast.
Now with respect to a flash, consider how humans react to a flash -- most will blink the first time. Yes, they react but don't get blinded or bothered. Some people even get acclimated whereas some learn a reflex to blink at the flash. With birds, the effect is similar -- the first time flash will always cause a bit of shock. But permanent effects?
I do believe that the birds seem to tolerate the flash, but I won't say that they aren't annoyed. I have seen multiple times that a few hummingbirds go through gyrations to reach the feeder if that route didn't get them flashed previously. But humans don't like to have flashes all the time either....
This flashing bird subject with birders is similar to "those snowy owls are on the verge of starvation so don't go within 3,000 feet of them." This was disproved by fat analysis on roadkill snowy owls in the past two years. Yet so much information is just repeated mindlessly as though it was true.... Both Hitler and Stalin were quoted as saying if you repeat something often enough people will start to believe it, even if it is false.
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