Just like any hobby, birding is made up of a diverse set of people from all different walks of life. Of course, this can lead to a wide variety of ideas, beliefs, and morals coexisting together in the hobby. For this reason, some of these subjects end up turning into hot button issues that can rage on in comment sections and start debates on social media. Just in case you ever wanted to start a lively discussion at your local bird club or if you wanted to avoid such an event, here are the top five most controversial topics in the bird and birding community.

Invasive Species

There are many bird species nonnative to North America that have proliferated to such a point that they put a strain on the ecosystem; pushing out native creatures. Many of them became this way due to humans intentionally introducing them. While it’s impossible to deny that some of these birds have had a negative impact on native species, there are many different trains of thought when it comes to dealing with these birds. Some people are on the side of doing whatever it takes to eliminate them altogether. Others are on the side of gently dissuading them from inhabiting feeding and nesting places used by native birds. Then there are those that want the invasive species to be left alone and to be treated the same way one would a native species. As we found out in one of our videos, suggesting any of these viewpoints can be quite controversial. A lot of people grow attached to the birds they see regularly around their house, and often times they are invasive species such as House Sparrows and European Starlings. This can lead to very emotional reactions when someone suggests getting rid of them and thus, the debate begins.

Bird Viewing and Photography Ethics

Birders vs photographers can sometimes be a contentious relationship in and of itself with birders often viewing photographers as being obsessed with getting the perfect shot more than caring about the birds. While this is of course a generalization and its not right to paint an entire group of people with a broad stroke, there have been some documented cases of people behaving badly to get a photograph, or even just birders trying to get a closer look. There have been numerous issues with people getting too close to sensitive species and even accidentally chasing away rare birds. 

The type of bird that has traditionally been at the epicenter of problems involving people getting too close are owls. There have been numerous issues with Snowy and long eared owls in particular getting repeatedly harassed by birders and photographers. Another thing that causes problems is the practice of owl baiting. Owl baiting is exactly what it sounds like, bringing a small animal, either alive or dead to a place where an owl is and placing it out in the open for the owl to come take. The reason people do this is to try and get flight shots or hunting shots of owls and other birds of prey. For obvious reasons, many people disagree with owl baiting, but others believe it to be okay. 

In general, since everyone has a somewhat differing code of ethics when it coms to birding and photography, a lot of arguments start about the proper way to behave when out in the field.

Ivory billed Woodpecker

Oh the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Who would have thought that talk about whether a bird is extinct or not could generate such rage. Surprisingly, that’s exactly what it does. There are two main sides to the Ivory billed woodpecker debate. One side believes the bird is extinct, and any discussion, time, or money put into looking for it is a waste. The other side believes it is still alive somewhere in the forests and swamps of the American South. Oddly enough, both sides can become quite aggressive in arguing their point, with Ivory-billed Woodpecker deniers viewing the other side as swindlers or conspiracy theorists, and ivory-billed Woodpecker believers viewing the other side as not having an open mind to the potential evidence out there. This debate has raged on to such a degree that ivory-billed woodpecker discussion has been banned from many different Facebook groups, and bringing it up will be a surefire way to start an argument or simply get booted.

Use of Playback

Playback is the process of using the call or song of a bird to lure it in closer or out in the open. It can be done to try and get a better look, to try and get a photo, or to see unique behavior. It seems that the majority of people believe that using playback sparingly to make an identification is likely okay, but there are ethical dilemmas associated with this topic. When people use playback during breeding season it may force birds to abandon their nests, leaving them open to parasitism, making them waste valuable energy, or making them move to different locations thus interrupting their breeding efforts. Additionally, there have been instances of people continuously trying to call an individual rare bird day after day to try and get the best looks possible. While one time, selective usuage likely won’t have much impact, prolonged playback can greatly interrupt the normal lives of birds and force them off their territory. Additionally, sensitive species are particularly suseptible to disturbances from playback and as a result, certain rules have been put in place for species such as black rails to prevent people from harassing them.

Gate Keeping

Gate keeping is when a person or group of people are the deciders when it comes to who is  allowed to see a bird or know where a bird is located. This can happen when a rare bird shows up in someone’s yard and the homeowner doesn’t want a mob of people descending on their property, or when a person or group of people know the location of a bird but only want to keep it to themselves or their own group of friends. Situations like this happen fairly often and they definitely turn in to controversial topics and ethical dilemmas. If a homeowner only wants a limited amount of people to be able to come see a bird on their property how are those few people decided? Are people entitled to be able to see any bird that is found? Who can be trusted to view rare birds in an ethical way and who cannot? These are all questions that make gate keeping in the birding world a complicated and certainly controversial topic.

Summary

Any hobby or activity will not exist without at least some controversy, especially one with as many different personalities involved as birding. It is amusing how seemingly innocuous things can generate such debate and in some cases such anger. It seems that anything that involves humans will have some sort of controversy attached to it.