Pulling in Birds with Recorded Songs

[henry_domke]

I just picked up a small portable CD player with built in speakers with the

intention of using it to pull in birds for photography. Since I have no

experience with this I thought some of you might be willing to help me out:

 

1. Why do some people frown on this activity? I will be doing it only sparingly

and only on my own property. It is not likely to cause the birds harm, right?

 

2. What is the best way to pull them in? I was thinking of using one of my Bird

CDs (such as the Stoke's Guide) and repeating the song of the bird I want

again and again. I was thinking of placing the CD player near a perch that I

will have the bird lens focused on. I was figuring on sitting in a blind.

 

3. Does anyone know of any references in books or on the web that might

deal with this? I have not found much in books such as Arthur Morris's "The

Art of Bird Photography".

 

4. Are there certain species (in the Eastern USA) that are particularly

responsive? I assume the breeding season is the best time to use this

technique, but can it be used year round?

 

 

Thanks for your help on any or all of these questions!

Henry

----

The CD player is the Panasonic SL-PH270 which I picked up used on

Amazon.com

[stemked]

Hello Henry.

 

I'm a College Biology Professor. Although I personally never do it I know other Biology Profs who regularly do it for their research. I'll give you a litlle input on what I know.

 

1) I can't answer this one easily. I guess you *could* be putting your subjects in harms way if the calls distract the birds and something like a hawk swoops in. But I personally don't really think there is much of an issue here. I don't think I'd do it too long or if the birds are nesting, but otherwise I would suggest going ahead and tring it.

 

2)I think it depends a little on the type of attraction you are going for. For example if you are after owls I'd make sure that you give a reasonable gap time between calls. You want it to be as natural as you can.

 

3) Nope

 

4) I know the students were working with several species of song birds (sparrows and marsh birds). The ones that came closest, I recall, were Red-wing Blackbirds. I have had some success the one time I tried it with Barred Owls. A common call to play with is the Screech Owl call; you can get both the Owls and song birds trying to scare it away. It's often the only way to pull out deep reed birds like bitterns.

 

Hey, try it and maybe you can write up your own book!

[robert_kennedy]

I can't see how it would be particularly harmful. I have heard of it being used in research quite a bit. Any bird careless enough to get so into the song that it is nabbed by a predator would probably not last long in the wild anyway. and I doubt thatwould even happen.

[rwbowman]

Here's an excerpt from the American Birding Association's

PRINCIPLES OF BIRDING ETHICS pertaining to bird

photography that might be of interest.

 

"Everyone who enjoys birds and birding must always respect

wildlife, its environment, and the rights of others. In any conflict of

interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and

their environment comes first."

 

"CODE OF BIRDING ETHICS"

 

"1(b) To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger,

exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography,

sound recording, or filming."

 

"Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting

birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or

for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of

Special Concern, or is rare in your local area;"

 

"Keep well back from nests and nesting colonies, roosts, display

areas, and important feeding sites. In such sensitive areas, if

there is a need for extended observation, photography, filming, or

recording, try to use a blind or hide, and take advantage of

natural cover."

 

"Use artificial light sparingly for filming or photography,

especially for close-ups."

 

For more, see this URL:

 

http://www.americanbirding.org/abaethics.htm

 

As a birder and bird photographer I'll have to say that I've seen

some bird photographers who were very respectful and careful

about birds they were shooting and others who were either

plainly ignorant or simply didn't give a damn. My own view is that

unless you're Artie Morris (who is was a birder first and a

photographer second), err on the side of caution and give the

birds a break.

[chelsea]

If it's on your own property, why not set up a few feeding stations and keep them stocked? You may have more success in attracting birds that way. Put the feeders near some strategic settings, where they will land on branches. (Check around for signs of predators first, especially domestic cats.) A couple of bird baths in an otherwise dry setting will also be appreciated by the birds.

 

Bird song is a form of communication for the birds, especially during mating season. Males try to attract mates and defend their territories. If you play their song too often, a male may be frustrated trying to find a rival in one area of his territory while a rival male may be muscling in on another part of the territory. Females could also be distracted in finding the "real" male. They could be expending a lot of precious energy unnecessarily.

 

Sometimes learning a few whistles can be just as effective as a tape, I've called in chickadees, nuthatches, blackbirds...I've even had a yellow warbler land on the camera bag by my side after just two calls. The key is to not abuse it, don't harrass the birds.

[alex_p._schorsch]

I have accompanied many scientists and pro birdwatchers using this system. Basically you capture the male call. When you play it back, the bird hears his own call and believes it to be another male encroaching on his territory. He will then come down to where the loudspeaker is to "challenge" the "invader". Obviously it's pretty normal for him to behave like this, so I don't think it harms him. If you do it repeatedly to the same bird he could become stressed. I would only do it once or max twice to the same bird in the same territory, than would move on. It's best to do this in the mating season when the birds are vocalizing actively. It's best to use a shotgun mike which is a uni-directional long type. Normally the birds come in very close to about 8 feet and stay for a few seconds (like max 20) so you can take a quick shot or make a positive identification with binocs. I've also seen people call birds in using pre-recorded tapes which also seems to work well. The major problem is an effective way of accessing these tapes or cd's in a fast and efficient way. Probably the cd player will have a digital system which makes this easier. I've seen many people blow a shot because they can't find the right track at the right time. Normally you need a minimum 400mm lens.Marantz makes a "state of the art" mini CD recorder which has a built in speaker which is considered to be the best field unit although it cost almost a grand. I've seen professionals who use Nagras so that they can keep a copy for universities and museums and such (Nagras weigh a ton). Good luck, but please respect the birds. I'm sure you will get interesting results which I hope you share with us. FWIW. Cheers

[mbeebee]

Hi Henry,

 

I�m a doctoral student, and my thesis research is specifically on how birds use song for communication (I study yellow warblers). I have literally years of experience using song playback to get birds to respond, though I�ve never used it in conjunction with photography (I just don�t have a big enough lens). As mentioned above, most songbirds use song to attract females during the breeding season, and to defend their territories against other males. Birds (usually males) respond to the playback because they think another male is in his territory, and they are trying to find it so they can chase it out or kill it (sorry, but it�s true�it�s tough to be a bird). With that in mind:

 

1. Some people feel that using song playback is stressful on the birds. It is. By definition. A male will respond because he thinks there is an intruder in his territory, which directly challenges his reproductive success, which is a big deal. He is not flying around looking for a friend; he�s flying around looking for a fight, and that�s stressful. Having said that, I think it�s perfectly fine to play several songs to attract a bird to a location, and bring him in a little closer. If you combine this with careful observation beforehand on where the bird likes to be anyway (males often sing from favorite perches, for example), you can go a long way to getting good shots. However, I would not continue to play songs once the bird has arrived. Continuing to play songs will frustrate the bird and be stressful since he can�t find the intruder. In the worst-case scenario, you might cause a bird to abandon his territory, thinking he has encountered the mother of all birds. Don�t do this. This is especially true when using owl calls. The reason birds respond to these calls is because they think an owl is nearby that�s trying to eat their babies. That�s pretty stressful, too. Along those lines, if you see a nest, stay away from it.

 

2. You don�t need to invest a lot of money in high-end recording equipment (which can quickly run into thousands of dollars). Anything that reproduces the song loud and clear enough for the bird to recognize will work. Some of my colleagues even use prerecorded tapes (yes, tapes) and a small boombox. It works fine. The best test: try it out. If it works, you�re in business. Any of the CDs will work, but the quickest road to success is to target a particular species so you aren�t fumbling around looking for the right song. The worst thing about using songs from a CD is that the songs of many birds vary geographically, and some species discriminate against these different versions. For example, if the song was recorded from the West Coast, and you play it to an East Coast bird, depending on the species, he may not respond as much, if at all. I wouldn�t worry about this too much.

 

3. I don�t know of any specific references, but to be honest, I�ve never looked, since this is what I do for a living (if you can call it that).

 

4. You�re effort will be best spent focusing on songbirds, the Passerines, since they use song the most. I wouldn�t spend much time trying to attract pigeons or eagles. Within this group, there is a lot of variation--both among and within species--in the degree to which birds respond to song. As you suspected, most of your success will be during the breeding season, since this is the context in which song is used most often; depending on the species and location, this can be any time between February and September in the Eastern US. (This is another good reason to know thy bird beforehand; there�s no point in trying to get yellow warblers to respond to playback in September, because the adults have already left to go back south. You might get a few curious and scraggly fledglings, but that�s about it. Go out and see who is singing, and target those birds.) Some birds in the Eastern US may respond year-round, such as the Carolina wren, but most tend to take it easy during the fall and winter months. I can tell you from experience that both yellow warblers and song sparrows can respond quite well to playbacks during the breeding season; red-winged blackbirds are also pretty aggressive.

 

I think the suggestion about the birdfeeders and birdbaths is a great one, since it also gives you more control on where the bird will be. Use song playback as an aid, but be careful not to overdo it. Learning as much as you can about the natural history and behavior of the birds you are trying to photography will be the single most important thing you can do. That will give you something to do this winter.

 

Good Luck!

 

Martin

 

[bob_royse]

I have used tapes to call in birds at times. All the previously mentioned warnings and considerations in regard to not subjecting the bird to stress can't be emphasized enough.

 

I find photographing passerines with the use of tapes works best just when the bird arrrives on territory in the spring. There's a narrow corridor of time for each species depending on what species you want to photograph and where in its range you are. Once the birds are paired up and nesting, it becomes harder to call them in and it also may cause more stress, especially if they're feeding young. From a photographic point of view, early spring is also best, since many birds arrive to establish their territories before the trees are fully leafed out. It becomes nearly impossible to photograph something like a warbler in a forest interior once deciduous vegetation is full. Migrants rarely respond to tapes. Of course, don't play the tape very long, and never repeatedly play the tape on the same bird at different times. Obviously, if the bird is carrying food to a nest, get out of there fast. Do your studying first. Take time to listen to the bird's territorial boundaries, find a nicely lit spot, and give it a try ONCE. Don't go back the next day because the light may be better. Find a different bird. Of course, don't play tapes where it's illegal, such as some nature reserves and national parks, or other heavily birded areas where a few individuals may be sujbect to constant playing of tapes. There are countless vast state and national forests that are seldom birded that offer opporunities to study birds on their breeding grounds. It's best to photograph species at the center of their ranges where they're most abundant, and not isolated rarities at the periphery on their ranges. Sometimes it may take dozens of tries to find one that makes a good photographic subject.

 

 

Again, if the bird seems stressed, stop immediately. Stressed birds may flit about the treetops frantically and will probably never come in close to you for a nice pose. Some stressed birds will just sit there with its beak wide opened like it's panting. Stop immediately if you see that too. Other birds may come in and sing for you and those usually make the best subjects.

 

Of the available tapes, the Stokes is better than the Peterson's, since it gives longer examples. I usually just make my own tapes. Good mikes can be puchased from Mineroff Electronics. They offer kits in the $1000 range that give you everything you need to get started. Their website is :

 

http://www.mineroff.com/

[alain hogue]

Hi Henry,

 

Those are the rules that I follow:

 

Do not use birdcall recordings where other photographers have preceded you or will follow you.

 

At all times, only use recordings with restraint. Using recordings may possibly be harmful to birds during times of reproduction, or when weather conditions are difficult and they strive for survival.

 

A bird disrupted by a recording will often expose itself by leaving cover, and its natural vigilance towards predators can be seriously affected.

 

Alain Hogue

[craig l]

I can't address your original question, but I can offer some advice; I am a birder as well as a photographer. This past summer my wife bought a mister (you know; a doohickey that sprays a mist of water.) We set that up, with a bit of a catch basin beneath it, and propped a stick up near the mist and over the basin. I have a blind set up about 6' away, and am getting frame filling images with a 400mm lens and 1.4 teleconverter. It's nothing short of amazing, especially during dry periods. I'll be following your thread, since I too have considered using recordings. Hope this was helpful.