You could politely hand them (or stick under the windshield of their car) a copy of a code of ethics. I’ll send you (off-list) the codes from the American Birding Association and the Ontario Field Ornithologists.You could also contact the local Fish and Wildlife people while you’re still at the site and report the infraction, giving a description of the car, license number and people. (Of course, it’s possible that the people were some sort of scientists who had a legitimate reason for what they were doing - but in that case they’d probably appreciate your advocacy on behalf of the birds!).

Maeve Kim
Jericho Center


On Jan 23, 2016, at 8:41 PM, S. Zundell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> My sister and a friend were birding on a country road in an area noted for Snowy Owls not far from Ottawa, Ontario. They saw two cars parked on the roadside and noticed four people walking out into a field carrying a cooler and photo equipment. When the group stopped, they laid on their stomachs, opened the cooler and threw bait to a Snowy Owl. What can or should an observer do in this instance?