There were a few of us that put in hours watching, protecting and waiting for the eventful day.
Well it happened on Saturday a few of us were there to capture the moment, and we knew a few more or so would be there on Sunday to capture the hatching of the last 2 Killdeer eggs. Well it didn't happen, an over zealous "Newbie" some might of dubbed him, managed to chase the parents and the 2 chicks off the nest and harass them to the point of never returning. We let the person know there were 2 more eggs that needed to be incubated and they needed to back off, but I guess the shots were more important. I can understand getting excited, but people please. Have some common sense. This might be no big deal to some or overstating a point but...
What? Can this be true? Some selfish thoughtless idiot harrassed the parents and chicks to the point where they abandoned the nest and the remaining 2 eggs? I don't care who the culprit might be, even waterboarding would be too lenient for him. I was one of the many who visited on Saturday afternoon and all of us present kept a respectful distance. It's a d**n shame that all that time waiting and watching events had to end up like this. Because of the location --- right off the main pathway --- I was afraid some jogger or such would accidentally trod on the nest, and that would have been slightly-more forgiveable than this, which was entirely controllable by the offending party. Excited is one thing, having no common sense is another. At the very least, this person's Bolsa Chica privileges should be revoked for at least 1 year. Thanks for letting us know, Tim. Just wish it wouldn't have ended this way...
Tim - thanks for the great PS work! Yep, this person's act caused others from out of town to miss their chance of photographing this family. There are some us who have waited for years for the opportunity to capture the cracking of the egg on digital.
On the bright side, at least we know that the 2 young chicks are safe with their parents!
I was supposed to go down Saturday. It's a long drive for me. I'm at the top most northern end of City of Los Angeles & in good traffic it's 1 hr 15 minutes to drive down there. Once it took me three hours.
I could not go yesterday. I was flat on my back most of the day in bed with a horrible headache which would not let up. Knowing there were two more eggs to hatch, I was very hopeful I'd get a good look at them & some sweet Killdeer shots if I could make it down today Sunday.
So down I drove today & met up with a photography friend. As it turned out a lady we had met before came at the same time. I told them we were in for a treat. We were on our way out to the nest when Livia makes me aware to the fact that someone is calling out to me. It's Ken & Tim. Ken looks at me & tells me - - "I know why you're here. You're too late." I could only think of asking Ken "What, too late How can that be" Then I'm told the whole story. My friend Stephen (who's still lurking & needs to stop doing that & start posting), Livia & I were all chocked.
We went to the nest with the two deserted eggs - - none of us could stomach taking shots of the two deserted eggs. I handled them both & they were "warm" from the sun, but with the strong & cool winds......... I contemplated taking them home by putting them on my body to keep them warm. Then to have my lovebirds incubate them. They would...... They're good mothers..... But I knew that the eggs had been exposed to the elements from 8 am & it was by then well after 3 pm. So we left them....
Later I called my husband who had more than a few well chosen words about this person harassing the young family. Livia, Stephen & I walked all over Bolsa Chica - - we did not see the Killdeer family anywhere.
What would we do if we were chased We'd run & keep running..... That's what the Killdeer family did. What does you dog do when you chase it It keeps running. Best is to sit down & call him/her back to you.
This is sad & unfortunate. I can only hope Mr & Mrs Killdeer are capable of locating safe locations for their two remaining chicks. This is a nature reserve - - not a nature harass - - area. This is land set aside for wildlife & they are top priority there. Something obviously this person has not understood.......
It's a sad day........ A very sad day..... Now my thoughts of good luck is extended to the little Killdeer family & I hope all works out well for them
Thang, sad I missed you. Tim - glad to have met you. Ken - - good to see you again.
That's terrible. It's guys like this that give the rest of us wildlife photographers a bad image, especially at SJWS. I've often been harrassed by zelous audubon birding people if I step one foot off the designated trail to get a low level shot. I have common sense and a deep respect for the birds/wildlife and would never do anything that would cause stress especially when it comes to sensitive nesting birds. But unfortunately it's incidents like this that reflect badly on all of us as a whole. It's a sad day for the killdeer family and for us as nature photographers...
It's been with great enjoyment that I've been watching the various threads of these birds. These birds have been enjoyed all around the world because of the images presented by people here on FM and on other forums.
I hope the person responsible is a member of one of these forums and learns of just what and why it has transpired.
The only good I see from this situation is that more people will become aware of the drastic effects their actions can have on the world around them.
We have a couple people like this at Wildwood lake park in PA. If they find/here about a nest they will completely strip away any cover around the nest to get a nice clear shot. Of course this causes the nest to predated very quickly, but they don't care, they got the shot. This is why I only share nest locations with two trusted photographers and non photographer-passer bys who I know wouldn't have any reason to disturb the nest.
Tim -
Great Photoshop work. Just like we discussed. I hope that this thread will serve to educate other novices that the concern for the subjects should come BEFORE their desire to get some meaningless shots. I say meaningless because by leaving them alone, we were all able to get great shots (even those with shorter focal lengths). But by chasing them all over the place with a moderate telephoto lens, I'm sure that the shots needed a lot of cropping from that distance. So, for those less than ideal shots, two eggs were sacrificed!!! (And countless hours of egg-sitting time by a number of people who were hoping to get a rare opportunity to record a hatching). Now the adults and the two chicks that hatched are not even around for other photographers to enjoy! (I did not see them return to the area for the rest of the day).
Let this post be a Public Service post and a warning to others.
- Ken
I believe I recognize Brother Rusty in full raiment in that shot. Those crucifix's are clearly Nikon models (one long telephoto and another for CIF's--Converts in Flight)--but Bro Rusty must have been traveling light--I only see two.
Very sorry to hear about this.
It sounds like the person was made aware of the consequences of their actions but just didn't care which even really more tragic.
But perhaps some good will come of this in that decent folks who frequent this board will have a greater awareness of the privelege that nature provides for us and be just a little more respectful towards it. Maybe it will allow us to become better stewards and help educate those don't understand.
How can that be