Photographing Nesting Birds

That time of the year again, and shorebirds and other species are raising the young. As photographers, we all would like to have images of this important phase of bird behavior, but we have to also consider out ethics and above all, the welfare of the birds.
First, there's a lot of differences between countries and the distance that needs to be kept from nesting birds and how used birds are to humans is another factor to consider.

Let's have Florida, for example, and I'm sure there are other locations where this holds true. Lots of shorebirds nest in public beaches. The nesting area gets cordoned off, but this barrier only works for us, not for the birds, who tend to ignore the boundaries. Snowy Plovers, for instance, are considered endangered by the State of Florida. But they nest in Sanibel Beach, a very popular place for swimmers, joggers, and shell collectors. These tiny puff balls are not fed when they fledge. The are taught to forage immediately, and being born in a public beach makes them totally fearless to humans, bicycles, boards or even dogs.
I have been on the sand, lying on my belly with my telephoto, and a two inch chick has come to check out my lens, almost getting inside my hood, making it impossible for my to photograph him.

Do we need to give them more space than the ropes allow? Of course, any responsible photographer knows the signs of stress in animals, it's not like they are shy about it :)

Giving priority to the bird's welfare should be part of everyone's field ethics, but at the same time, give others the benefit of the doubt when we see an image of chicks or nests, there's a big chance that the birds were not disturbed.

How it this situation on your area? What are your thoughts on the topic?

A few years ago I was photographing terns in flight and there was a roped-off area nearby. Other people were there photographing, too, completely focused on the birds in flight. One of them inadvertently got quite close to a nesting Piping Plover and did not notice that the bird left the nest (it was a chilly morning). I told him about it and he immediately left the nesting bird. In other words, it's good to have ropes but we should not assume that we need to go this close if it puts undue stress on the birds. If one approaches a nesting site and a bird leaves the egg/chick or starts to dive-bomb, it is quite clear that it is time to back up.

The ABA has a guide for birding ethics with some common-sense topics: http://www.aba.org/about/abaethics.pdf

Ropes are there to cordon off an area and keep it secure, if a bird is close to the edge of the ropes and anyone goes close and it disturbs the birds then they should leave - simple as that. The bird doesn't recognise the rope and photographers should recognise it as an artificial guideline barrier not as an absolute. Although this can lead to a lengthy discussion I would suggest that people who take images for non to scientific or conversational purposes should not take images of birds at the nest. I know we can argue over distance and the use of long lenses but this will inevitably lead to various degrees of interpretation and some people will think just a one or two quick shots won't do any harm. No camera = no image = no disturbance by photographers at the nest. I suggest keep it that simple.:)

Jonathon I agree. On my visit to the Farne Islands last weekend I was disturbed by the sight of people shoving their cameras right at nesting birds and tiny chicks. The fact that the birds attack the passers-by shows just how stressed they get.