A request on behalf of sensitive species

[Craig Kesselheim]

Hi all - There have so far been 4 eBirders who have visited a known nesting American Goshawk's territory on MDI this month. Two of those eBird records have included photographs and recordings. According to the notes added to those eBird lists, no playback has been used. But for Goshawks and many other nesting species, a visitor is by definition a provocation. This species requires an expansive and contiguous area for its territory, and those patches of our island (and elsewhere in Maine) are getting pinched a little further every year. 

Our presence, especially in the earliest weeks of nesting, is stressful. Conceivably, too many visitations by well-intentioned birders would dissuade a pair of Goshawks from returning to their chosen territory.

None of us walks the ABA Code of Ethics perfectly, but ... These Goshawks' success is more important than our year lists. Please steer clear. Revel in the knowledge of their presence; that can be enough.

Thanks,

Craig Kesselheim

Southwest Harbor