Hi All, I’m new here and look forward to hearing from you.
We have set up our backyard for wildlife to visit. We have a small pond with a bubbler and several kinds of bird feeders. Turkeys come to our yard several times a day for water and so do the deer. Are the feeders and pond considered baiting?
Thank you!
I’d say no. Certainly not the pond. In my mind, baiting suggests a set-up that benefits the photographer, not the wildlife, which isn’t the case here. Sounds as if you have set up a nice wildlife environment for both you and the fauna to enjoy.
I agree with Allen on this one - feeding birds is pretty universal and lots of people extend that to added perches and water features, too. Setting up a nice blind and a chair is an excellent way to relax and watch nature at work, even if they don’t have to work too hard since it’s a “free” meal. I think ethically, you’re off the hook on this one.
Barbara, I wouldn’t consider this baiting. I have a small hide and I have a large size, home-made bird bath set up down my paddock. I check and refill the water almost every day when we’re home and I throw a little seed around irregularly. The water is the real attractant.
Apart from many birds, I get possums, wallabies, kangaroos and the feral foxes as well as feral cats. The cats and foxes are a real problem because they know that small animals and birds frequent the waterer. I don’t know whether you will have the same problems.
Hi Barbara: I hope not or I’d be exiled from the site for too many baited images. I do try to keep the obviously man-made features out of my images as much as possible, so my water features are designed to look as natural as possible and I usually photograph the birds on natural perches set up near the feeders and water features rather than on the feeders. People usually only get upset about baiting when it’s live bait like a mouse to attract owls or raptors. For some reason, live mealworms, which I’ve fed to Bluebirds, don’t raise any hackles.
Thank you all for your responses. I am relieved that backyard photos can be seen here. I take at least half of my photos in the backyard!