The Pretoria Conservation Birding Challenge 2002   [  Species List for electronic submission  | Who is taking part | Conservation Sites | Rules  ]   [ RESULTS  | Sign up!  |  HOME |  PRETORIA BIRDCLUB HOME ]Erectile Dysfunction |

Code of Conduct

• Challenge Participants should always respect birds and their environment. In any conflict of interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and their environment must come first.
• To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, think carefully about how your actions are affecting the birds you are atlassing. Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or for attracting any of the sensitive species listed in Appendix 2).
• If nesting behaviour is observed, spend as little time as possible recording observations, and then leave the immediate vicinity of the nest site. When leaving the area, keep disturbance of vegetation to a minimum so as not to leave a path to the nest. Sensitive bird species listed below should not under any circumstances be disturbed when breeding. If breeding behaviour is observed, i.e. carrying of food, nesting material or faecal sacs, report this as such on the Challenge form and make notes on exact locality of the site. Also contact the PCC Committee and give them the details.

Cape Vulture African Marsh Harrier Peregrine Falcon Blue Crane Red chested Flufftail Buff-spotted Flufftail Baillon's Crake White-bellied Korhaan Blue Korhaan Grass Owl

• If a rare bird has been seen on private property, ask the landowner's permission before letting others know about it. Make a note of sensitive occurrences on your form. Some landowners may object to hordes of birders queuing to see some bird on their land.
• Stay on roads, trails, and paths where they exist; otherwise keep habitat disturbance to a minimum.
• Respect the law, and the rights of others. Do not enter private property without the owner's explicit permission. Apart from it being illegal, trespassing creates a very poor impression of birders in the public eye and, since this falls under the auspices of the Pretoria Bird Club, all participants are strongly urged to first seek landowner's permission before entering their land. The majority of landowners are quite happy to accommodate birders if properly approached. One sure way to give bird conservation and birders a bad name is to ignore the laws of private property. Don't ruin someone else's chances of birding by your actions.
• All species recorded should be clearly identified either by sight or by sound, participants should keep a record of those species identified by sound alone, and enter the correct code in the submission form. Since the aim of this challenge is to establish the presence of bird populations, do not disturb birds just to get a view of them.
• The BirdLife Code of Conduct shall apply at all times.