Steve Cole Photography

My last blog post showcased some of the fruits of my first visit to Boundary Bay, British Columbia and the snowy owl irruption. This location is well known and that’s obvious if you visit on a weekend like I did. This was my first “real” attempt at wildlife photography as well as being around wildlife photographers. The experience leaves me somewhat disheartened.

Prior to visiting, I researched Boundary Bay on the internet and read some reports which mentioned that the crowds as a whole were trying to police the wayward photographers and heckle/shame them back up onto the dike/trail. I never saw or heard this during my visit but I came very close to saying something to one particular photographer. He had already traveled down to the base of the dike and just kept creeping forward to take more photos of a pair of owls. Inside I was yelling “how close is close enough?!” but those words never came out.

Who was I to say anything? I’m not really a confrontational person and, quite frankly, I wasn’t entirely without guilt. I visited some of the same off trail locations (though staying further back than any other photographers from the owls). By the end of my two day visit, I actually felt a little more guilt than pleasure from the photos I took off trail. On Sunday, there was a delightful sunrise and I was gleefully racing around attempting different compositions when it hit occurred to me that I could potentially flush a snowy owl during my quest for compositions. This did give me pause, and thankfully there wasn’t an owl anywhere close to where I was shooting.

Once sunrise was over and the light was more consistent, the wildlife photographers came out in numbers. The backlighting on the owls just didn’t work for a lot of photographers so out into the field they went. While the photographers on the dike were largely respectful, those down in the field closed the distance. It’s fortuitous that the owls can see 270 degrees around them because they needed that ability just to keep tabs on all the people closing in on them.

At a certain point, I decided to take photos of the photographers taking photos of the owls. These photos were taken before things got REALLY busy and crowded. Interestingly enough (or maybe NOT), all of the photographers shown here are male. That “get the shot” mentality seems to trump the well being of the creatures they are photographing. I have a 500mm lens and it, quite frankly, looked more like a 50mm prime lens compared to the monster behemoths that could double as a prosthesis leg.

I never saw anything as outrageous as a photographer flushing an owl so that others could photograph it but, as I review what I did come away with, my best owl photos were taken from the dike. Judge for yourself- go back to my original blog post and check out the photos linked there. In each photo description, I have a notation about where each photograph was taken (either ON or OFF TRAIL). The owls from my second day of shooting are lit from the side and behind. Is it so bad that I didn’t shoot with the sun behind me? I don’t think so.

So what can be done at Boundary Bay? Well, the most obvious solution is actual enforcement of any rules by people with authority. There are two basic “access” points for anyone choosing to get closer to the owls who perch out in the habitat between the water and the dike. Staff one person at each point along with a roaming third person (to shoo photographers back up onto the dike) and you’ve contained the issue. Unfortunately, there isn’t the money for this kind of response.

What they CAN do is be more definitive with their signage and any “barriers” that are set in place to discourage off trail exploration. During the sunrise I photographed off trail, I looked down at one point and noticed a few plastic shotgun shell wads. Can I or can’t I be here? I’m not Canadian and this was my first visit to Boundary Bay. Signs like this lead me to believe that people can access the off trail areas but need to stay clear of the snowy owls. The kiosk at the 72nd St trail head has a information graphic which states “Please give them space! Do not approach snowy owls!” Placed at distance along the dike are other signs which, again, inform the visitor about the owls and state “Do not approach, stay on the trail….On behalf of the wildlife, please cooperate.”

These signs need to be more direct and to the point. Would you be likely to stray off the dike if the signs you saw the following-

“It is unlawful to leave the trail and enter the wildlife management area. Failure to comply will result in citations and fine”

I don’t think I would. Sure, there are those that would still do it but the existence of a legal “hammer” would be good. Community policing can only do so much; in the current economic times, it can be a tall order to commit to allocating funds for the protection of wildlife. If we truly value the wildlife and what the role they play in our environment and lives, we must do more to protect them.