Conservation Group Decries Birdwatchers Using Smartphone App to Lure Birds

A smartphone app for birdwatchers designed to mimic the call of the nightjar is being decried by a wildlife conservation group in Britain, which says using the app is ethically questionable and "shows no respect" for the bird, the BBC reported.

Visitors to Brownsea Island have reportedly been trying to lure the nightjar with the app so that they could photograph it. Male nightjars attract mates with a loud "churring" call that contains 1,900 notes per minutes.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says that use of the app may distract birds from vital tasks.

"Repeatedly playing a recording of birdsong or calls to encourage a bird to respond in order to see it or photograph it can divert a territorial bird from other important duties, such as feeding its young," Tony Whitehead, a spokesperson for the RSPB told the BBC.

"It is selfish and shows no respect to the bird. People should never use playback to attract a species during its breeding season," he said, adding that he was sure visitors would be upset if they knew their actions could interfere with wildlife.

Hilary Wilson, of iSpiny, the developer of the "Chirp!" bird call app, said the app was a learning tool and that "we welcome this discussion into the ethics of using recorded songs."

She told the BBC that the bird songs apps are intended as learning and identifying bird songs and calls, "but we realize that they may be used to encourage birds to respond."

"We urge great caution - birdsong is simply a pleasant sound to human ears, but to birds it is a powerful means of communication... the issue with recordings is simple - out of consideration for both the birds and fellow birdwatchers, just keep the volume low."