birding ethics, unintentional disturbance, and potential harmful effects on birds

Every year the topic of reporting roosting owls and other "sensitive species" is raised again when birders find and report locations of Long-eared Owls as well as some other species.

Guidance on reporting species is expertly described and summarized at this eBird link.

An "Issues Paper" prepared by the WBCI Issues Committee is also available, here.

To provide some background on the current science regarding the impacts and effects of potentially excessive disturbance to birds, see the following linked publications: 

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/43m7b2d5#page-7

http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3bio205/conservation_physiology.pdf

http://mmc.gov/drakes_estero/pdfs/jouranimalecology_04.pdf

http://obpa-nc.org/DOI-AdminRecord/0050268-0050280.pdf

https://mmc.gov/drakes_estero/pdfs/conservationecology_02.pdf