Boat-billed Flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua), 2012. Image: Todd Forsgren '03.
No birds are harmed in the works of photographer and Maryland Institute College of Art professor Todd Forsgren ’03, who accompanies biologists into the field as they catch wild birds in mist nets.
“It’s kind of like guerrilla 4×5 photography,” Forsgren tells Time. “I basically give myself ten minutes or so to set up and take the photographs so that biologists can get to the birds as quickly as possible so they don’t get stressed out.”
Forsgren’s work is highlighted in a Time feature that includes a slideshow of his work. His ornithological work recently was part of Winging It, a group show at Heiner Contemporary in Washington, D.C.
Just Outstanding!
When a bird is mist netted it is immediately stressed out. Responsible researchers remove birds from mist nets as quickly as possible. To claim that the birds are not harmed when they are left in the net for an extra “ten minutes or so” is disingenuous at best. The Boat-billed Flycatcher used to illustrate this article is clearly stressed and struggling. How is that not harmful?
This is cruelty.
This is absurd. Banding is meant to be conducted in a strictly scientific manner. The pros and cons of banding are frequently debated, but it is undeniable that the cons outweigh the pros in a situation where the birds are left hanging for an additional ten minutes for no reason other than satisfying some photographer. Banding is an activity for scientists, not artists.
This is not art and this idiot is not an artists.He should be arrested