bird hide
{{Short description|Shelter to observe birds}}
File:Belvide-gazebo.jpg's Belvide Reservoir reserve.]]
A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of birdwatchers, ornithologists and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed.
A typical bird hide resembles a garden shed, with small openings, shutters, or windows built into at least one side to enable observation. However, because birds do not recognize humans as predatory threats unless the human is standing in the open, a bird blind can be little more than a large shed open on one side in which birders stand, and motor vehicles are effective blinds even with the windows open.
Variants
Types of bird hide include:
- tower hides, which have multiple stories and allow observations over large areas.
- bird blinds, which are screens similar to one wall of a typical hide, with or without a roof for shelter.
- machans, covered platforms erected to observe birds and wildlife in high trees or on cliffs, particularly in India where they were originally used by tiger-hunters.{{Cite web|title=Photographing Birds at Nest |url=http://www.geocities.com/rs_suresh/article.html |date=2009-10-27 |access-date=2015-07-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027111333/http://www.geocities.com/rs_suresh/article.html
|archive-date=October 27, 2009 }}
- portable hides, tent-like structures made of fabric arranged on a frame, often used by photographers.{{cite web |url=https://www.jamesdoylephoto.com/photography-hide/ |title=Photography Hides for Nature Photography: Do you need them? |publisher=James Doyle Photography |access-date=22 November 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
File:BirdhideCorsDyfi-01s.jpg|Bird hide in Cors Dyfi nature reserve
File:BirdhideCorsDyfi-02s.jpg|Bird hide in Cors Dyfi nature reserve
File:Birdwatching bird hide blind.jpg|Blind hide in Chiba, Japan
File:Camouflaged hide.jpg|Camouflaged hide in Kerse Castle, East Ayrshire, Scotland
File:Bird Hide, Saltram, Plymouth.jpg|Bird hide in Saltram Park, Plymouth
File:Bird Hides, Stert Point - geograph.org.uk - 3285466.jpg|Bird Hide, Stert point
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Bird hides}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061219191434/http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/infosheets/08_hides.pdf Birds Australia Information Sheet No.8]
Category:Ornithological equipment and methods
{{Hunting topics}}
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