Field birding and digital objects: immaterial technologies and their implications for one practice of coming to know the more-than-human

Abstract

This paper focuses on the implications of two emerging digital technologies on the act of field birding, and the implications of these objects for thinking about wild birds. While the adoption of new immaterial technologies promises to improve the ease with which birding is practiced, their use leads to new ethical considerations. Using the Internet to share bird sightings, for example, lowers the barrier of entry to access this information. Therefore, bird sightings proliferate, often with little thought to the consequences of birders visiting the reported birds’ location. A digital image, captured by digital cameras, perhaps marks the greatest change. With the adoption of a digital camera the nature of identification is effectively changed: captured images remove birds from the field and their broader ecological context. Given that birding is proposed as a way for western culture to reconnect with the more-than-human world, these digital objects promise to redefine a relationship with birds and the larger natural world.

Keywords:

• birding
• ethics
• Internet
• digital photography
• bird conservation
• Ontario
• LISTSERV
• field birding
• digital objects
• nature
• actor-network theory
• community of practice
• technology
• environmental education

Notes

1. Participants’ names have been changed to ensure their anonymity.