The most dangerous encounter I had while watching birds was with a human, actually three of them. Long story short, I was working in California researching Acorn Woodpeckers. I was spending 3-6 hours in a blind observing feeding behaviors (as cooperative breeders, Acorn Woodpeckers live in large kin-based groups in which many of the members, both breeders and nonbreeding helpers, assist with duties such as feeding the young). I was in blind with a spotting scope aimed at a nest cavity high up in a tree. My blind was positioned close to a rural road that went through the research reserve I was working at. After a couple hours in the blind I heard voices from the road demanding that I come out of the blind right away. After a bit of arguing and saying I was working and busy, I stepped out of my blind only to see three police officers positioned about 8 feet away from me, each with their gun drawn and pointed directly at me!!! It turned out a bicyclist rode past my blind and mistook my spotting scope for a sniper rifle scope and called the police. After being handcuffed, searched, and put in the back of a cop car it took about 20 minutes to explain the situation to the cops. They didn't believe me until they found my notebook filled with field notes. It was quite the experience to say the least! Check out the front page of the local newspaper documenting the incident.
