To pish or not to pish

You Pishing at me?

Pishing is a term for making noises (and they can only be called noises) that mimic the scolding calls of birds.  Basically, it’s creating the sound of a threatened bird, which in turn draws birds in.  Most people I’ve spoken to have first encountered pishing on a bird watching trip, and generally are amazed with its success.

It may seem odd that birds actually come closer when hearing a threatening call, but some believe it’s a sort of a “mob behavior”.  Birds draw closer to a fight, rather than retreat, almost like school children encircling a bully to show how strong and fearless they are.

After reading the book The Art of Pishing, by Pete Dunne and watching several Pishing demonstration videos (video lecture and demonstration by Pete Dunne below), I decided to try pishing myself in my own backyard.

I headed to the most wooded area of my backyard and began making the pish-pish-pish sound.  Within 30 seconds a nuthatch lit upon a large oak branch above my head, and proceeded to give me what I can only describe as the evil eye.  I had clearly struck a nerve in him.  I watched him for a few moments as he darted along limb hunting for insects, and felt somewhat relieved as he flew away, my eyes still intact.

This experience made me a believer in pishing.  But it also made me understand that pishing should be done selectively, and that it does in fact cause stress to the wild birds.  It should not be done in an area with an active nest, as it could draw the parent away from the nest and leave it open to predators.  There’s also a very good chance that if your neighbors see you pishing, they might think you’ve finally lost your marbles.

Here’s a video lecture from Pishing expert Pete Dunne, which includes an impromptu pishing session in the parking lot of the venue.

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