Hitting side of nest tree to get owls out for viewing--unethical & illegal

Sadly, I can remember when more experienced birders showed me how to get a cavity nesting owl to come out so it could be seen for recreational purposes. This was some years ago when I was pretty new to birding (and birding ethics) so I don't recall who showed me this unethical behavior. Fortunately I was rarely in a position to know where there was a cavity nesting owl to disturb before I gained more experience and I also I decided that I didn't think it was a good to disturb birds.

I have asked a few birders if they are aware that this behavior might be illegal as well as unethical--they were not. So, the following comes from the USGS (United States Geologic Survey, which runs the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center) website:

"A practice used by some birders to view hole-nesting birds is to repeatedly hit the side of a nest tree, causing the adult birds to leave the hole. This activity can be considered "taking" if the bird is intentionally chased from its nest and the inadvertent death of young birds or abandonment of eggs occurs."

Specifically this would be a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712). read more here and let sleeping owls be.
SeEtta