#birding ethics

So I’m planning a road trip along PCH to chase some lifers and I’ve been conflicted about using playback. My setup is a Wildlife Acoustics recorder with a Lark Babbler app—works decent for attracting stuff like Townsend’s Warbler. But I’ve seen folks lose their minds over playback being ‘disrespectful’ to birds. Like, sure, maybe overuse stresses them, but if it helps me see a Rufous-sided Towhee in Big Sur without hiking 3 hours, is that a bad trade? I’ve got a pair of Zeiss 8x42s but even they struggle in dense fog. Any hardcore birders here who feel STRONG about this? I’m leaning toward using it sparingly, but curious if others think it ruins the ‘pursuit’ part of birding. (Also, should I splurge on the $500 Sennheiser mics for better clarity or just stick with my $100 iPhone setup?)