All they announced today is that they are adding a choice node to summon a traditional pet. So you have a choice between whatever talent is going to tie into spotter’s mark or you lose that talent and instead get the traditional pet. The assumption right now is that the spotter’s mark talent is going to do more damage than a single pet can. That means your gun does more damage than the pet.
As for the bird… It’s still a thing. I don’t like it either.