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BIRDCHAT for Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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Subject: Canadian Environmental Tragedy Killing Migratory Birds
(link)
From: Devorah Bennu <birdologist(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 30 Apr 2008 11:13am
Hey everyone,
I just learned about this terrible tragedy that is happening right across the
border in Canada;
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/04/syncrude_tries_to_duck_disaste.php
GrrlScientist
Devorah
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/
Roosting high up a tree somewhere in Central Park, NYC
____________________________________________________________________________________
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[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: RE: Canadian Environmental Tragedy Killing
Migratory Birds (link)
From: "Barry K. MacKay" <mimus(AT)sympatico.ca>
Date: 30 Apr 2008 12:53pm
Right across the border indeed (as well as on your side). The cull is
taking place to save "rare Carolinian plants" that are only rare in the
sense that they are at the northern limit of their range. The border is
something less than a 100 metres....a football field's length...south of the
island. Were it just a tiny bit further north...a fraction of a mile, those
plants would not be considered rare (which does not mean that the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service wouldn't be doing the killing instead of Parks Canada.)
The irony is that I suspect those plants wouldn't be there were it not for
cormorants, since the thin soil of Middle Island has organic materials that
suggest earlier colonization by birds. The problem is that there is no
record of birds on Middle Island prior to 1908, and at that time the only
colonial nesting waterbird species on the island was the Common Tern (now
absent; there are cormorants, night-herons, egrets, Great Blue Herons and
Herring Gulls).
The federal and provincial wildlife management community has it firmly fixed
in its collective mind that the Double-crested Cormorant is not a native
breeding species in the Great Lakes. That's absurd, but the knowledge we
have of the birds of the region in the early 19th century, and earlier, is
very, very poor, compared to other parts of North America. We do know that
the first three editions of the AOU checklist included the Great Lakes in
the breeding range of the species; we do know that the first book on the
birds of Ontario listed them as a breeding species producing "immense"
numbers of young in Ontario lakes; we do know that the bones of the species
were dug out of a kitchen midden on the Niagara Peninsula, squarely between
Lakes Erie and Ontario, dating to the 16th century; we do know that the
species was sketched by an early 19th century naturalist who lived in
southern Ontario, between Rice Lake and Toronto, and we do know that the
species bred in Ohio, in large numbers, and that includes Sundusky Bay,
which opens into Lake Erie and is arguably parts of the Great Lakes...but
none of that matters. The official version is that they did not start
nesting in the Great Lakes until 1913, earliest...and spread east until hit
by DDT after WWII, and are now "hyperabundant", although a recent well done
study indicates there were more in North America prior to the 20th Century
than after.
It shouldn't matter -- bird populations do change, but the argument goes
that the "primal" or natural state of Middle Island is the state it was in a
few years ago, with more trees than would be there with cormorants. Thus,
it is seen as "restoration" to kill off most of the birds, so that the
island can continue to look as it did when cormorants were very few in
number.
That makes no sense to me. There is absolutely nothing unnatural about
cormorants nesting on an island in a lake! We know they (and a heck of a
lot of other Carolinian fauna and flora) were hugely persecuted through the
19th century, and unfortunately by the time naturalists competent to record
them were present in the Great Lakes, they were mostly gone, I fear, and now
it is thought by the decision-makers that they weren't here in the first
place...although it is never really explained why a fish-eating waterbird
found from BC to Labrador and from James Bay (there is a 19th Century
breeding record from James Bay on the Quebec side) to the West Indies and
Mexico, would avoid the largest source of fresh-water fish in the world.
They are vilified because their excrement kills trees (it also kills
bacteria, it appears, and like vultures, who excrete on their feet to help
reduce pathogens, the highly acidic nature of cormorant excrement serves a
biological function of value to them and other birds in the colony), and
because they eat fish. One favourite, though unproved, theory of wildlife
managers is that they benefit from the agricultural subsidy of catfish farms
on their wintering ground, and very accessible non-native Alewives (and,
recently, Round Gobies) in the Great Lakes, and thus their numbers are
inflated. But looking at early records of Great Lakes fisheries it seems to
me incomprehensible that they had less accessible fish biomass prior to
Europeans arriving in the Great Lakes, than after.
The vilification is endless. Just recently I found a report by COSEWIC
about the Lake Erie Watersnake, an endemic race of Northern Watersnake found
only on the Lake Erie Islands (COSEWIC is the supposedly independent body
that advises the Canadian federal government on rare or endangered species),
in which a provincial employee discusses a dead snake found with bird pecks
on its body. This is an island with lots of gulls and herons, but the
species speculated about was...yep...the cormorant...the only colonial
nesting waterbird species on the island that does not eat snakes! (And BTW,
the snakes are thriving -- they also love Round Gobies -- and there is no
indication that cormorants threaten them in any way).
We took Parks Canada to court because it had not done what it is legally
mandated to do, but we lost...the court essentially ruled that they could do
what they choose to do because, in effect, they are their own authority.
Now we'll be on the hook for court costs, but we had to do something. The
shooters are using .117 rifles, which is smaller than a .22, and will, I'm
sure, cause even more wounding. My friends are trying to document things,
legally, because it seems unless we show just how cruel and bloody these
culls are, no one much cares. So far there is little opposition to culling
in the U.S., but I happen to know that there is immense pressure on Canadian
by the U.S. authorities to "do something", since the Americans want to knock
the continental population down by about half (although exactly how many
there are is uncertain). The pork-barrel catfish farm lobby of the southern
U.S. is, it seems, quite powerful.
Barry
Barry Kent MacKay
Markham, Ontario, Canada
> -----Original Message-----
> From: National Birding Hotline Cooperative (Chat Line)
> [mailto:BIRDCHAT(AT)LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Devorah Bennu
> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:12 PM
> To: BIRDCHAT(AT)LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Subject: [BIRDCHAT] Canadian Environmental Tragedy Killing
> Migratory Birds (link)
>
> Hey everyone,
>
> I just learned about this terrible tragedy that is happening
> right across the border in Canada;
>
> http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/04/syncrude_tries_t
> o_duck_disaste.php
>
> GrrlScientist
> Devorah
> http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/
> Roosting high up a tree somewhere in Central Park, NYC
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> ______________________
> Be a better friend, newshound, and
> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
> http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>
> BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html
> Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1404 - Release
> Date: 4/29/2008 6:27 PM
>
>
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
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Subject: RFI
From: "Bob Cirillo" <rcirillo(AT)cableone.net>
Date: 30 Apr 2008 2:46pm
I am leaving on a trip to Jaco, Costa Rica on 06/09/08.I would like to bird
at least 2 maybe 3 days.Does anyone have recommendations for birding
hotspots and English speaking guides for this area??
Bob Cirillo
Sun City, Arizona
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Subject: CANADIAN ATTITUDE TO CORMORANTS.
From: The RIDERS <rider(AT)xcelco.on.ca>
Date: 30 Apr 2008 3:02pm
Hi Chatters.
I totally support the suggestion that the
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS be culled on Middle Island in Lake Erie.
Reason--They will destroy what is left of the Carolinian ecosystem
on Middle Island.
The same 'tree huggers' were against any WHITE-TAILED DEER culls in
Ontario which have been proved to be very successful in restoring
habitat, conserving the gene pool in the soil, the health of the
forest and improved the size and health of the deer themselves. Now
they are not half starved at the beginning of the winter, and none
are starving locally now.
We most likely will not re-introduce GRAY WOLVES into the deer areas
of Ontario to control the deer population. So culls have to be done.
When BALD EAGLES re-establish a territory on Middle Island, it is
possible that the problem of Cormorants will be solved.
Until then---
Down with Cormorants- Here is to success by the Eagles or Gunners,
whichever comes first!
Enjoy your Birding.
Alf.
PS. It is also time for a MUTE SWAN cull too. As taxpayers we have
supported the re-introduction of TRUMPETER SWANS into Ontario which
are a native species, and yet the Ontario Government protects the
destructive and agressive alien MUTES. Is it because they are
alleged to be unable to speak for themselves? Actually they can and
one was vocalising loudly on Kettle Point eight weeks ago!
My joy is that Kettle Point being a Chippewa Reserve, comes under the
Federal Government and so--- Mute Swan for Christmas. If the Queen
can have one, why not us?
Cheers.
Alf.
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[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Canadian Environmental Tragedy Killing Migratory Birds.
From: The RIDERS <rider(AT)xcelco.on.ca>
Date: 30 Apr 2008 3:18pm
Hello Chatters.
There seems to have been an attempted
cover-up by those in power to prevent the facts being reported.
It looks like 500 birds were killed by an oily pond.
The law is specific about what has to be done to prevent birds from
landing in and and becoming contaminated by such toxic waters. This
was not done. Period.
So let us see the culprit in court? Probably not--too rich, too important?
The oil produced from these Alberta Tar Sands comes at the cost of
possibly the worst Environmental pollution in Canada. The Alberta
politicians are also trying to cover this up.
Not many of us 'general public' can get to see this dreadful mess on
the land.
Rant over.
Alf.
Forest
Ontario.
Canada.
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Subject: [Fwd: [Ontbirds]Pelee - Tram Changes]
From: bruce <brucep(AT)mnsi.net>
Date: 30 Apr 2008 3:21pm
FYI
Good Birding
Bruce
B and B's Bed and Breakfast
216 Erie St South
Wheatley (around the corner from Pt Pelee)
Ontario N0P2P0
800-851-3406
www.mnsi.net/~brucep
www.bandbsbandb.com
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Ontbirds]Pelee - Tram Changes
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:24:50 -0400
From: Michael Carlson <mecec(AT)comcast.net>
Reply-To: mecec(AT)comcast.net
Organization: MEC Environmental Consulting
To: ontbirds(AT)hwcn.org <ontbirds(AT)hwcn.org>
This email was approved by the Ontbirds coordinator.
Birders,
Those planning to come to Point Pelee this year should be aware of
changes in the operation of the tram or transport from the Visitor
Centre to the Tip. These changes are as follows:
1) There will only be one two-car tram operating every 20 minutes.
The other transports were deemed unsafe and were taken off the road.
This means there will be no second tram to handle overflows on the
peak weekends in May as in the past,. For at least the first two
weekends in May, it may be wise to plan on taking the tram 20 minutes
before the time you are interested in. This way you will likely be in
the queue for the tram time you want. According to Marian Stranak,
Superintendent of Point Pelee National Park, the park is negotiating
with a local bus company to provide transport in the unlikely event
that the existing tram fails.
2) The last tram will leave the Visitor Centre at 5 pm. (The first
one still will leave at 6 am until May 20, when it leaves at 10 am.)
3) The tram will no longer stop at the halfway point for people to
embark or disembark.
4) Parks Canada HQ this year rejected Point Pelee's request for a new
transport system, according to Ms. Stranak. She is hopeful and
indicated that the park is committed to trying to implement a new
system. A Friends of Point Pelee representative indicated to me
recently that the organization is considering the possibility of
raising funds for a new tram.
Ms. Stranak indicated that park staff will be looking closely at user
comments concerning the changes in the tram schedule, and assured me
that the park would reconsider these changes if they adversely
affected visitors' experience of the park, based on feedback
received.
Blessings,
Mike Carlson
Royal Oak, MI
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php
ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at
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