Internet hoax or real drama?
I have no way of knowing whether the email I received today has any semblance of truth. But because it contains elements of two of my favorite subjects--aviation and raptors--I thought I'd at least share the story. As we approach the anniversary of the birth of America, this piece strangely works as a metaphor for an effective national security policy. At least in a Roosevelt-esque "carry a big stick" sort of way.
Purportedly the author is from Wisconsin, flew F-4Es and F-16s in the National Guard, and was a participant in the first Gulf War. Apparently he's now a farmer. The story as it was relayed to me (with minor editing on my part)...
I went out to plant corn for a bit, to finish a field before tomorrow morning, and witnessed The Great Battle. A golden eagle - big bastard, about six-foot wingspan - flew right in front of the tractor. It was being chased by three crows that were continually dive-bombing it and pecking at it. The crows do this because the eagles rob their nests when they find them. At any rate, the eagle banked hard right in one evasive maneuver, then landed in the field about 100 feet from the tractor. This eagle stood about 3 feet tall. The crows all landed too and took up positions around the eagle, but kept their distance at about 20 feet from the big bird. The eagle would take a couple steps towards one of the crows and they'd hop backwards and forward to keep their distance.
Then the reinforcements showed up. I happened to spot the eagle's mate hurtling down out of the sky at what appeared to be approximately Mach 1.5. Just before impact the eagle on the ground took flight, and the three crows which were watching the grounded eagle, also took flight thinking they were going to get in some more pecking on the big bird. The first crow being targeted by the diving eagle never stood a snowball's chance in hell. There was a mid-air explosion of black feathers and that crow was done. The diving eagle then banked hard left in what had to be a 9G climbing turn, using the energy it had accumulated in the dive, and hit crow #2 less than two seconds later. Another crow dead.
The grounded eagle, which was now airborne and had an altitude advantage on the remaining crow, which was streaking eastward in full burner, made a short dive then banked hard right when the escaping crow tried to evade the hit. It didn't work - crow #3 bit the dust at about 20 feet altitude. This aerial battle was better than any airshow I've been to, including the warbirds show at Oshkosh! The two eagles ripped the crows apart and ate them on the ground, and as I got closer and closer working my way across the field, I passed within 20 feet of one of them as it ate its catch. It stopped and looked at me as I went by and you could see in the look of that bird that it knew who's Boss Of The Sky.
What a beautiful bird!
I love it. Not only did they kill their enemy, they ate them.
Posted by: kcorliss on 7/02/2009 at 2:21 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: birds, crow, golden eagle, raptor
Time for this debate II
Ah, wind power. The answer to all our energy problems from "foreign" oil to "greenhouse gases." It's benign, it's benevolent, it's beautiful. Or at least that's what proponents would have you believe.
There is beginning to be a little bit of push-back from various sources but you have to make an effort to look for it. There are those who don't want you to hear dissenting voices while they continue the march toward some sort of energy utopia.
We've talked about the death of birds and bats, that is indisputable. I just saw another one today at wind-watch.org, this one from Japan:
Wind power generation also poses a danger to birds, which are often struck and killed by the spinning vanes of the windmills. The Environment Ministry confirmed 13 such bird strikes in which white-tailed eagles, a rare species, were killed since fiscal 2003.
More white-tailed eagles have been killed in bird strikes by windmills than by running trains. A golden eagle was found dead near a wind power facility in Iwate Prefecture last year–the first death of a rare species confirmed near the facility.
Yukihiro Kominami, deputy chief of the nature conservation office at the Wild Bird Society of Japan, said that those cases are just the tip of the iceberg. “We have to find out the problem of the locations as soon as possible, or we will see the damage to the bird population continuing,” he said.
How about health affects? We're just starting to hear of various problems--both physical and psychological--from folks living and working near sites due to vibrations, noise, flickering light, etc. We'll see how that plays out.
Then there is the pure aesthetics of the things. This was the basis by which a large proposed project off the Massachusetts coast was killed, thanks to faux-greenies like Kennedy and Kerry who didn't like the idea of their grand estates losing their oceanic bliss.
Do we really want to see oceans of spinning blades strewn across our state? Thus far it seems, we do. But I'm starting to hear some grumbling. A friend (biologist who works for the Feds in the grassland biz) cautiously relayed to me his personal angst regarding the impending loss of prairie vistas due to the proposed wind farms. His wife echoed those same sentiments. Their collective concern is the future, that there is a day coming when the entire Missouri Coteau would be covered in wind farms, an image they don't welcome. A mile-after-mile image we could call "prairie billboards."
It just seems as if these projects are being rammed through with little or no discussion. Is this what we want? I'm not so sure.
Found this on youtube. Check it out:
Posted by: kcorliss on 7/01/2009 at 2:03 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: wind power
MPM seeks singles
That's right, I'm still on the hunt for the last three fairly regular nesting birds in Cass County prior to the fall migration--grasshopper sparrow, dickcissel, and eastern screech owl. All I need is one of each. If anyone has seen or heard any this year let me know.
One very cool thing: In traipsing around the county I have happened upon some loose colonies of prairie specialists more common in the nearby Sheyenne National Grasslands.
Wilson's phalaropes are unique in that they carry out a sexual role reversal. That is, the female is the colorful one, does little nest or young care, and leaves the nest after laying eggs, leaving the duller, mr. mom-like male to do the incubating and rearing. Anytime you are near a nest in the grass these shorebirds will inevitably fly circles around you giving a weak nasal "uh-uh-uh" call. Here's one doing just that:
Another common prairie nester does virtually the same thing; the upland sandpiper. This is a beautiful if understated bird. It underwent a name change years ago from upland plover to upland sandpiper but it maintains its elegance. In the timeless classic, A Sand County Almanac, famed naturalist Aldo Leopold said this of the bird:
"Whoever invented the word 'grace' must have seen the wing-folding of the (upland) plover."
I caught one last weekend finishing said wing-folding:
And one in flight acting like a dutiful parent by attempting to shoo the intruders away...
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/29/2009 at 5:03 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: aldo leopold, birding, cass county, sheyenne national grasslands, upland sandpiper, wilsons phalarope
Just 17 to go
Last Monday I was able to locate a Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow in an area of the county I had never driven, bringing the yearly county tally to 233. Just 17 left in the next six months to cross that magic 250 mark.
This exercise in tallying silliness is reaping some unintended benefits I find. One is, I am getting to areas of the county not previously visited and finding unexpected corners of habitats. That's a plus. I'm also discovering some nesting birds to be higher in number than realized; things like willow flycatcher and upland sandpiper. Then I'm getting a much deeper understanding of habitat requirements. It's getting to the point where I can view a piece of land and fairly predict what will or will not be present. At least in terms of nesting birds.
Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow is not an easy bird to find in Cass but is nearly expected every year somewhere. It's a specialist requiring a tall, thick, grassy home which means a high moisture content.
As some may recall this is a bird which was split off from the superspecies sharp-tailed sparrow a few years ago. Its counterpart is the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow. Now I have it on good authority our bird is to be renamed soon, taking the title Nelson's sparrow. A nice short cut.
It's a fairly colorful bird for a sparrow. This is a crappy photo of one I took eight years ago near West Fargo. But it does give you an idea of the habitat the bird is found in. Getting any look at all at a Nelson's is a tough job.
Just about the only way to find this species is to listen for the soft "shhhhh" of its song. I find it similar to what your mother used to say to you in church. Click here to hear this very unbird-like song.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/29/2009 at 4:45 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: birding, cass county, habitat, nelsons sharp-tailed sparrow
time to pay the gravel company
In yet another case of "if you build it they will come," a gravel company apparently scraped a section of land to prepare it for sand mining earlier this year near Wichita, Kansas. Then nature stepped in in the form of endangered least terns who are now nesting on the ideal site. The government (in the form of Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks) followed and has now stopped the company from digging at the nest site according to this AP article from Kansascity.com.
A similar situation happened right in our back yard this spring when flood waters bared sections of a nearby township road attracting piping plovers (also endangered) to potentially nest. So quick was the repair job on the part of the county, that a layer of added gravel dispersed the birds. But it certainly highlights the idea that nature will quickly fill niches it finds agreeable.
But back to Wichita. Doesn't this sand and gravel company deserve some sort of compensation from the state? After all it was only conducting business in a reasonable way and now is handcuffed by the state from doing so. It's only fair. If we are to play God with nature for the good of everyone, then everyone (via taxes) should pay for that benefit.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/29/2009 at 3:17 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: kansas, least tern
Malicious joy ride
Driving on beaches is a time-honored tradition in some places along our coasts. Birds and other critters would obviously be better off without having to deal with this invasive traffic but for the most part it's a fair mix of recreational opportunity and environmental stewardship.
However, in Ocean Park, Wash., there was a driver who recently took this license a little too far and went speeding into a group of loafing birds, killing several dozen in the process.
As The Daily Astorian reports it, an unnamed driver:
plowed through flocks of birds on the beach near Ocean Park Friday, killing more than four dozen gulls, terns and other species.
Chadwick (Sgt. Dan, of Washington's DNR) said the man, whose name has not been released, could face a $5,000 fine and one year in jail for each injured or killed bird. The investigation is continuing.
That's just very poor judgement. No other way to view it.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/29/2009 at 2:59 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: beach driving
Wisconsin DNR borders on silly
In a story more fit for theonion.com, the AP in Wisconsisn is reporting the state's DNR is recommending not feeding birds in the summer because...
...some feeders can accidentally kill other wildlife such as raccoons and skunks and even bear cubs.
The agency points to two cases in northwestern Wisconsin where bear cubs got their heads stuck in feeders while searching for food. In one case the cub's mother freed it. In the other, agency workers had to tranquilize the mother and cub and then remove the feeder.
They must be joking. Saying folks should quit an enjoyable and arguably environmentally benign pastime worth billions nationwide for the sake of a tiny handful of critters is insane. Please tell me this is some sort of hoax.
Here's the whole story from Fox6now.com.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/29/2009 at 2:37 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
Tags: bird feeding, wisconsin dnr
I see a jobs program here
I'm a huge believer in letting market forces work their magic on national economies such as ours. Historically it's proven itself time and again to be the most effective means for maintaining a vibrant system despite its natural ups and downs. Apart from regulation, government should be on the sidelines and not meddling in the down-and-dirty world of commerce. Here's one little story of success with an unlikely mix of players: agriculture and falconry.
The News Tribune, out of Tacoma, Wash., reports on a blueberry farmer in Burbank, Wash. who is employing a number of licensed falconers to keep birds away from his crop. Guess what? It's working like a charm. Even defying those who thought blueberries wouldn't make it in the hot dry climate of eastern Washington. But it's the falcons who are the stars of the show.
And not only have Lott's blueberries flourished -- for the first time this year people are invited to the orchard to pick their own berries -- but the falcon patrol has been so successful that Lott has hired nearly a dozen falconers to manage the birds and now contracts them to patrol other farmers' fields.
That's a dozen people who now have jobs associated with a cool hobby.
Let's see, since the Obama administration took office the country has shed over 3 million jobs despite digging a hole over $1 trillion deep while the farmer, Jim Lott, has hired about 12. I say Lott wins the comparison. And so does capitalism.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/29/2009 at 2:18 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: capitalism, economy, falconry, obama administration
smart money for sage grouse
For reasons that I don't think anyone fully understands, numbers of greater sage grouse in the west are on the decline. I'm not sure where this large native bird sits on the historic population scale but from reading the news the last couple of years one would assume it's low. Fingers have been pointing to urbanization, West Nile disease, gas and oil development, and land-use practices. And we all know what happens after that. That's right, Endangered Species designation.
While this federally mandated law has served its purpose a number of times, it is fraught with pitfalls and politically charged emotions. Better to manage these critters without the heavy club if at all possible.
So I see the National Resources Conservation Service (an agency which falls under the USDA) is getting farm bill money to spread around to volunteer landowners in Montana (from AP via Forbes.com):
Conservation measures that could be taken in those areas include new grazing plans to reduce the impact of livestock, removal of power lines where birds that prey on sage grouse often perch and adding markers to fences that grouse otherwise could run into and die.
A representative of the Environmental Defense Fund said the NRCS approach to sage grouse in Montana was a "good step" that should be repeated in other states.
This actually sounds like a good idea. Keep the money going to the affected principals, i.e. ranchers, instead of funding some lawsuit. I think we all win when we keep the attorneys on the sideline.
The greater sage grouse is a very limited bird in North Dakota, adhering exclusively to its namesake habitat (sage) which is only found in the extreme western part of the state.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/29/2009 at 1:38 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: greater sage grouse, national resources conservation service
One more bug piece
And this time I mean it. The term 'bug' as most of us know is a rather generic term people use to describe all manner of invertebrates, even critters which aren't insects. But it may come as a surprise to learn that, even within the halls of academia, the word means something fairly specific. In entomology there is a fairly large order called Hemiptera. The common name for this order is "bugs," more specifically, "true bugs."
Last weekend a friend of mine and I encountered the tell-tale signs of one representative of this group--the spittlebug. This one just happens to be on a goldenrod:
(the insect on the left is not a spittlebug)
Present in this foam glob is the nymph of the insect (the adults are collectively called froghoppers). And no, this isn't spit. It's formed by excretions from the bug's abdomen (specifically anus) mixed with air. The soapy den serves as a way to hide from predators and to regulate temperature and moisture for the habitant.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/26/2009 at 1:20 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: spittlebug
Mysterious shapes not aliens
A long time ago I took a college entomology class. Okay, it wasn't that long ago but it's somewhere north of 25 years. Anyway I remember learning of a fascinating insect called a leaf-cutter bee. In the years since I have run across the critter's handiwork here and there. Handiwork, that is, in the form of curious half-moon shaped pieces of missing leaves. 
Then last year it was in my own back yard. I first noticed a dark bee crawling into a seam in my siding. I thought that was interesting and followed it as it flew about. Turns out it was a leaf-cutter. We'll their back (see photo above).
I did a column on this bug last year so I won't get too trivial here. But these are bees which do not nest in hives, instead making small nest chambers for a few eggs. And they rarely sting, they are very tame bees. But they still maintain their status as an important pollinator.
For a good treatment of this cool insect, check out this link to Colorado State's Extension Service.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/26/2009 at 11:13 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: leaf cutter bee
Maybe, just maybe
Learned people have been trying to understand just how a bird is able to navigate thousands of miles with pinpoint accuracy for years. Theories (some have been proven) point to a variety of factors--stars, magnetic fields, visual cues, olfactory cues, etc.
Making the most recent news is a biophysicist named Klaus Schulten of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Seems Mr. Schulten proposed a hypothesis back in 1978 suspecting some sort of biochemical reaction took place in a bird's eyes, turning it into a compass of sorts. That theory is being refined and updated.
The story (from Wired Science), or rather the description of the chemical process, is far beyond my ability to easily spell out here (or even understand). But it hints at the possiblitity of him being onto something here. Just don't shout it from the mountain tops. Because researchers are tempering any excitement with words like:
“this is still not an experimental demonstration. It’s a possibility."
Last graph says,
As for the perceptual result of the compass, it remains a mystery. Some researchers think birds might see a dot at the edge of their vision, swiveling according to the direction they’re facing. Others think it might produce effects of color or hue, or some other type of perception. Perhaps migrating birds fly towards the light.
This is cool stuff. It would be fascinating to know just what the reality is. Just maybe this Schulten's got it. I just wish I'd have paid more attention in my college organic chemistry class.
To read the entire news story click here.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/23/2009 at 3:04 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: bird navigation, schulten
Cardinals in Fargo?
Yes. But it still surprises the uninformed to find that out. There are about a dozen pairs--give or take--in and around the Fargo area, and most presumably nest here. Granted we are on the ragged northeastern edge of this quite common Eastern bird's range but they are indeed here and have been for decades believe it or not.
I'd not seen a juvenile bird in this area so this morning's jaunt into Forest River was particularly gratifying. Two adults were seen (male and female) tending to at least one dependent young. I took a photo of one of the birds without trying to bother the rearing effort. Here's the result:
Very briefly I thought I had a tufted titmouse (a very rare bird in North Dakota) but it was not to be. Just a colorless bird with a face only a mother could love.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/23/2009 at 12:40 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: fargo, northern cardinal
The other bookend
Of the two common cuckoo species in the US, the black-billed is by far the easiest to find in North Dakota being a rather normal nester even this far north.
(from Saturday near Absaraka in Cass County, ND)
It's closely related cousin, the yellow-billed cuckoo, is quite a bit more scarce up here. When I lived in Mississippi it was easily the more common one but again, not here. In fact I had never seen nor heard one in Cass County...until this morning.
I had just spent an hour swishing through the heavily-dewed grass at Forest River (more later) and made a quick pass through an area called Orchard Glen. Through the open window the unmistakable call of a yellow-billed cuckoo could be heard. I parked the car and listened for several minutes as it was steadily calling. There is a possibility there are two birds here as the sound came from two different directions. Either that or the bird moved unseen.
I never did see it but it counts for my list. Therefore the yearly tally is now up to 232.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/23/2009 at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: black-billed cuckoo, north dakota, yellow-billed cuckoo
Combating scientific dogma an uphill battle
10 days ago I put this out about the extreme level of doubt cast upon the dinosaur-bird evolution link and how we haven't heard much about it and how science itself is rather reticent and acting like sheep.
Today I ran across this, from Evolutionnews.org. This fellow, Casey Luskin, is saying virtually the same thing. Although he sounds like he knows a heck of a lot more about the technical aspects than me. Which doesn't take much mind you. Still it's nice to see verification of your thoughts from loftier sources.
A couple of relevant out-takes:
What is most interesting about these papers and the news release is the way they make clear how closed off the mainstream Darwinian scientific community has been to challenges to the dino-bird hypothesis.
And,
These analyses not only raise significant reasons for doubting the maniraptoran theropod-dinosaur-to-bird (“BMT”) hypothesis, but they show that there is much discomfort even within the Darwinian scientific community about how dissent from the BMT hypothesis is not being heard.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/22/2009 at 1:08 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: bird, dinosaur, evolution, scientific dogma
When passion becomes obsession
When one digs into the birding hobby deep enough there is one name a person inevitably runs into--Phoebe Snetsinger (here is yet another case where a person's name is reflective of their career or hobby--weird).
There is a book which has been out for awhile titled, Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds, by Olivia Gentile, which is Gentile's take on the life of the person who has seen the most birds of anyone else in the entire world--8,674.
As a person might imagine, seeing that many birds over the course of a lifetime requires sacrifices in other areas--family, friends, relationships, or virtually anything else. While some laud her life (she died in 1999) as one to emulate, I'm not one of them.
This is a case of a passion gone bad in my opinion. The word obsession doesn't begin to describe what I know of Snetsinger. I heard (not sure this is true but I believe it to be) she missed her daughter's wedding to travel and see birds.
Granted this Minnesota woman achieved something amazing. But at what cost? A rich life is defined by each of us in our own way. But a rounded multi-faceted approach to experiencing our limited stay on this planet is much more desirable to me. I want to drink it all.
I'll read this book someday. I'm somewhat reluctant though because there's a chance it will scare me into thinking I too suffer from this obsession and it will reel me in a little bit. Maybe I should poll my wife and kids and see what they think.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/22/2009 at 10:51 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: life list, snetsinger
She deserves it
I confess I haven't heard of Judith Toups. But apparently she was a mover and a shaker along Mississippi's Gulf Coast region. Enough so that the authorities in that state have named a stretch of highway in her honor dubbing it "Judith Toups least tern highway."
The story from WREG in Memphis said this about her:
Toups, the Gulf Coast's renowned "bird lady," founded the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society and advanced its conservation causes, including the high-profile protection program for least terns and black skimmers.
She developed the Mississippi Coastal Birding Trail Map and wrote two books on birding along the Gulf Coast.
Wow. She sounds deserving to me.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/22/2009 at 10:36 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: judith toups, least tern, mississippi
Crossing the 230 mark
Saturday morning found three of us driving to western Cass County for a few hours of bird-searching starting with our largest wetland complex--Lake Bertha. It didn't disappoint.
Immediately after exiting the vehicle a least bittern was heard calling continuously from a thick cattail area. Despite searching, the bird was never seen. Still, the call alone counts. 230! Consider this a great bird. I would suggest there are many North Dakota birders who haven't heard or seen a least bittern in the state--a marsh bird with a very limited range in North Dakota.
(another of my "old" photos showing a juvenile bird)
I had tried on three previous occasions this spring to locate a pair of Say's phoebes (pronounced "Fee-bee") in a location which had hosted the birds for a few years running. This is a bird more comfortable (and findable in western ND) to drier areas of the state and of the country for that matter. Consider it sort of the western counterpart to the eastern phoebe. Seeing this flycatcher in Cass is a notable thing.
But the fourth time was the charm as a single bird was seen. Nesting? Probably, but the mate wasn't found. This was species number 231.
Then serendipity struck as we checked out a mostly ignored area near Absaraka and found another Say's phoebe, in fact a pair. Nice to know we will have yet another site to check for this bird.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/22/2009 at 10:18 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: cass county birds, least bittern, north dakota birds, says phoebe
It's time for this debate
Today I ran across an article from Vermont which addressed the comeback of peregrine falcons in that state, titled, Vermont falcons rebound, Once endangered, birds now thriving.
A friend who lives down the street from me brings this subject up regularly so perhaps it's time to have this debate again: How many peregrines are enough for the Midwest?
Fargo's successful nest produced its 27th (or was it 23rd?, I can't remember) chick this year. All of them don't make it. But whatever number does, they represent a small part of a growing population here in the Midwest.
Historically speaking, North Dakota was never a state, nor was the Red River Valley an area, known for peregrine falcons. A migratory corridor sure, but not a site for nesting. Peregrines, you see, naturally nest on cliffs. See any cliffs around here? I don't either. But tall buildings and smokestacks have come to represent cliffs for the falcons and that's where they are nesting.
What we have then, is an unnatural situation with a growing population of avian predators. Does this impact the population of prey species? I don't know. No one else does either. But it stands to reason that it very well may. I would argue we have more peregrines in the area now than perhaps have ever been here.
Sometimes I wonder if the Raptor Center out of the U of Minn., doesn't hype this stuff so much just to keep the program running and the donations coming in. I mean really, do these birds need the monitoring and attention and banding and webcams and press releases and media coverage to stay viable, or does the Raptor Center need them?
Don't get me wrong, I think peregrines are very cool birds and I love to see them. But how do we know when we've become drunk with success? In other words, when do we know we have enough peregrines? Maybe this debate should come out from under the whispers of a few and into the light of day.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/19/2009 at 11:47 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Tags: peregrine falcon, raptor center, university of minnesota
Mystery within a mystery
I'm not sure why a story with a dateline from more than a year ago would appear as new but that's yet another mystery.
Anyway, something called the Newhouse News Service put this out titled, Shifting bird population patterns remain a mystery.
The story cites scientists wondering about the wintering populations in Alabama and tossing out ideas like global warming, DDT, etc.
The real mystery is why should this even be a mystery? Again we have folks thinking the world is, or should, stay the same, when in reality it doesn't...ever.
"When I was a boy growing up in Decatur, a gull, a pelican —- those were all seashore birds," said Keith Hudson, the state's nongame biologist for the northern half of Alabama.
Now, the former beach birds spend the winter in the reservoirs of the Tennessee River or at Decatur's Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.
And they are joined by nearly every fish-eating bird or duck found in northern Alabama. Almost all are on the increase during the winter.
Does anyone ever stop to think that perhaps the birds took a little while to figure out that these new places with vast water expanses (man-made reservoirs) are okay places to spend the winter?
Here's another piece:
"When you have sudden change in the climate, ... then there's less time for organisms to evolve," Duncan said. "Some individuals are going to suffer." But birds are extremely resilient, and migrants are already accustomed to huge moves, he said.
I tend to agree with Duncan's (whoever this is, he's not named in the story) statement.
Posted by: kcorliss on 6/19/2009 at 11:02 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: alabama, bird populations, global warming
