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Sick finches; interesting article; Loxahatchee threat
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Sick finches; interesting article; Loxahatchee threat
- From: Joshua Stuart Rose <jsr6@duke.edu>
- Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 15:52:13 -0400 (EDT)
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Hi C-birders,
Sorry to have mostly bad news on a rainy day, but at least there's the
Durham spring count this weekend to look forward to...
Found an article in the library yesterday: "Changes in bird populations
on the Highlands Plateau, North Carolina (USA), 1946-1995, with emphasis
on neotropical migrants" by Jane P. Holt. It was in the latest issue of
the Natural Areas Journal. Her results were that Neotropical migrants had
declined precipitously in old-growth Hemlock and intermediate-aged
Hemlock-hardwood forests, and less so in hardwood forest. Short-distance
migrants and resident bird species either showed no change or increased;
the increases were significant only in the intermediate-aged hemlock-
hardwood forest. She notes that all of her study sites were originally
parts of contiguous forest habitat, but are now surrounded by golf
courses and residential developments on all sides. Species which have
decreased in or disappeared from her study areas include Scarlet Tanager,
Ovenbird, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-and-
White Warbler, Hairy Woodpecker, and Wood Thrush. Golden-crowned Kinglet
was a species which, surprisingly, increased; less surprising increases
included Brown-headed Cowbird, American Crow, and Rufous-sided Towhee.
The article is in Volume 20, issue 2, pages 119-125. If anyone needs a
copy but cannot reach a library that subscribes to this journal, the
author was an employee of the Highlands Biological Station in Highlands,
NC at the time, perhaps they can distribute reprints. As a last resort, I
or one of the other Dukies on carolinabirds might be able to mail or fax
a copy of the article.
As for the finches, diseases seem to cyclically run through finch
populations, especially House Finches. There have been a few recent
epidemics of conjunctivitis caused by some fungus, which causes finches
to have runny, crusted, swollen eyes and impaired vision; this might
cause some of the seeds sticking to faces observed here in Pine Siskins
and Goldfinches. The fungus in question was originally known only from
domestic poultry before spreading to House Finches, so perhaps it is
spreading to a new host as the House Finches become less suceptible.
Cornell's BirdSource website had a feature on this disease at one point,
but today I cannot find it mentioned there. One post on BIRDCHAT
recommended not attempting to treat birds with conjunctivitis, as it
would only result in the bird living to infect others but not surviving
in the long run itself.
One possibility which is more dangerous to us (but probably no more so to
the birds) is Salmonella. A recent post to BIRDCHAT indicates that
Redpolls, much closer relatives than House Finches to Pine Siskins and
Goldfinches, are suffering a sudden epidemic of Salmonella in the prairie
provinces of Canada. Salmonella can and does infect humans, so if you
find sick and dying finches in your yard, keep children and pets far
away, just in case. Dispose of dead ones very carefully. And wash your
hands very carefully after cleaning and refilling your feeders.
Finches seem to be more conspicuously suceptible to feeder-borne diseases
than other birds. My theory is that they stay at the feeders to eat,
while most other birds (nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers)
carry seeds away and eat them in the trees. Thus, either the other birds
don't catch the diseases, or else they get sick and die in the woods
instead of at our feeders so we don't notice them.
Remember, the time to clean your feeders is *before* the birds start
getting sick! Once you have sick birds, the pathogens are already in the
population and may spread among birds without your feeders. Clean with a
10% bleach solution. Metal and plastic feeders are probably better than
wooden ones, since wood is more likely to retain bacteria, fungi, etc. in
its pores and cracks. If you clean your feeders with bleach regularly and
disease appears anyway, you should throw away your feeders and buy new
ones. And if cleaning feeders regularly is too much work for you, then
don't feed at all; the birds are better off without it...
Last thing: many carolinabirders visit Florida regularly. Most of those
visit Loxahatchee NWR, some on my recommendation. Loxahatchee is operated
by the federal government on land leased from the state of Florida.
Certain forces in Florida state government, at the urging of the sugar
industry, are pushing for Loxahatchee's 50-year lease to not be renewed.
Governor Jeb Bush's advisors claim he will oppose these attempts (wow,
one of the Bushes really *is* an environmentalist!). Anyone with
relatives or contacts in Florida should make sure that they do what they
can to convince legislators to renew Loxahatchee's lease, and keep the
most reliable spot in the country for Smooth-billed Anis (among many
other things) intact. The legislators pushing hardest to end the lease
seem to be from Broward County, so folks with contacts in Fort Lauderdale
and thereabouts might have particular importance. Check the websites
below for more details...
Enough downers for now; hopefully I'll return this weekend with some
actual bird sightings,
Josh
------------------------Forwarded Message---------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 08:53:56 -0400
From: Noel Wamer <nwamer@FCOL.COM>
Subject: Loxahatchee NWR Threatened
The current session of the Florida legislature, which is dominated by
lame-duckers being forced out by term-limitations, seems hell-bent on
turning the clock back decades on environmental protection in the state.
It seems that the many legislators are using their last year in office to
pay back years of political debts to agricultural and development interests
in one lump-sum. The latest outrageous proposal is to not renew the
federal lease on the state-owned lands that form Loxahatchee National
Wildlife Refuge. You can read a news article about this proposal at:
http://www.tdo.com/news/local/0428.lex.everglades.htm
Additional information, provided by the Florida Audubon Society, can be
viewed at:
http://list.audubon.org/archives/fl-general.html
If this, and other more onerous anti-environmental legislative proposals,
become state law, it might be time for birders, and other eco-tourists, to
consider an economic boycott of the state.
Any birdchatters interested in expressing an opinion about this can access
contact information at
http://www.state.fl.us/fgsd_html/access.html
Later...
Noel Wamer
nwamer@fcol.com http://www.badbirdz.com
Jacksonville, FL, US 30.2820 -81.4972
"A strange bird may cause a slight unrest until it is named..."
(Walker Percy)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology
jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/