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WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly e-Magazine |  |
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By Rex Springston She checked on a wood-and-wire fence she hopes will save money (belonging to you, the taxpayer) and lives (belonging to Beavers). The fence, called a Beaver deceiver, is designed to keep the big rodents from damming a culvert and flooding a rural road. Boyles, an animal-rights activist and graduate student, is engaged in an unusual experiment with the serious-minded engineers and money minders of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Boyles is helping build Beaver deceivers to see if they work. If they do, the Beavers get to live, the roads get protected and highway department will save on maintenance costs. Now, they spend about $200,000 a year hiring workers to bust up dams and kill problem Beavers. "They are wasting money taking Beavers out, taking dams out," Boyles said, "because other Beavers show up and take their place and do the exact same damage." So far, the Beaver deceivers appear to be working, said Morris Z. Walton, a VDOT environmental specialist. But, Walton said he wanted to watch them longer before making a final judgment. Culverts are big pipes that carry water under roads. The sound and feel of water moving through a culvert triggers a Beaver's dam-building instinct. The Beaver drags sticks, leaves and mud into the culvert to plug it up. In the Beaver's mind, that's a good thing. The water level rises, providing more safety from predators and more aquatic living space for the Beaver and its family. For VDOT, a plugged culvert is a major problem because rain could flood the road there. Even in normal weather, the unusually high water erodes the soil under the road, sometimes requiring costly repairs. VDOT reported $369,243 in Beaver damage last year, up from $98,212 in 2004 and $151,152 in 2003, according to federal figures. Beavers live in families. When the young are old enough, they strike out on their own. Often, said Boyles, those young Beavers move right back into the places where VDOT had Beavers killed. That starts the cycle again. In an effort to break that cycle, Boyles is conducting a study that involves building Beaver deceivers and gauging their effectiveness. A Beaver deceiver works like this: Builders put a fence around the culvert, several feet from the opening. That keeps the Beaver at bay. The builders sometimes add an underwater pipe that carries water through the fence to a spot near the culvert. Even if the Beaver surrounds the fence with sticks and mud, the pipe should keep water moving to the culvert. That keeps the water level down, deceiving the Beaver and protecting the road. There are beaver deceivers at 14 sites in eastern and central Virginia, including two spots in Chesterfield County and three in Prince George County. Boyles plans to add about six more this spring and summer. In a few months, she will compile final results on their success rates. Each site is different, so the structures differ in shape and size. Perhaps one will work better than another. Beaver deceivers won't work everywhere. For example, if landowners near the culvert don't want Beavers to remain, chewing on plants and trees, then VDOT typically has the animals killed. Beavers were once rare in Virginia, but state game officials have regulated their trapping and killing for decades. Today, Beavers are plentiful -- and so are human conflicts with them. Vermont biologist Skip Lisle invented the Beaver deceiver to solve Beaver problems for the Penobscot Indians in Maine. Many of the devices fail because people build them poorly, Lisle said. Working with Boyles, Lisle is building many of VDOT's Beaver deceivers. "I guarantee you every single one of mine in Virginia or anywhere else will work, and they'll work with virtually no maintenance" for many years. He said he could save Virginia taxpayers millions of dollars. People with Beavers on their land are lucky, Lisle said. Beaver ponds catch pollutants that would flow to the Chesapeake Bay, and they provide homes for fun-to-watch animals such as herons, otters and turtles, he said. "You don't need to pay anybody to build your pond, and you don't need to get a permit. You just get this tremendous habitat at no cost." –Richmond Times- Dispatch
DO YOU REMEMBER the day you first surfed the Web? Well, hang on to your hats! Your web experience is about to change. And, WindStar is in the lead. We recently launched a new, user- friendly web site and the American Wildlife Blog. This publication gives each of you a voice online. And it will change your online experience plus save you time. By clicking on "Comments" at the end of articles, you can easily add your thoughts to the discussion. We now have 10 contributing editors throughout the country to provide their wildlife observations and experiences. Articles will be shorter (50 to 500 words) than in the Weekly and, we will be posting new articles nearly every day! We are providing you with a FREE version of the Feedblitz news feeder. This will deliver the American Wildlife Blog directly to your computer (RSS feed) instead of you having to use a search engine to find it. Many now say that their news feeder is indispensable. So what does this mean to you? Well, every night Feedblitz goes to work and downloads a list of the latest Blog articles to your e-mail. All you have to do is click on those you want to read and Feedblitz takes you to the American Wildlife Blog article. Plus, if you want, you can read all the articles once you get to the Blog. Here's what to do:
We hope you enjoy our new features and services and they help you and your family enjoy wildlife even more. We’d be grateful to receive your feedback on the web site and blog. * * * * * New Record for Great Backyard Bird Count The data are still rolling in, but this year's Great Backyard Bird Count participants have blasted past the previous record of 6,508,295 birds counted. As of noon Friday, 7,179,343 birds had been counted and 54,147 checklists submitted. Thank’s to everyone who participated! If you still haven't sent in your counts, we encourage you to do so now at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc. Hats off to the dedicated Great Backyard Bird Count ambassadors who inspired their communities to participate and who helped make this year's count a wonderful success. For a sampling of news stories from around the continent, many of them featuring participants, please visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/gbbc-in-the- news/articles-about-the-great-backyard-bird- count/ . * * * * * Searchers Find White Pileated Woodpecker A stunning, nearly totally white Pileated Woodpecker has been found and photographed in the Big Woods region of Arkansas, where searchers have been intensively looking for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. The white Pileated Woodpecker is of special interest because some have argued that a bird videotaped by David Luneau in 2004 was not an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, but rather a Pileated Woodpecker with an unusual amount of white on its wings. The recent observations and documentation show that the white Pileated Woodpecker and another pileated with extra white on its wings are obviously distinctive and would not have been mistaken for ivory-bills. Additionally, characteristics of the bird in the Luneau video and in ivory-bill sighting reports clearly differ from those of Pileated Woodpeckers, even those with a large amount of white. For the full story and photographs, visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/field/from_field_ht ml/whitePIWO
IT WAS the calm before the storm. At noon on a day last week, the sun shined brightly and the thermometer read 62 degrees. Bluebirds and Carolina Wrens were singing, a pair of Bald Eagles were incubating eggs in Ohio, woodcock had returned to southern Ohio and West Virginia and I'd already seen a few Turkey Vultures and Killdeer. (Pileated Woodpecker by C.S. Robbins) Clearly the birds thought spring had arrived. But, weather forecasters knew better. This morning, an Arctic blast sent temperatures plunging to single digits and winter returned with a vengeance. The good news, for all who have written asking where their feeder birds have gone, is that extreme cold makes supplemental food irresistible. Why battle the cold hunting for dormant insects and egg cases when feeders make foraging easy? So fill your feeders with sunflower seeds, nyjer, nuts and suet and enjoy the show. Here are some answers to a few more of the many other questions I've received over the last two months: Question: Last spring I started saving dryer lint and put it out for the birds. I was amazed when it would be gone within hours. I've got some saved and wondered when nesting begins. Answer: The songbird nesting season begins in April, but I don't recommend dryer lint as nesting material. If it gets wet, it holds water like a sponge. It can have a chilling, killing effect on eggs and nestlings. Q. We have a pond with two bullfrogs. Where do they go in the winter? A. They hibernate in the muck on the bottom of the pond. Q. While I am not an avid bird watcher, I do enjoy the feeders that I set up outside our kitchen window. After reading your column earlier this winter where you offered your suet recipe, my wife and I started making suet cakes. Last week my wife ran into the family room yelling that there was a giant bird at the feeders. When I came into the kitchen, much to my surprise, there was a Pileated Woodpecker on the feeder. Since then, we have seen Pileated Woodpeckers several times, but they are very shy. I have rarely seen these magnificent birds in the woods behind our house, so I wonder if it's unusual to have these birds at backyard feeders so close to the house? A. Unusual, yes. Unheard of, no. Though I have Pileateds in my woods and can see them every day, I'm still waiting for one to find my feeders. On the other hand, I've been to nature centers where these crow-sized woodpeckers visit regularly and readers have sent me more than a few photos of Pileateds at feeders. Q. It may just be wishful thinking, but I believe that my Goldfinches are beginning to show a little color. Is that possible? A. Yes, Goldfinches have begun to molt from their drab winter plumage into their bright yellow breeding plumage. The entire process takes weeks, so you can monitor the change from day to day. Q. Is it OK to collect old bird nests? Would I be taking away from a possible future home for a family of birds in the upcoming nesting season? My daughter is in first grade and she is making a bird nest collection for science class. A. Technically, collecting used bird nests is illegal without proper permits. Federal law prohibits the possession of wild birds, bird parts, feathers, eggs and nests. Realistically, however, I doubt that many federal wildlife agents visit primary and secondary schools searching for contraband. Also, birds usually build a new nest for each brood, so old nests are not usually recycled. Q. Thanks so much for the suet recipe. Birds really love it. I have all the woodpeckers you mentioned in a recent article. Also I thought you might like to know that Ziploc makes a sandwich size box that's just right for suet cakes. It fits perfectly in my metal suet basket. A. Great tip. And thanks to all for the e-mails and letters. Keep 'em coming. –Pittsburgh Post Gazette
The Ocean Is My Backyard Hedgerows Are Valuable Wildlife Habitat Who Made That Birdfeeding Product? Welcome Back, Geese! Winter Is Time To Put Up Birdhouses Tell us your favorite wildlife stories or comment on the articles posted by our editorial contributors, or answer or ask a question. This is a great place to pass on those tips you have learned over the years about attracting wildlife to your property, photographing nature or just watching wildlife. Go to WindStar’s American Wildlife Blog and click on “Comments” at the end of an article to make your voice heard.
LAST WEEK’S PHOTO—The correct answer for the species of bird that was landing on the suet is Yellow-rumped Warbler. The photo was made in Wilmington, NC by Jim and Michele Oldham. If you have a photo you think might be of interest to other naturalists and that you would like to see considered for Photo of the Week, send it in a jpg to wildlife@windstar.org and in the subject line type “Photo of the Week.
IF YOU LIVE in some of the most southern areas of the country where it is more like spring, some birds may have already begun singing. Mockingbirds pick a conspicuous spot such as a telephone pole, tree top, lamp post, etc. and launch into their serenade. White-breasted Nuthatches emerge from their roost holes at dawn and sing (if you can call it that) a nasal sounding "wer-wer-wer-wer". Spring song is mostly done by male birds to attract a mate and define a territory. Cardinals song sounds like a human whistle, "wheet, wheet, wheet, birdie, birdie, birdie." (Singing away by RSPB) You can listen to them (on a BirdPod or a CD player) and hear the songs of these birds and others. If you are new to learning bird's songs, master some common songs first. Here is a list of birds often heard over much of the country: Mockingbird--noisy mixture of whistles, and phrases from other birds songs, each repeated 3 X or more Cardinal--clear whistles House Wren--bubbly, descending melody American Goldfinch--melodic, canary-like Mourning Dove--mournful cooing "Ooh, Ah, ooh, ooh, ooh," often mistaken for an owl Robin--whistled "cheer-up, cheerily, cheer- up cheerily" Black-capped Chickadee--"feee-bee, feee- bee"
If you love to feed, photograph, or (Female Cardinal eats berries by Adam Jones)
JOEL SARTORE has for over 15 years photographed wildlife and the environment for National Geographic and other publications. He believes that time was running out for wild places. "We don't have any time to lose if we want to save endangered species, and the best way to do it is to save their habitats. If people opened their eyes and looked, they'd see exactly what I see—that we have to stop logging, mining, plowing under and burning every square inch of land." (Bill Sartore) Not what you wanted to hear...and certainly not what Joel wanted to be saying. "Things haven't gotten a whole lot better in the past five years," Joel says, but he can point to some positives. For example, he recently worked on a story for National Geographic on the Pantanal, the Brazilian lowlands area that's the world's largest fresh water wetlands. "There's sustainable use of the land there," Joel says. "They've run cattle down there for years, which is a compatible use, and they've realized they can make money by attracting tourists to see the wildlife they've saved by being good stewards. Ranches have been set up with guesthouses and people come from all over the world to see parrots in flight and jaguars roaming. It's a remarkable place where eco-tourism and ranching go hand in hand." Convincing people that there's a tangible, measurable and practical benefit to preserving the land and its inhabitants is, Joel believes, the key to saving the wild places and the species that live there. "I know that money is tearing the world apart," he says, "so let's approach it that way. Let's say that money can save the people of the earth if they realize there's value in having clean water and healthy ecosystems; that there's value in wilderness areas beyond what can be extracted from them." And while he says that "pictures can show people how lovely things are in the wilderness," we have to go beyond that. "You have to convince people that the real value is practical. Healthy forests and rivers provide us with good clean water and good clean air. Forests clean our air, especially equatorial rain forests. They're called the lungs of the world. We need these ecosystems to survive. That's not something people can spin their way out of or pay lip service to. You can't talk it away. If you show people the wonderful things and once in a while, you show them the destruction to make them realize that there's a price being paid for greed, eventually they're going to catch on." Joel has come to realize that a hopeful message is vital. "You can't get anyone to want to change the earth for the better if you're negative," he says, admitting that negative was exactly what he used to be. He changed when he heard former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani speak. "One of the things he said was that no one will do anything, take any action, if all you're telling them is that things are bad, and there's no hope. If you're trying to lead, you have to find a positive message. That opened my eyes. People want to have reasons for hope. Hope is what motivates them." Joel believes that change will come, but it's going to take time. "I'm starting to see a generational shift. We're having a dialogue with people all over the world about global warming, and they're aware that global warming is man made. I speak to kids in grade schools, and they've all heard of different endangered species, and they know they should recycle and buy fuel-efficient cars, or walk or ride their bikes. It is happening." But, there may not be enough time. "We could win some battles but lose the war because human overpopulation is so rampant, and we're crowding out every space. But, I can only focus on one step at a time. We have a saying around here: we're saving the earth one species at a time. We have a little critter here called the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle. It lives in Lincoln, NE, not anywhere else, and it's critically endangered. It's really on the precipice. There were 147 of them last year. It's kind of our mascot. We figure if we can get people to care about something as small as a beetle, we can get them to care about the big stuff." In some places, that's exactly what's happening. "Out here in the Great Plains we're seeing some areas becoming wild again," Joel says. "Wildlife groups are taking an interest in having places with Black-footed Ferrets and Burrowing Owls, free- roaming Bison and prairie dog towns and preserves. And since we're in a place that's not very crowded, this dream is starting to come true." Joel didn't set out to be an environmental photographer or, for that matter, work for National Geographic, for whom he's a contributing photographer. His degree from the University of Nebraska is in journalism, and he was a newspaper photographer for several years, handling general assignment work. In addition to National Geographic, Joel has been published in Time, Life, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. At first his work with Geographic was along the lines of Americana profiles. He worked his way into nature stories when he saw "the environmental destruction that was going on. "I did a story on America's Gulf Coast. I saw sea turtles dying when they were caught up in the nets of shrimp trawlers. I saw 'cancer alley,' where all the refineries dump their junk along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. I saw the beaches of Galveston with medical waste and blood bags and syringes and dead fish because people were allowed to dump their garbage at sea. I saw squadrons of old airplanes coating Florida with a mixture of malathion and diesel fuel to kill mosquitoes. They killed all the insects, and you'd walk down the sidewalk and there'd be dead butterflies and beetles everywhere. And people were breathing the stuff." Joel's concerns don't end with the assignment. "What I do, and what everybody can and should do," he told us, "is reduce consumption....We should reuse what we buy and recycle what we can't reuse." He advises running errands in clusters; riding bikes when we can and avoiding the use of chemicals and pesticides. "We not only don't put chemicals on our lawns, we don't put water on our lawns either. We mow them and that's all. The chemicals kill off all the worms, and then you have to use aerating machines to poke holes in the lawns because the worms are dead. If you don't water them, they won't grow as much and you won't have to mow as much, so you won't be using as much fossil fuel. The ornamental lawn in this country is a tremendous pollution source." Anyone getting the message can pass it on. "A camera is a great way to give a voice to the voiceless," Joel says. "It's a way of showing people what's at stake." --NikonNet
WINTER SPRING, winter spring. Seems like it has alternated many times
already these past few months with erratic weather patterns occurring
across many parts of the country. This has got to be confusing to many
birds and other forms of wildlife. You can help even things out by
consistently providing the birds what they need.
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NEWS SOURCES
TELL YOUR FRIENDS ================================ Have an EXCELLENT Day in your WILDLIFE HABITAT! Tom Patrick ================================
LET NATURE BE YOUR LEGACY
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