I have always felt that birders, from casual to die-hard, number in the millions and comprise a group of potentially influential activists. I would love to see an organization, or even discussion thread dedicated to furthering the convergence of birding and environmental activism. While I know many birders are environmentalists, the groups have been relatively separate. Linking these would be powerful and creative!
IMHO We are all in a heap of trouble and we are running out of time to save our biosphere. Meanwhile, hats off to those who are engaged in restoration and/or creating birding habitat. BTW I study people, not birds. 👨🏼‍🌾👩🏻‍🏫👷🏻👵🏾 Regi "Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things." Dostoyevsky. > On Jun 17, 2017, at 11:20 AM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes > <c...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Oh, yeah. I forgot about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. I remember when we used > to have them in the Northeast. They used to be a really common and cheerful > species of the summer. People used to put out these feeders filled with > sugar-water to attract them to their house for viewing pleasure. They were > these super tiny birds, about the size of a very large bee, and used to hover > from flower to flower feeding on nectar, and would glean insects from spider > webs from under the eaves of our house. > > I’m obviously being facetious, but I’m greatly concerned that we are now > beginning to visibly see the effects of the greatest environmental > catastrophe since the fifth mass extinction – and this one being entirely > caused by human activity. Are we seeing the death of the canaries in the coal > mine? Is this finally becoming more visible and working it’s way up the food > chain? I haven’t seen a single fly-by Ruby-throated Hummingbird or heard any > chittery territorial calls from them this season. > > Past few summers, insect numbers have been WAY down. Remember those longer > road trips across country, or just after a road trip for a few hours? My > windshield would get smattered solid with insect splatter – not so much any > more. > > I’m concerned that we are all becoming complacent with these changes, and > accepting them as the “new norm”. This isn’t normal, this is a huge red flag, > and something should be done about it – the question is: what? > > Party-pooper, > Chris > > > > On Jun 17, 2017, at 10:54 AM, Alicia Plotkin <t...@fltg.net> wrote: > > Thank you for sending this - it is exactly my experience & my concern. I > don't worry quite so much about migration, which can skip over us easily due > to weather patterns. In fact there was an odd weather pattern in late April > that seemed to sling a lot of 'my' warblers up to the coast of Maine where > the fallout was welcomed with delight and surprise. > > However the lack of nesters anywhere but prime habitat is far more worrisome, > especially without any readily identifiable weather event to explain it. > It's deeply concerning and I have wondered why no one is talking about it. > Thank you for bringing it up! > > Alicia > > P.S. You left off hummingbirds, which are non-existent or in very low > numbers for everyone I know, both folks with feeders and people like me whose > plantings are tailored to their tastes. I have not seen a single one in my > yard yet. This is hard to believe, our habitat is pretty prime: we live in a > large clearing in the woods that is filled with wildflowers, additional > hummingbird-favored plants we have added, plenty of water, trees with perfect > forks for their nests (based on their past preference), and a neighbor who > puts fresh nectar in her feeder every day. > >> On 6/17/2017 9:52 AM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote: >> Everyone, >> >> Just pointing out the obvious here, but bird numbers in my immediate area of >> Upstate NY are way down this year. I mean, WAY down. John, if you have full >> capacity of nesting Tree Swallows, it may be that the sites you host are >> prime and being filled to capacity because they are the best locations. It >> sounds to me like the sub-par sites are not being filled. >> >> Acoustically, birds are seriously lacking this year. Visually, birds are >> lacking this year. Birding at the Hawthorn Orchard was a disaster, yet there >> was food and everything was primed to receive birds. Regular numbers of >> expected birds were hugely lacking. What happened to the Tennessee Warblers >> and Blackpoll Warblers? I think I recorded something like three Tennessee >> Warblers at most on one day at the Hawthorn Orchard, then they were just >> done. Blackpoll Warblers…you were lucky to see or hear a single bird this >> spring. Blackpoll Warblers used to come through here in droves – just >> driving around, you would pass singing Blackpoll Warbler after Blackpoll >> Warbler, during their peak migration through this area. Remember? When all >> of those Blackpoll Warblers came through, that marked the “end” of that >> spring migration – the cleanup species – this simply didn’t happen. >> >> In overflow areas, where habitat may not be the best, or is sub-par, and >> which normally fills in because the best habitats are already taken by other >> birds, the birds simply are not there. >> >> Yellow Warblers, everywhere? Nope. >> Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, everywhere? Nope. >> Baltimore Orioles, everywhere? Nope. >> Red-eyed Vireos, everywhere? Nope. >> Chipping Sparrows, everywhere? Nope. >> Common birds absolutely everywhere? Nope. >> >> I’m just talking about the regular comings and goings of my own personal >> activities of driving around, walking in and out of buildings, coming and >> going from home, work, shopping, etc. I’m just not seeing or hearing the >> abundance of birds that I’m used to seeing or hearing. It just seems deadly >> quiet this year, if you look at the whole picture – the gestalt of bird >> abundance this year. >> >> Sure, prime habitats may seem to have the “regular” volumes of birds, but >> the sub-par habitats are seemingly empty. >> >> If there is not a rock solid explanation for this, then this is a red flag >> in my opinion. >> >> Perhaps the most logical cause is weather-related. >> >> If this is not the case, then we’ve got something far more detrimental going >> on, at least in the Northeast. >> >> Hope I’m wrong. >> >> Sincerely, >> Chris T-H >> >> On Jun 17, 2017, at 9:00 AM, k...@empacc.net wrote: >> >> We have 17 boxes active, one with bluebirds, two with House Wren, a one with >> chickadees and the remainder with Tree Swallows. Probably another good year >> after a 100% occupancy/success rate last year. We believe this is due to >> effective placement and predator guards that function well. john >> >> >> --- >> John and Sue Gregoire >> Field Ornithologists >> Kestrel Haven Migration Observatory >> 5373 Fitzgerald Rd >> Burdett, NY 14818 >> 42.443508000, -76.758202000 >>> On 2017-06-17 12:40, Glenn Wilson wrote: >>> >>> We usually have a dozen or so flying and nesting until mid summer. I >>> haven't seen a single one since early swallow migration. >>> >>> Glenn Wilson >>> Endicott, NY >>> www.WilsonsWarbler.com >>> >>> On Jun 17, 2017, at 8:34 AM, John and Fritzie Blizzard >>> <job121...@verizon.net> wrote: >>> >>> We've had one nesting pr. with 5 young expected to fledge in 11 days. >>> Usually have at least 3 pr. with many others flying about. Not so this yr.. >>> Same with barn swallows. For the last 2 yrs. we've not had more than a doz. >>> of either lining up on our power line in late summer before migration. Used >>> to be many, many dozens. :'( >>> >>> The 100 acres behind us were mowed on Wed.. I didn't see a swallow. Same >>> when the school lawns are being mowed. Always before the birds were >>> swooping overhead in great numbers to get insects. We no longer see those >>> many insects. >>> >>> Rachel Carson ... we need you again to lead a new fight. >>> >>> Fritzie Blizzard >>> >>> Union Springs >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm >>> >>> ARCHIVES: >>> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >>> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >>> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >>> >>> Please submit your observations to eBird: >>> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >>> >>> -- >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm >>> >>> ARCHIVES: >>> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >>> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >>> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >>> >>> Please submit your observations to eBird: >>> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >>> >>> -- >>> >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- >> >> -- >> Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes >> Field Applications Engineer >> Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology >> 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850 >> W: 607-254-2418 M: 607-351-5740 F: 607-254-1132 >> http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp >> >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- > > -- > Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes > Field Applications Engineer > Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology > 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850 > W: 607-254-2418 M: 607-351-5740 F: 607-254-1132 > http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
