Interesting comments from a birder near New Orleans. Jim Williams Wayzata Begin forwarded message:
From: Nancy L Newfield <[email protected]> Date: September 20, 2005 12:19:29 PM CDT To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [BIRDCHAT] mosquito spraying in New Orleans area Reply-To: Nancy L Newfield <[email protected]> Liz et al., At 11:59 PM 9/19/2005, you wrote: > [forwarded from the pollinator mailing list] > > >..... the Office of Public Health will be using Air Force cargo=20 > planes to spray for mosquitoes in the Louisiana flood area. [snip=20 > description of attempts to notify beekeepers in the area to protect=20 > their hives from the spray] > > >... the pesticide will be a specific application in accordance with=20= > label instructions, yet public health issues will take precedence over=20= > other concerns. > > This does not look good to me for all the warblers headed that way. I have not kept up with all of this, but regular daily spraying to=20 reduce mosquitoes is a way of life in most of southern Louisiana - and=20= it has been for many, many years. I suspect that they are resuming=20 such spraying, using Air Force planes because the smaller planes used=20 by parishes were damaged or destroyed [speculation]. A lot doesn't look good for warblers down here. I returned to stay on=20= Sunday. I live about 5 miles west of the city of New Orleans. My=20 home was not damaged, but damage to larger trees in my area and=20 certainly farther east [probably all the way east to Alabama] is 95%. =20= Mosquito spraying won't be the worst problem they face. There won't be=20= many trees for them to perch in or to harbor the tiny insects. Migration of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds seems heavier than usual,=20 probably because many sources of natural nectar and minute=20 invertebrates are much reduced. I saw a young male Rufous this=20 morning. However, overall, birdlife [resident] seems to be about 1/4=20 of what it was before the storm. Not to make light of your legitimate concerns, but there is a lot of=20 concern about mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquitoes are pretty fierce=20 around my home. They were before the storm. I have never been tested=20= for West Nile antibodies, but I suspect I probably have been bitten a=20 time or two by mosquitoes carrying the virus. However, many of the=20 emergency workers come from outside the area and they probably have=20 never been exposed to this kind of health threat. We certainly don't=20 want folks who are giving so much of themselves to become ill as a=20 result of their good works. Conditions will not be back to normal for years - if ever. So far, we=20= are the only family back on our block and we've heard that a couple of=20= the families are moving to Texas. My husband visited one of the hardest hit parts of the New Orleans area=20= yesterday. He went to retrieve a few valuables from an aunt's home. =20 Flood waters went all the way into the attic. His 80-year old aunt=20 will never be able to return there. We have been spending all of our=20 time trying to find her a space in a retirement home closer to us. =20 Presently, she is 200 miles away. We have found her a place, but now=20 she will need some furniture and clothing. This is just one tiny story among a population with a million stories,=20= many more dramatic than ours. The scope of destruction goes from 30=20 miles west of where we live to southern Alabama, maybe into Florida. NLN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nancy L Newfield Casa Colibr=ED Metairie, Louisiana USA <[email protected]> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html
