I get a "Bird of the Week" email each week from ABC. (This week's bird is the Violet-Green Swallow.) Each week provides photos, video, audio, map, and text about the species. The effect of pesticides, including neonics, is mentioned in the text this week. The link is provided below. There you can read about neonics and their effect of birds and insects, including pollinators. Neonics are systemic, being absorbed thoughout the plant including the nectar, pollen, and fruit. Seed companies also pre-treat ag crop seeds with the pesticide (corn and others). Birds are poisoned by eating both contaminated seeds and any insects that ingested the poison. The greatest effect on bird populations may be a direct effect on insect numbers due to spraying and fugitive dust (during field seed planting).
One link in the article provides a list of neonics sold for lawn, garden, and trees/shrubs, with mfr and percent active ingredient. There are other links to studies throughout the article. The most recent I opened was 2017. I don't think USEPA has acted to regulate this family of chemicals, altho it may still be "under study". European countries are doing so. The large study ABC published on effects of neonics on birds was 2013-- another link in this article, if you missed it earlier. https://abcbirds.org/neonics GAndersson/St Paul ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
