A regular roundup of important news on birds and their habitats. Check back often for updates.
3/13/07
We receive many notes from supporters asking how they can help our efforts to protect birds and their habitats. Since we have thousands of new members, it is useful to remind all of our supporters about our strategy for building a powerful political force.
Since we do not accept donations, the best strategy for those who want to help is to spread the word about our Web site to friends, family members, coworkers, and fellow birders. If you tell 10 friends about Birders United and they in turn tell 10 of their friends, and so on, very soon thousands and thousands of people will be able to see our site. This electronic chain letter has the potential to spread news of our site like wildfire to birders across the Web and around the world.
The more members we have, the more influential we become. We hope that in the near future we can become a potent political force that can impact elections at the local, state, and even federal level.
Also, by displaying our free bumper and decal stickers, people in your community who you do not know can also be made aware of our site.
Please, help us spread the word.
Birders Might Take John McCain Under Their Wings
Birders who prefer the Republican Party on such issues as taxes, national security, and social issues, but who have been displeased with President Bush’s policies on the environment and bird habitats, may be attracted to the presidential candidacy of John McCain.
McCain was one of the early voices in the GOP to warn about the dangers of global warming. One of his heroes is Teddy Roosevelt, who was a strong supporter of protecting the nation’s environment.
On McCain’s presidential campaign Web site, the environment is featured as one of the key issues of his campaign. One passage reads: “John McCain believes that we are vested with a sacred duty to be proper stewards of the resources upon which the quality of American life depends. Ensuring clean air, safe and healthy water, sustainable land use, ample greenspace — and the faithful care and management of our natural treasures, including our proud National Park System — is a patriotic responsibility. One that must be met not only for the benefit of our generation, but for our children and those to whom we will pass the American legacy.”
McCain described his ranch in Oak Creek, Arizona, to OnEarth magazine: “Lots and lots of flowers. Lots and lots of wildlife, especially birds – wild ducks, quail, humming birds, yellow-billed cuckoos, which are very rare. A pair of black hawks. It’s the most beautiful place on earth.”
It appears that McCain would champion the protection of bird habitats. But there are indications that McCain is moving to the right on several issues to appease the right wing of the Republican Party who make up a large percentage of GOP primary voters. Birders should keep a close eye on campaign statements and issue papers to see if McCain will sound the retreat on his support for the environment.
More than three years after the founding of Birders United in response to the Bush administration’s policies of neglect toward birds and their habitats, the president now seems to recognize the political power of birders and the importance of keeping large numbers of them in the GOP.
In a recent speech at Shenandoah State Park in Virginia, President Bush announced a major increase in the budget for the National Park Service. During the speech, Bush said that the budget increase will offer “a chance to make sure our park system enhances bird migratory patterns. Laura really cares about the bird populations of the country. And so do I.”
Bush proposes a $3 billion infusion of funds for the national parks, with one third of the money coming from private sources. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told the president, “I think Teddy Roosevelt would be very proud of you.”
Birders United would beg to differ. Despite the new funding for the national parks and the creation of a vast new nature preserve in the Pacific, many, if not most, of the administration’s policies continue to harm birds and their habitats. The administration continues to favor oil and gas drillers, logging interests, mine operations, real estate developers, and sugar producers whose operations threaten bird habitats. Bush continues to appoint judges who favor reducing or eliminating the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
Birders United congratulates the president for his effort to enhance the National Park system. But given his overall record, comparing the policies of this president to those of Teddy Roosevelt is totally unwarranted.
Minneapolis Will Turn Out the Lights to Save Migratory Birds
The city of Minneapolis is studying a plan to turn out lights on city skyscrapers during the peak spring and fall migratory bird season. The plan, patterned after similar efforts in Toronto, New York, Chicago, and other cities, could save thousands of birds each year. Numerous studies have shown that migratory birds become disoriented by the lights of the buildings and either die by flying into the structure or circle the skyscrapers aimlessly until they die of exhaustion.
Canadian Researchers Discover 15 New Bird Species in North America
Researchers at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at the University of Guelph have identified 15 distinct new bird species that live in North America. By comparing DNA evidence, the researchers found genetically distinct species of birds very similar to the raven, eastern meadowlark, and other common birds. The study examined 643 bird species and found 15 specimens that were unlike any other previously observed.
High-Tech Search for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
Researchers from the University of California and Texas A&M University are using robot cameras in an effort to determine if the ivory-billed woodpecker still lives in eastern Arkansas. The last confirmed sighting of the bird was in 1940. But in 2004 birders in the area produced a video which they claimed showed an ivory-billed woodpecker. Other scientists subsequently produced audiotapes which they say contains the distinct call of the bird.
Since that time, many attempts have been made to document the bird’s existence but no one has been able to provide conclusive evidence that the bird continues to live in the area.
In hope of capturing an image of the bird, researchers have installed a high resolution video system in the Bayou DeView area of the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. To conserve energy and disk space, the new system only records to memory when a computer detects bird flight movement. The software can filter out movement from clouds, falling leaves and other motion not related to birds. When flight is detected the system records 22 frames per second at a high resolution.
For Hawaii’s Endangered Birds, Send in the Marines
The state of Hawaii has a large number of endangered and threatened birds. Rapid development and the loss of rain forest habitat have placed many rare birds on the edge of extinction.
The U.S. Marines are helping some of these birds as a byproduct of their training to operate amphibious assault vehicles. Each winter the Marines drive their 27-ton armored vehicles through the mud and swamp land near Nu’upia Ponds on the island of Oahu. The Marines get to drive as fast as they wish and to run over anything they choose. This serves to develop their abilities to operate the vehicles in difficult terrain. The exercises also flatten invasive grasses and create mud mounds that are perfect nesting areas for the 50 species of birds that inhabit the area. The birds typically nest in spring after the Marines have prepared the habitat.
The Marines report that since they have been conducting exercises at the site, the population of Hawaiian stilts has increased from 60 to 160 birds.
Government of Nova Scotia Takes Bird Protection Into Its Own Hands
In an effort to protect important habitat for shorebirds, the provincial government of Nova Scotia has purchased four coastal islands in order to preserve them for terns, great blue herons, and other birds that have colonies on the islands. The coastal islands were purchased for $3.1 million. The province hopes to spend another $26 million to purchase other bird habitats in order to protect them as open space.
Good News on the Recovery of the Whooping Crane
Last month Birders United reported a serious setback in efforts to save the whooping crane when 17 of 18 birds in a flock in central Florida were killed when tornados ripped through the area.
But now there is some good news to report. A second group of whooping cranes that winters along the Texas Gulf Coast and migrates north to Canada each spring now has 237 cranes. The flock had once been as low as only 15 birds. Forty-five new cranes were born this year including seven sets of twins.
Birders United Archives
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Home l Latest News l Bush's Bird Policy l Bombing Birds l Bush's War on Wetlands l Bush's Photo Ops l Betraying a Tradition
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For regular updates on steps that the Bush administration is taking to harm bird wetlands and habitats, bookmark http://www.BirdersUnited.com
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