birds
Whooping Cranes Endangered By Wind Turbines
The popular alternative, renewable energy may pose a risk for the endangered species.
The past few months have seen increased discussion of alternative
energy sources including wind energy here in the United States. Private
investors including oil-man T. Boone Pickens have touted exploitation
of the Midwest’s wind potential through high-profile television ads in
this time of four-a-gallon gas prices. With 40,000 new
turbines expected to be erected, the Fish and Wildlife Service remains
wary, but understands the importance of developing renewable energy,
and remains
committed to cooperation to increase the vitality of both interests. The U.S. Department of the Interior
established a Wind Turbine Advisory Committee (WTAC) for the purpose of making
recommendations to the Secretary on maintaining wildlife habitat. Whooping
cranes typically fly at altitudes of at least 500 feet: So far no
whooping cranes have been killed by wind turbines, which are usually
about 300 feet high.
The danger comes, however, upon their nightly landing. According
to Tom Stehn, of the FWS, the placement of wind farms could result in
huge losses of natural habitat if birds avoid their usual migration
routes. Note how the migration route overlaps the wind power map. whooping crane migration map Another article notes that other species, such as the Prairie Chicken, avoid nesting near tall structures such as turbines. The corridor reaching from North
Dakota down into Texas is recognized as some of the greatest wind potential. Industry officials from organizations such as
the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) are aware of the potential impact
on
wildlife and aim to minimize it, but emphasize the role in all areas of
development of protecting wildlife and not singling wind power, since,
according to Nature, one bird is killed for every thirty turbines--a number much less than many other man-made features. Most environmental groups, the FWS, and
the Secretary of the Interior support renewable energy sources such as
wind, but wish to work together to protect the interests of both sides.
Articles on this topic: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/04/wind-farms-cranes.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23389384/
Fact Sheets on Wildlife Impact from the American Wind Energy
Association
http://www.awea.org/pubs/factsheets.html
WTAC site—they are meeting this week, so this site may have
updates soon
http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/windpower/wind_turbine_advisory_committee.html
FWS on Wind Energy
Common birds in decline
While it is important to protect threatened and endangered species, we need not take for granted the more common species. This has been made evident by a report from the Audubon which details the rapid decline of once common species. The Northern Bobwhite, a once common sight in Florida, has declined 96% in Florida since 1967. Why? The biggest factor is loss and degradation of habitat. This further highlights the need for communities to make consideration for wildlife in their planning practices; not just considering those species that are already rare, but also those species that could become rare.
Decline in Common Birds in Florida
The National Audobon Society released "Common Birds in Decline" on Thursday. This study examines the decline of birds species throughout the U.S. based on the Annual Breeding Survey conducted by the U.S.G.S. and Audobon's "Christmas Bird Count."
This study lists five species of bird for each state that are common species seeing a significant decline. For Florida those species are:
- Northern bobwhite (population has decreased by 90%, on this list for 14 states) American kestrel (population decreased by 60%) Black skimmer (population decreased by 73%) Clapper rail (population decreased by 81%) American bittern (population decreased by 53%)
Most of the decline in common species is a result of habitat loss. For the Northern bobwhite and American kestrel that is loss of open areas, for the rail and bittern it is loss of wetlands and for the skimmer it is increase in beach use by people.
Information in this entry is taken from "Common birds in decline, Audubon reports" by Kevin Lollar of the Ft. Meyers News-Press. Please use the following link to access the article. http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070615/NEWS0105/70615001/1075
Scrub jay zoning changes inspire the same emotion, frustration
U.S. Fish & Wildlife updated its scrub jay zoning practices last year, which is having a profound effect on some Florida property owners. Some citizens found that the new policy means they can't build on their land, environmental advocates say the new plan could further endanger the protected bird.
Scrub Jay photo, FFWCC
Sun Herald: Scrub jay zoning changes inspire the same emotion, frustration
Also see: www.ecofloridamag.com/archived/scrub_jay.htm for more information about the species.
Click the Document Below for background - http://1000fof.org/Panhandle/Documents/Wildlife/scrub-jay.pdf
Parrot Cove to the Rescue!
This is a speech given by a citizen, Phil Weinrich, from the Lake Worth neighborhood called Parrot Cove. The neighborhood recently gave away nearly 800 native trees to be planted in yards throughout the neighborhood. Money for the trees was raised through annual "Holiday Home Tours". Guidance was given on how and where to plant for those who wished to plant them themselves and volunteers helped plant the trees for those who needed it.
You’re going to have visitors this fall. Lots of them! Some will stop briefly on their way through town. Others will stay for the entire winter. They’ll be tired and hungry and desperate for your hospitality.
You won’t have to cook or clean for them, or show them the sights. In fact, the only demand they’ll make on your time is if you choose to sit at your window and watch them.
They’re not mineral or vegetable; they’re smaller than a breadbox. They’re birds.
And you live right on their flyway . . . their migratory pathway between where they raise their families and where they go to spend the winter. They funnel through Florida by the hundreds of thousands, and a great many of them follow ancient, instinctive, patterns of travel utilizing the coast as a navigational aid, right through our Parrot Cove Neighborhood.
Many of the warblers, thrushes, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, hummingbirds, and other miniature migrants that pass through your yard have come from points as far north as Canada and the Arctic Circle, and the vast majority won’t settle in for the winter until they reach South America.
Up until just a hundred years ago or so, coastal Florida was a garden landscape of mangrove swamps and hammock forests that provided everything a weary traveler could as for . . . food, water, shelter. Parrot Cove is still a garden landscape with lovely trees and plantings and lawns. But without knowing the consequences, many of us have chosen trees, shrubs, and grasses for our yards that hail from beautiful, tropical lands in other parts of the world. The fact that they are not well adapted to our Florida soils and climate is an inconvenience that we know how to overcome by just applying some fertilizers and irrigation.
The fact that they are totally foreign to a native songbird’s digestive system is NOT something the birds can overcome. Just like a koala, whose digestive system can only derive nourishment from eucalyptus leaves, our tiny migrants can digest only those proteins for which they have matching digestive enzymes. They are unable to extract nutrients from the leaves, buds and berries of scarcely any of the plants we have chosen to grow in our yards (their flyway).
Imagine trying to take a long road trip, and all they provided at any gas station was bales of hay! Good fuel, but not for what you’re driving! Your yard is probably just the same . . .full of the plants that provide fuel for birds migrating through Polynesia or Southeast Asia, but not for the ones that live HERE!
To compound the problem, our choice of non-native landscape plants has also impacted the populations of insects the birds are equipped to digest. Bugs are high-protein foods for migrating birds, but the species the birds target are not to be found in non-native vegetation.
Now try to imagine a tiny Magnolia Warbler heading for the Tropics. He’s so tiny, you could mail him and his mate to California for the price of one stamp . . .and he’s got to put on enough fat to fuel his trip across the entire Caribbean Sea to South America. He finds endless acres of parking lots and rooftops and asphalt all along his traditional migratory route, and when he does find trees and shrubs, they are mostly ones he can’t eat, with bugs he can’t digest.
So who should come to the rescue? The good folks of Parrot Cove Neighborhood, that’s who! At our last Neighborhood gathering, the membership voted to establish a special tree-planting program to rebuild our hurricane-battered tree canopy . . .and the Tree Committee decided to place 100% of our emphasis on native species that are of special value to migratory birds!
In a nutshell, the Committee is working with a local native plant arborist, Carl Terwilliger, of Meadow Beauty Nursery, to obtain a varied selection of migratory bird-friendly trees for planting in Parrot Cove Neighborhood. Funds from the PCN treasury will pay for the trees, which will then be distributed to members to plant in their yards! Tree Committee members and the arborist will provide information about selecting and planting and caring for your tree(s), and neighbors will be on hand to help get the trees in the ground.
Not only will we be on the way to restoring our battered canopy, but at the same time we will be replacing it with the very trees our migratory birds count on for their survival! Yard by yard, our entire neighborhood will become a sanctuary (and re-fueling station) for wildlife in desperate need of our help. As we make our neighborhood a more beautiful place for ourselves, we will be embarking on a project with truly global conservation implications!
Forgot your password?
