kai

back to original post about the missing mockingbirds, and the possible link to spraying for west nile, or the possible virus itself...

have any of you guys read "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson? it was written in 1962 i think, but its still pretty relevant (in 2002 they published the 40th anniversary edition). and scary. very scary. I'm only into the first quarter of the book, and I'm already really alarmed (its about spraying pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides everywhere, and how it bioaccumulates in plants, and lodges in the soil and water for a very long time). its a good book, and gets into the harmful effects on bird populations.

"fateful harvest"is a similar type book, written in the mid-90's i think- more about what is classified as 'fertilizer' by the gov't (largely unregulated, actually)- and how fertilizer had become a very easy method of disposing of hazardous waste. goes into the effects on the plants, and thus the cattle, horses and humans (cancer clusters).

[after these 2 books, i dont know that i'll be able to sleep at night. or eat anything at all, or drink water, or breathe....]

brokenwing

Thanks Shannon Moore for all the info!
Kai, You are so right...we have no time to waste, just get out there and enjoy what we have.

I often veiw some neat birds on the flats, between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. One morning very early, I went to watch Dolphins but got a wonderful surprise when I spotted thru the fog a large number of pink birds swooping their bills back and forth thru the water. I was in bird heaven! I looked them up later and found out they are called spoonbills. :o)

A weird thing is I will see those laughing gulls flying outside in the middle of a rain storm. LOL All the other birds are clinging to tree branches and hiding out while those gulls are getting a shower.

~Lita

brokenwing

It's seems the very technology that brought us this far, and saving us, is now doing the opposite.

Still, we can do our part in protecting wildlife the best we can and enjoying what we have.

If we have big yards, making pestiside free wildlife gardens, maybe with a man made pond. Lots of native plants and shrubs.
Or if a small yard, a little butterfly garden and bird santuary.

Just use you imagination.

While we can't change the world, We can still make small differences here and there....or large ones, depending on your resources.
~ Lita

Shannon

Amen, Lita! You are definitely not alone in feeling that way and wanting to do your part. As you mentioned, even something as simple as how one chooses to landscape one's home can have an impact.

It's not an exhaustive list, but I have populated the Wild Texas Web Guide with a large number of conservation & environmental groups. If you or anyone else spots a favorite organization I don't have listed, feel free to suggest a link for inclusion.

__________________
- Shannon Moore
Your Host @ WildTexas.com

kai

Xeriscaping... and organic gardening practices...

at our house, we don't use pesticides at all. we choose plants that don't require watering (in theory)... we are spending a lot of time and effort undoing what the previous owners had done. we plan on tearing up half the front lawn this fall, and installing a watersaving landscape. it takes more planning, but its way more effiecient in the long run. who wants to spend all week watering the lawn so that they can turn around and mow it every weekend?

composting is one big thing you can do- uses up all your kitchen vegetable scraps, and it doesn't add to the enormous amount of trash picked up twice a week.

i'm not so sure about the man made pond. its an awful misuse of water, at least in the san antonio area. plus, its the ideal environment for the west nile virus to breed in mosquitos. i compromise with a bird bath. we are very water conscious people. we've installed a rain water collection system from our roof (also a giant mosquito/west nile breeding ground, but I drop these little organic discs in there- made mainly out of cedar, i think), and that cuts down on them a lot.

we've gone so far as to install a solar powered attic ventilation fan, and we use one of those reel/push mowers as well (creates less dust- great because i am allergic to grass, and when you move a lot, its a pain to deal with the gas mowers- the moving people aren't fond of them.. plus the noise is so much less).

its kind of hard- we only have 2 years here, and i have to learn as i go- this a completely different environment than i am used to. i figure by the time i get it all figured out, we'll be moving again. either that, or i never will

ploddinTod

The mockingbird population is alive and well in my neighborhood. As a matter of fact, they're keeping up with technology as well. :eek: On my morning walk today, I swear I heard a ringing cellphone. But I looked around and saw no one. However, there was Mr. Mockingbird up there somewhere carrying on through his list of tunes, interrupted by a ringtone.

Those amazing winged friends.

__________________
PloddinTod

Shannon

I can't prove it, but I'd swear we have a mocker in the neighborhood that can mimic the car alarm on one of my neighbor's vehicles!

Cellphone ringtones are going to get challenging for mockingbirds, now that ringtones are "polyphonic".

__________________
- Shannon Moore
Your Host @ WildTexas.com