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Date: 11/8/24 12:43 pm
From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Declining? |
Hi,
*** Long message alert *** *** Please read all the way thru ***
One of the hardest topics I have found to 'deal with' is the one
about "declining populations".
I am reminded of the counsel an experienced birder gave me a few years
back when I asked
something like "where have all the Snow Geese gone?" and she quickly and
correctly
replied "Birds have wings".
Every time I've ever read any book/online resource/what ever that
talks about bird
behavior they -always- mention the three primary motivators for birds
"food (and water),
sex, and territory (which is/can be closely related to the previous two).
What I'm trying to say is that "just because I/you/someone has
noticed that there
aren't as many _____s around" does not mean that the species is "in
decline". It
may be - but that is not the only reason. They might just be "somewhere
else".
And even "often are" just somewhere else.
Are there some locations that we've grown to trust as "reliable" for
a particular
species over the past few years? Yes, definitely. But also every time
I talk with
another birder whose been around longer than I have - they talk about
how the
particular bird we are talking about "used be in another location - but
recently
that location hasn't worked" (but some other locations do).
I hope you have stayed with me this far - because I want to say this
with just as
much emphasis/passion ... I am NOT saying that declining populations is
not a
real concern - what I am saying is that we have to be careful about getting
concerned about a particular location (such as "in my backyard") and
especially
when there may be significant reasons why that location isn't as good as it
used to be ... that are unrelated to declining species numbers.
- Jim
P.S. Have you ever put a stop watch on how long it takes for a
bird/flock of birds
to move far enough away from you that you can no longer detect their
presence? Have you noticed how someone with a spotting scope can
find a bird - that you had no idea was there?
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