Helping the Eastern Songbird

The eastern songbirds are a group that includes hundreds of species, many known for bright colors or beautiful songs. Yet a huge portion of them are at a fraction of their former level.  The reasons for this are many; habitat loss, competition with non-native species, and the unnecessary predation by the 190 million housecats, both pets and feral.

One important factor in songbird decline was habitat loss.  Of the 1 billion or so acres of primary forest that covered Eastern North America before the land was settled, little to none of the original virgin forest remains, at least in pieces large enough to sustain the songbirds at their former level.

Another important factor in the decline of songbirds is the competition with non-native species.  The two most notorious are the European starling and European house sparrow.  These two are cavity nesters which are known for driving many of our most beautiful or rarest birds from their homes, such as the eastern bluebird.  House sparrows have even been known to kill bluebirds while attempting to drive them from their nests. In addition to nest depredation, competition for food among our natives and the many exotic species brought into this country can be fierce.
   
Finally, house cats, the scourge of all small birds, kill hundreds of millions of our native songbirds every year.  Many people will argue that that is the nature of cats; they are hunters. While I will not argue this point, I will argue that until European man came to America, we did not have felis domesticus or felis catus, which are latin names for the domestic housecat.  Therefore, every songbird that a housecat kills is an unnecessary death that goes against natural order.   And our native songbirds' defenses against such a numerous and efficient predator are not what they should be.  (Mind you, I have two housecats myself, and I love them to death, but I do spray them in the face with water when I catch them attacking birds.)  

These three problems present the main threat to the health of our native songbird populations, and they need our help.  The majority of land suitable for songbirds to live on is in private hands.  Planting native shrubs, trees and plants in your yard, as well as providing a bag or two of birdseed along with some water every now and again, can go a long way towards helping our songbirds and many other of our native species. When we ignore the birds, it is to our own folly, for they die as the land dies, and it will be a dark day indeed if we see them go. But if we all do our part, this earth can be a paradise that all of our descendants will be proud to call home.

The two songbirds in the photos are a male common yellowthroat (top) and a rose breasted grosbeak (bottom.)

On Stranger Tides...

 

 On Oct 20, my family and I went to Dauphin Island, AL, and had a wonderful picnic lunch at a friend's house. Afterwards, we went walking on the beach and met a man fishing for redfish in the lagoon.  At one point, we noticed he had something on his line, and we assumed it was a very large fish by the rate of the line that was exiting his reel.   As he pulled it in we noticed that it was in fact a sea turtle.  My dad and I went into the water and restrained it so that it wouldn't hurt itself any further on the hook. 
We took it to the beach and held it until the fisherman had worked the hook free of its beak.
 (Thankfully for all parties, the turtle had not swallowed the hook, which would have resulted in some risky surgery for the turtle).
     We admired the turtle for a moment, and took some photos, and then returned it to its watery home.  It swam off without any noticeable problems. (Hooray!)
     After its release, we determined that it was a  young loggerhead turtle, the most common sea turtle variety (though still endangered) in Alabama. 

why?

Whaling, terrible in any form, but completely inexcusably when done commercially. The Japanese are the worst, hunting more whales than most pro-whaling nations put together, taking up to 1000 minke whales each year.

If this in itself isn't bad enough, they are indiscriminate, taking mothers, calfs, or even both together. In deer hunting season, it is a crime to do this, as it halts a new generation, and yet, in an animal that's gestation period alone takes a year or more, they do this without thought or care.

All I ask, is why?
Why do these people feel that they have the right or need to slaughter the largest and most intelligent animals on this planet without care or compassion.
 Why do we allow the slaughter of these magestic creatures?

Why?

Wait! What is that thing?

 These incredible crustaceans, denizens of the sandy bottom of the shallows in the Gulf of Mexico, were caught a few weeks ago while I was playing in the surf.  The top left is what I believe to be a slipper lobster. This crustacean, while it has no claws, (that is not what it felt like to me), uses this enlarged antennae to dig through the sediment in search for food.  (Again, not what I am seeing, identification is welcomed).  They are opportunistic feeders and will eat whatever happens to come their way, whether it is a dead fish or some shrimp. 

This second picture is of what is commonly known as a sand flea. These small burrowing crustaceans, when uncovered, can disappear into their gritty home with startling speed and fluidity.  Simply digging a hole at the edge of the surf zone can uncover hundreds of tiny ones or maybe a fairly large one, one to two inches long.  My library of reference books has very little about the sand flea, so I don't know what they eat or their habits.  Help is wanted!!

Somethin' Sandy

This beautiful crustacean is what is known as a sand crab.  In shape, it looks just like any other crab.  In color, however, it is very different.  It has a beautiful reticulate pattern to help it camouflage  itself in its sandy habitat.  They are fairly adept swimmers, but when a predator is around (aka, me) they prefer to bury themselves under the sand with nothing but their eyes showing.  I would not have seen him if he hadn't been in the process of doing this.  The movement caught my eye.  They don't normally get as large as blue crabs, but it is still not something that 5 year olds should pick up, as they can still deliver a nasty pinch.  .... Still, it is a really pretty crab.

Phenomenal Phishes

These unusual fish have me stumped as to what they are.  I caught them over the weekend while at the Gulf.  The striped one was not like that when I caught him and did not have orange eyes.  When I caught him, he was a plain sand colored fish with brown looking eyes.  However, over a period of 30 seconds or so, he changed into this fish with chocolate stripes, orange eyes and gold rims around his pupils.  

The black fish may possibly be a young black seabass, however, because he has full coloration and is fully developed, I as unsure as to whether this is true or not.  Both of these fish were hanging out on the bottom very near the shore.  The sand colored on was in a small trough of sand with three others while the black one was on an area of crushed black shells which offered him excellent camouflage.  Because I did not know he was in my net until I took a close look, I hadn't even been aiming for him.  Besides them, I caught many other fascinating sea creatures over the weekend and you will hear more about them soon.

A Shocking Development

This strange shark-like creature is not a sting ray.  However, it is a close relation.  Commonly known as the electric or torpedo ray, this species, instead of having a whip-like tail with a sting, has two organs behind its eyes that generate electrical shocks powerful enough to recharge a rechargeable battery.  This particular species can most likely generate 30 - 50 volts of electricity.  This allows it to stun fish and hunt invertebrates beneath the sand.

I found this young specimen by asking a couple what they were looking at in the water.  They had mistakenly identified it as a small stingray.  However, I knew what it was because of a "shocking" experience we had had with several hundred of these a few years ago, some much larger than this one.  My family and I discovered them by accidentally stepping on a few of them while they were hiding beneath the sand.  I was shocked several times in quick succession by a ray four or five times larger than this one.  It wasn't exactly painful but it certainly made me jump.  However, this one seemed fairly relaxed in the tidepool I had placed him in because he only gave me one small shock. 

For any new followers who wish to join, I am hoping to start a small environmental organization in the next few months.  Please add yourself to the followers to be included.  More information on this later.