FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] Re: BKY:Blackbird phobia

["Jackie Elmore" <jackiebelmore@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

You know that the news in Somerset must be slow when all Mardis can write 
about is  blackbirds (both regular and irregular) that no one can find a 
roost for! Give me a break! I wonder why he didn't mention how many million 
truck loads of insect pests those same birds will "gobble" up in a season. 
We might not like starlings but a good portion of their diet is insects the 
year round.

Tree-hugger,
Jackie B. Elmore
Bowling Green, KY




>From: "Roseanna" <roseanna@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: "BirdKY" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [birdky] BKY:Blackbird phobia
>Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:53:00 -0500
>
>
>I thought some of you might be interested in the article below that
>appeared in the local paper, The Commonwealth Journal.
>
>http://www.somerset-kentucky.com/search.cfm?search=detail&ID=2399
>
>Any ideas what a "regular" blackbird could be?:o)?
>
>~Roseanna Denton
>Pulaski County
>
>   Location Unknown
>by   BILL MARDIS
>
>Have you observed the untold millions of birds that blacken the sky
>shortly after daybreak each morning and between sunset and dark at
>night?
>             It's almost scary. The innumerable feathered fowl rush out
>of the southern horizon and wing northward across the heavens in almost
>disciplined patterns, heading for feeding fields.
>             Spurred by a raging metabolism, the birds, with insatiable
>appetites, gobble everything in sight. Feeders, designed for songbirds,
>are quickly emptied by the impolite, hoarse-voiced intruders.
>             Blackbirds, both regular and redwing; grackles and
>starlings, have caused problems in this community for more than 30
>years. Some experts say the birds migrate to the Lake Cumberland area
>during winter to escape the harsher cold of the Great Lakes Region.
>Others believe the prolific egg-layers are native to these rolling
>hills.
>             Main concern about the swarms of birds is not flyover.
>Residents of an area inhabited by the birds worry more about roosts.
>From November until about mid-March, the cuddling creatures can disrupt
>and endanger the lifestyle of a community.
>             Fungi that cause histoplasmosis is in bird droppings.
>Histoplasmosis is a disease most usually found in the Mississippi and
>Ohio river valleys. It is marked by benign involvement of the lymph
>nodes of the trachea and bronchi. Its progression can cause fever,
>anemia and sometimes lesions of the skin, mouth or throat.
>             Blackbirds, grackles and starlings are friendly creatures.
>They apparently enjoy being around people, and more often than not pick
>a roosting place in or near cities and towns. Obviously not class
>conscious, roosts have plagued some of Somerset's better neighborhoods
>during past years.
>             Joe Metzmeier, wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest
>Service, said as a general rule blackbirds and their collective cousins
>prefer small patches of woodland rather than the deep forest.
>             "They don't usually roost in unbroken forests, according to
>Metzmeier. "They like a fragmented habitat," usually near a town.
>             Metzmeier and the U.S. Forest Service were two of several
>sources contacted by the Commonwealth Journal in an effort to locate the
>roosting place of this winter's massive flock of birds. No luck.
>             Metzmeier said he doesn't know the location of what has to
>be a large roost.
>             Pulaski County Judge-executive Darrell BeShears also
>couldn't help.
>             "I haven't heard where the bird roost is and my office
>hasn't had any complaints," the judge-executive reported.
>             Stuart Spillman, senior environmentalist at the Lake
>Cumberland District Health Department, said no one has pinpointed the
>bird roost to his office.
>             The health department has propane-powered cannons designed
>to scare blackbirds from roosts. Only sound propels from the cannon
>barrels. No projectiles shoot forth and no birds are killed.
>             Programmed to fire in sequence, cannons are loaned without
>charge to anyone who needs to scare away birds.
>             Jim Wesley, partially retired but still acting environmental
>director for the district health department, introduced the cannons to
>this area. The noisemakers replaced Tergitol, an industrial detergent
>used for massive bird kills. The roosts were sprayed at night when the
>temperature was in the high 30s to low 40s and the chemical washed oil
>from the birds' feathers, resulting in death by hypothermia.
>             Tree-hugging environmentalists, obviously with no roost near
>their homes, strongly objected to what they considered an inhumane
>method of freezing the birds to death.
>             Nobody seems to know if there is a law prohibiting the use
>of Tergitol, but drenching the birds with soapy water is not done
>anymore.
>             Wesley, who probably has been involved with the bird problem
>more than anyone in the county, said he doesn't have the slightest idea
>where the current roost is located.
>             Ed Lohr, health program administrator for the state
>Department of Public Health, noted that most complaints about bird
>roosts are voiced to local health departments. He said his department at
>the state level has had no requests for assistance in eradicating bird
>roosts.
>             Lohr said the birds usually congregate near a food source.
>"Unfortunately, cities become a good source of food," he commented.
>             Based on the flying pattern morning and night, the local
>roost obviously is in a southerly direction. U.S. 27 seems to be guiding
>ribbon for the twice-daily flights.
>             "It (roost) could be in McCreary County," suggested Wesley.
>He theorized that the roost is in a remote area because of the absence
>of complaints.
>             Rodney Dick, office manager for the Pulaski County Road
>Department, was asked about the birds because of his knowledge of all
>sections of the county.
>             Dick said he hasn't seen or heard anything about a bird
>roost.
>             A spokesman at the Kentucky Division of Forestry also was
>not aware of the location of the bird roost.
>             During the early 1970s, Rocky Hollow, now site of a city
>park, once was a bedroom where millions of birds put heads beneath
>wings.
>             Rocky Hollow stretches through downtown Somerset. The
>northern edge of the ravine is about 50 yards south of South Main Street
>behind the former Kenwick Hotel. It is bounded on the south by Cotter
>Avenue; on the east by South Central Avenue; and on the west by South
>Main Street behind where the former City Lumber Company was located.
>             So many birds roosted in Rocky Hollow that trees bent
>beneath the weight. Limbs as big as a man's leg were snapped. Bird
>droppings were a foot deep on the ground.
>             The birds eventually left Rocky Hollow for some unknown
>reason. They moved to a new roost off Rush Branch Road.
>             Equally famous as a bird roost was a pine thicket on the
>property of General Electric Somerset Glass Plant. Spraying of Tergitol
>on three separate nights in the spring of 1988 killed an estimated
>1,672,000 birds on a 7.8-acre plot. GE eventually removed the pine
>trees.
>             In the past, roosts have plagued residents of Green Meadows,
>Cardinal Hills, Southern Hills, Indian Hills and Somerside Acres
>subdivisions. Propane-powered cannons were used in most cases to move
>the roosts in these neighborhoods.
>
>             Story created Friday, January 31, 2003 at 11:33 AM.
>
>
>================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS==============
>
>The BIRDKY Mailing List requires you to sign
>your messages with first & last name, city, &
>state abbreviation.
>--------------------------------------------------
>To post to this mailing list, send e-mail to:
>birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>--------------------------------------------------
>To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
>birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line.
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>Visit the Kentucky Ornithological Society
>web site at http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos.htm
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison, Richmond, KY
>E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx


_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS==============

The BIRDKY Mailing List requires you to sign 
your messages with first & last name, city, & 
state abbreviation.
--------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, send e-mail to:
birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Visit the Kentucky Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos.htm
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison, Richmond, KY
E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx