[TN-Bird] spray programs affecting nighthawks, dragonflies, etc.
- From: Joan C Reese/ADAG/EXT/UTIA <jreese5@xxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2004 15:54:16 -0400
Carol Reese
Ornamental Horticulture Specialist -Western District
University of Tennessee Extension Service
605 Airways Blvd.
Jackson TN 38301
731 425 4721 email jreese5@xxxxxxx
Charlie't comments about spraying mosquitoes to try and prevent West Nile
virus are well taken, in my opinion. Not only do I feel this spray program
is probably more detrimental than beneficial in the long run, but I also
think it is likely to be very ineffective.
However, that spray program would not be the reason that I lack nighthawks,
since I live far from any urban area that employs those tactics. But I do
live in an area where a lot of cotton is grown, which made me consider the
large scale "boll weevil eradication" program as a possibility. I cannot
pin this as the problem either, though, at least not entirely, because I do
see a lot of the other insectivorous birds, and also bats and dragonflies.
I may be seeing fewer dragonflies this year however, than I did last. Last
year, one particular species would form big swarms over the road at
particular spots just at dusk, and as the dusk deepened, at some point the
dragonflies would vanish, and in their place would be bats. This year I
have not seen the big dragonfly swarm that made the twilight view from my
porch so interesting.
I wonder sometimes what changes may happen in a year that may alter
populations of native critters and if it is a minor fluctuation, or a
decline of a more permanent nature. Below this paragraph is a column
scheduled to run this coming Friday on farming practices that affect
wildlife if you care to read it.
Dratted ditch weeds are gone gone gone. Good riddance,or big oops?
A lengthy field road I often walk is lined on both sides with swampy woods
before it reaches a large fertile bottom, planted this year in soybeans and
cotton. A drainage ditch on each side of this road keeps water from
inundating the dirt road during wet times.
On one side of the road, the ditch is shaded with red maple, alder,
sycamore and tulip poplar. There are a few deeper pools that make good
dipping spots for the dogs on hot days. Stepping out of the searing bright
sunshine into the cool shade is a relief, and the dogs plunge gratefully
into the refreshing water. I'm not so grateful when they splatter me with a
good shake when they emerge.
On the other side, the ditch is wide, shallow and in full sun - great
habitat for a variety of beautiful plants that thrive in boggy sites. Here
you will find buttonbush - a shrub with round white blooms that resemble
golf balls with whiskers - a favorite of the butterflies. Later in the
year, this plant provides seed for a variety of birds, including ducks.
Jewelweed, an annual plant that reseeds lavishly in these wet sites, will
be freckled with orange blooms in late summer and into the fall, providing
hummingbirds with high energy nectar. Spears of cardinal flower loom here,
taller than my head - startlingly red and another favorite of the
hummingbirds. Earlier in the year, vivid spikes of purple fringed orchid
stood on the bank, lightly shaded by tall sedges, rushes, and cattails.
Last year, you could have seen all these plants in this ditch. This year,
all you see is a wide swath of brown dead foliage, evidence of the
effectiveness of agricultural herbicides.
I appreciate the farmer's side. As a farm raised girl, I understand the
need to fight back the vegetation around the field edges, or the yearly
encroachment would begin the eclipse the cropland. I even see the wisdom in
spraying the ditches that line the field, since the young trees taking
toehold there would eventually cast shade onto sunloving crops.
But this area lined with swamp will never be cropland and it seems to me
just clipping the edges of the field road to keep it open - as they did
last year would be enough. If the point were to remove vegetation that
might eventually clog the ditch, surely that is counterbalanced by the
vegetation's positive impact on erosion control and filtering water that
eventually ends up in the Forked Deer River. I grieve to think that the
decision may have been made simply because of having a little Roundup left
in tank after spraying the Roundup-ready soybeans.
I think most farmers consider themselves to be nature lovers, and as long
as it didn't cut into their bottom line, will change practices if they saw
a good reason to do so. Indeed, what we see may be our only difference. He
saw weeds, where I saw butterflies, birds and dragonflies flitting among
jeweled plants.
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