Douglas Tallamy, an entomologist, wrote a terrific book, NATURE'S BEST
HOPE, about how we can bring back more worms and insects. There is a
Robin on the cover.
Judy, jmeredit@xxxxxxxxxxx
On 2021-09-24 21:46, Jeff Gilligan wrote:
I earlier speculated about the crash in the once dense population of American Robins, and why they are now almost entirely absent as breeders in the neighborhoods of Portland, such as Laurelhurst.
I attributed it to the urbanization of crows, the introduction of eastern squirrels, and maybe a bit to the urbanization of Cooper's Hawks. Those might be much of the reason, but another occurred to me.
That is that earth worms i watered lawns now seem absent. Formerly, after grassy yards were watered, or after a rain, there would be many to be seen in the late hours of afternoon or at night. Inevitably a few would get stranded on the sidewalk, and not survive the next day. I now seen none, even after the recent rain.
Formerly, it was these non-native earth worms that American Robins thrived on. Their young would follow the adults on the lawns begging for the next catch.
I have no theory what happened to the worms, and without them, there is very little food for American Robins.
This refers to the earth worms in NW gardens:
Night Crawlers mating (_Lumbricus terrestris_) Illus: Craig Latker
IN A NUTSHELL
Popular Name:
Earthworm, nightcrawler, red wiggler, angleworm (a reference to fish bait)
Scientific Name:
_Phylum_: Annelida, the segmented worms, leeches, and polychaetes. _Class_: Oligochaeta. _Family_: Many, but Lumbricidae includes most familiar earthworms.
Common Garden Species:
Epigeic red wiggler, or brandling worm (_Eisenia fetida_) is found in leaf litter, manure, and compost piles. Red marsh or leaf worm (_Lumbricus rubellus_), also sometimes called red wiggler (a term better reserved for _E. fetida_), is found in topsoil. Nightcrawler or fish worm (_Lumbricus terrestris_) is a large deep-dwelling worm.
How might the recent invader species of worm affect bird populations?
https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/invasive-jumping-worms-leap-oregon
