[texbirds] Devil hunting terns

From: MBB22222@xxxxxxx
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 14 May 2013 18:00:06 -0400 (EDT)
Here is one (and no, I did not photoshop this critter) 
 
http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/150203064
 
It was trying to hunt and was chasing any tern or other bird in sight on  
the beach - his behavior did not bother the owner. Many of them were terns,  
including Least Terns that were trying to either court or mate. Would you  
continue what you are doing and have a pleasant final moment if you see this  
animal coming straight at you trying to kill you? I hope not. If the answer 
is  yes - professional help is the only hope left. I am not qualified to 
help. BTW  even if this pair of terns was fearless, survived the attack and 
was able to  finish mating act the laid eggs or hatched chicks would have a 
pretty good  chance to be destroyed or killed during (this or another dog) 
next visits. Well  â¦
 
Itâs been said that âThe road to hell is paved with good intentionsâ  
(whatever the 'hell' meaning is). Good nesting habitats are disappearing in  
front of our eyes. Beaches are not exceptions and I would even speculate that  
those are the most impacted places by human activities. I see some 
intentions -  sign are posted, some areas are roped around â¦ IMHO sometimes 
without 
much sense  and in wrong places (this year, so far, looks like disaster even 
in some  potentially better than average nesting places around here) and I 
might present  more data and observations in other posts. Today I just want 
to stress out and  look for some answers about one factor greatly impacting 
birds nesting on Texas  beaches. Loose dogs. I am not quite sure and am 
trying to find out what are a  written laws and, if any,  how these are 
executed. 
On some beaches there  are signs that all dogs or loose dogs (not on leash) 
are not permitted. I also  see that many dog owners are ignoring these 
signs and, so far, I never saw any  action taken against dog owners. I do not 
know on what law base these sign are  posted and  if they can be executed (and 
by whom?).  Perhaps it is  like with jaywalking - supposedly we have a law 
against but many might even  never heard about it and I never saw one 
punished for doing this. Perhaps I do  not visit downtown too often and perhaps 
other subdivisions are more like the  beaches as far as enforcing some laws 
goes. 
 
Also lets take a look at this problem from the other side and make  some 
things straight; I am not against dogs or dog owners. I do love dogs (well,  
not all of them - somehow I can not feel love when looking at a pit bull) and 
 these animals need places to walk and run. To my understanding dogs, as an 
 example, are allowed on Texas City Dike (it has nothing to do with photos 
above  taken in another place). We cannot just ban dogs on all outside 
places. If we  decided that this dike is a place to be used by dog owners to 
bring dogs with  them we should not allow birds to nest there and even worse, 
try to encourage  birds to nest there. During time when dike was close to the 
public after a  hurricane some birds including skimmers started to nest 
there uninterrupted.  When the dike was reopen to the public some skimmers 
tried 
to keep nesting there  in the following year with disaster results (there 
are more reasons why they  should not nest there but again this is not 
subject for this post). After that  skimmers moved out - smart birds. We can 
post 
as many signs about sharing the  beach as we wish it will not work in many 
(most?, all?) cases. This dike  was designated for other purposes that are in 
real conflict with bird nesting  site. Little ropes will not stop people 
from walking and driving across (have  some drastic videos) and even sight of 
a little Chihuahua dog on the leash will  provoke panic in the whole colony 
that often costs lost of eggs and chicks. So  we can try to âshareâ the 
beach but nesting birds will lose anyway. We can ban  dogs in all places 
(absurd) but where the dogs will go? Do I see a solution? No,  with human 
population growing so fast I only see things getting progressively  worse. 
Perhaps 
somebody else see one (solution) and is willing to share  it?
 
NOTE: photos posted are of the actual LETE pair courting right before this  
dog attack. I have many better LETE courting pair photos but wanted to show 
 shots only from the actual incident. I choose this dog as I am glad I do 
not  have nightmares - seeing this dog in dream would be an unforgettable 
experience.  Although it might be a wonderful pet to his owner (I am sure it 
is) and could be  a great dog to me if I know him personally - things are not 
always as we see  them, especially in just one, frozen moment.  
 
Mark B Bartosik
Houston, Texas
http://www.pbase.com/mbb/from_the_field
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[texbirds] Devil hunting terns

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