[texbirds] Re: FW: Laffite's Cove Saturday & Sunday
- From: Tripp Davenport <tripp.davenport@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "adewittpatton@xxxxxxx" <adewittpatton@xxxxxxx>, "spkelley@xxxxxxxxx" <spkelley@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 20:30:37 -0700 (PDT)
Hoping I don't open a can of worms...Last Spring, I posted about the "same?"
snake eating 2 warblers in a span of an hour while I was there. Anyway, my
opinion is that we have a duty to protect the birds at the cove or in that case
anywhere where we have created a man-made habitat to attract birds. Much like a
feeding station that attracts cats, roadrunners, raptors etc. we have created
an artificial environment. This is not a "wild" natural setting. I see it much
like a bird bath in the yard. If I had a cottonmouth in my backyard, I would
definitely remove it and relocate it to a more appropriate site. If I were in
the neighborhood surrounding this park, I would also want the snakes removed.
If I recall, there was only one snake there, now there are two and possibly
more. I enjoy snakes and even have a "rescue" reptile in my classroom. We have
had snakes come to our bird drip outside the classroom (rattlesnakes, rat
snakes, and a coral
snake) all have been relocated. A lot of squirrels have been relocated as
well! Just as I did in the Spring, I recommend relocating the snakes, there is
a lot of really great habitat nearby...How many get "removed" from the nearby
golf course every year? There is some literature and mainly stories about
snakes being territorial and the dangers to the snake involved in relocation. I
personally have relocated snakes to my barn at the ranch for rodent control and
have seen one of the same snakes over a year later. We have two indigo snakes
in the yard at the ranch and if they started staking out the bird feeders, I
would relocate them to the pasture. Another suggestion that could be made is to
clean the drip ponds of debris and make the ponds very shallow as to disclose
the snakes hiding places. Last Spring, I noticed that the ponds were choked
with dead leaves and debris and the water was dark. Perfect hiding place for
cottonmouth. All said, the
appropriate thing for the safety of the snakes, the birds, and the humans that
live and play there, would be to remove the snakes. Otherwise remove the
artificial habitat (bird drips), or remove the subdivision. Correct me but I
believe that cottonmouths along with alligators are on the increase, warblers
on the other hand are on the decline...We are doing cost/benefit analysis in
environmental sciences class this week...good topic...Thanks
Tripp Davenport
Uvalde Co. / Real Co.
________________________________
From: Alton Patton <adewittpatton@xxxxxxx>
To: "spkelley@xxxxxxxxx" <spkelley@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Dean.Silvers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <Dean.Silvers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>;
"texbirds (texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 8:47 PM
Subject: [texbirds] Re: FW: Laffite's Cove Saturday & Sunday
If you have ever encountered a cottonmouth you know that they are very bad
tempered and aggressive . Those drips where the snakes are are too close for
comfort. Somebody is likely to get bit. But I guess that is also nature at
work. Personally I'll take a bird over a cottonmouth any day.
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 16, 2013, at 8:19 PM, "Sean Paul Kelley" <spkelley@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Dean, et. al:
> Not trying to troll you but asking a serious question: why would you want
> to harm the snake? It's natural that the bird is its prey. It's the circle
> of life. This is something I don't understand about birders and birding.
> The death of a bird is marked as a tragedy, but of other animals little is
> said, especially such animals that humans find abhorrent or fear? Does a
> bird, because of its color, or feather, or light bones have some intrinsic
> value that makes it more worthy than the snake? Aren't all the animals
> essential portions of an ecosystem?
>
> If we are all there to enjoy the fullness of nature, then which one is the
> worse death: the bird preying on the poor innocent worm or caterpillar just
> chilling around munching on leaves, or the snake eating the bird? Or the
> Red-tailed Hawk eating the snake?
>
> I'm genuinely curious about this. Or perhaps your concerns for the snakes
> were for the health of the human observers?
>
> Lastly, if I have interpreted your email incorrectly, my apologies, but yet
> I have seen other birders react in similar ways and am genuinely curious as
> to why?
>
> Regards,
>
> Sean Paul Kelley
> Central San Antonio
>
>
>
>> As the mosquitos have abated, the only drawback was the several large
>> Cottonmouth Water Moccasins. On Saturday morning two large snakes,
>> intertwined with each other and raised up off the ground. We assume they
>> were mating. On Sunday, the snakes were in and around the drips. It was a
>> tense experience watching beautiful warblers coming to the drips when the
>> snakes were there. Until late Sunday afternoon, no warblers were taken, but
>> around 6:30 we saw a snake, with a warbler in its mouth, at the second
>> drip. Obviously, we are not allowed off the trails to intervene. So, I am
>> hoping this e-mail helps bring attention to the matter.
>
>
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