[TN-Bird] Re: Shrikes & Quail
- From: "Jean Buchanan" <owlshilljeanb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <greenesnake@xxxxxxxxx>, <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:57:40 -0600
I have been the Director of Owl's Hill Nature Sanctuary in Brentwood TN,
northwestern Williamson County, since 1990. We have 160 protected natural
acres with a 220 acre undeveloped buffer tract to our north. The neighbors
have 10-200 acre tracts-no one really manicures their lots. There are horses
as there have always been. There is lots of brush, the occasional old
orchard, fields periodically bush hogged and forest in various stages of
succession. We are on Beech Creek Road which has a good fencerow habitat.
The only hunting is illegal poaching. Herbicide use is virtually
non-existent. And yet...the Loggerheaded shrikes are gone as are the
Bobwhite quail and the Eastern meadowlarks, all very prevalent in the early
90s.
In the mid 90s I read an article in Birders World magazine about declining
shrike populations world wide without any sound explanations as to the Why?
At our sanctuary we have coyote, bobcat, red fox and grey fox but I don't
sense in any greater or lesser numbers than were here in 1990, the same for
deer. We have fewer feral cats than in 1990, thanks to the coyotes, I
suspect. However a species that has increased dramatically on our acreage
and on the surrounding properties is turkey. Do turkeys eat the quail eggs
and young as I've been told? We also have more Cooper's and Sharp-shinned
Hawks than when the Loggerheads were prevalent. Coincidence?
Some observations over time.
Jean Buchanan
Williamson County
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Greene" <greenesnake@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 11:50 AM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Shrikes & Quail
> Terry,
>
> I think there is more going on with the Loggerhead Shrike than just
> habitat loss. I have no proof to back this up but my feeling is that it is
> habitat loss coupled with pesticides that are the culprit. Pesticides are
> more devastating long term to predators than non-predators. Pesticides may
> be having a negative impact on N. Bobwhite populations as well but I
> believe that habitat loss is the main reason for their marked decline.
>
> Mark Greene
> Trenton, TN
> Gibson County
>
> --- On Tue, 1/20/09, terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> From: terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [TN-Bird] more quail
> To: "tn-bird" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 11:40 AM
>
> I appreciate all the interest and postings - thought I might hit a nerve.
> I am dubious that habitat change is the major factor in the quail
> population
> plunge and equally skeptical that hunting pressure is playing a major role
> though it can't help the situation. Something else is going on and the
> quail seem to be paralleling the Loggerhead Shrike shrinkage (pun
> intended) at
> least around here. There is no shortage of shrike habitat, no hunting,
> just a
> marked disappearance of shrikes, for no apparent reason.
> It just seems to me that if TWRA is trying to manage wildlife populations,
> and
> a species is in decline for whatever reason, continuing to harvest
> individuals
> by hunting is nonsensical. I can see a lot more reason to have an open
> season
> on Sandhill Cranes which have a non-threatened and increasing population
> (I
> don't favor this), than continuing to hunt a species which clearly has
> undergone a rapid fall in numbers. One of the major benefits of all the
> various
> bird counts we all participate in is to monitor populations. If the data
> is
> available but ignored, what is the point of identifying these trends??
>
> When several years ago, the pothole duck populations fell, there were
> changes
> in hunting seasons, bag limits, etc. All the National Wildlife Refuges in
> the
> state were either closed or had drastic restrictions on winter access.
> Why not
> the same logic with the quail?? Seems like a no-brainer, unless it is
> blocked
> by the hunting lobbies.
>
> Cheers
>
> Terry Witt
> Murfreesboro Tn
>
>
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> ------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
> Cleveland, OH
> -------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
> Rosedale, VA
> __________________________________________________________
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>
> =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
>
> The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
> first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
> You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
> you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
> appear in the first paragraph.
> _____________________________________________________________
> To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
> tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> _____________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe, send email to:
> tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
> ______________________________________________________________
> TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
> endorse the views or opinions expressed
> by the members of this discussion group.
>
> Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
> wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
> Cleveland, OH
> -------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
> Rosedale, VA
> __________________________________________________________
>
> Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
> ARCHIVES
> TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
>
> MAP RESOURCES
> Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
> Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
>
> _____________________________________________________________
>
>
>
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
Cleveland, OH
-------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ARCHIVES
TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
MAP RESOURCES
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
_____________________________________________________________
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