[TN-Bird] Re: thanks for weighing in on the population decreases of formerly common or fairly common birds
- From: "Sabin Thompson" <Sabin@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <SStedman@xxxxxxxxxx>, <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:23:46 -0600
Wow. I feel so dirty.
Sabin Thompson
Kingston springs, tennessee
-----Original Message-----
From: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Stephen Stedman
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 4:23 PM
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [TN-Bird] thanks for weighing in on the population decreases of
formerly common or fairly common birds
After having to spend many precious minutes scanning and then deleting
recent messages focused on the relatively trivial matter of what new and
rare bird species might suddenly show up in Tennessee and be added to
the state bird list, I have been pleased to read the many even more
recent comments on the much more important issue of species losses that
Tennessee is now facing and may continue to face in the coming decades.
We have seen the Red-cockaded Woodpecker eliminated from the state
avifauna in the fairly recent past, and there is some possibility that
the very low state populations of Bachman's Sparrows and Bewick's Wrens
will drop to zero in the lifetime of many who read these words. Before
these extirpations, there were the extinctions of the Carolina Parakeet
and Passenger Pigeon, each of which was present in sufficient numbers to
be considered common or fairly common in Tennessee a century and a half
ago; indeed, the latter may have been the most abundant North American
bird species at one time in the past, perhaps even the most abundant
bird ever to be found on the continent, but now it is gone.
Here are some questions you might ask yourself when you are next
traveling to tick off another rarity: Am I doing anything really useful
by spending time and producing CO2 in the pursuit of a species that is
rare here but common elsewhere? Would I not be doing a lot more good if
I spent this time looking for and documenting the presence of shrikes
somewhere in my local area or convincing a farmer to leave some cedars
along his or her hedgerows for those shrikes to nest in?
There is room in our lives for both ticking off and conserving birds I
suppose, but if we don't want to continue to see an expanding list of
decreasing species all the days of our lives, the balance between the
two has got to shift toward conservation for most of those who now
consider themselves to be birders.
Steve Stedman
Cookeville, TN
=================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.
_____________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________
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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