[va-richmond-general] destruction of nest

  • From: "katya" <katya@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <lbarnett@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 21:42:51 GMT


Hello,

I have held onto this as long as I can stand it.  Regarding the destruction of the nest in the James River park system and the sound of murder which was dogs chasing a ball at the river.  I have been a member of RAS for long enough (...) to believe that ALL of us have the intelligence to recognize the common sense of Dawin and survival of the fittest (in fact, I think that most people do whether they have even heard of Charles Darwin or not.)  It is dreadfully sad that the bird died evidently.  Perhaps the kind thing would have been to destroy the nest and force it to rebuild in another location as none of us are that blasted hungry ourselves and basically would have only inconvenienced the bird. 

The list of perditors includes far more than dogs chasing balls sounding like murder to someone: snakes, possum, raccoon, ferile and tame cats, foxes, I have doubts about coyotes as I have camped in California and know if there coyotes about we all know (though I have heard reports which I don't believe); then, there are all the bears which we have all heard about; I would include skunks but I haven't smelled one in years and years and years; I don't know what beaver eat, but they are there too; I am not familiar with the diet of ground hogs or muskrats who also make their residence there; there are other rodents, such as rats, and crows, you all who know birds better than I probably list a bunch of bird species besides crows who would have been glad to find that nest and fill their bellies.  Presumably this was an animal which had spent every second of its life outside and by some strange fluke could not recognize its own vunerability.  It is pretty much amazing to me that anything could be that dreadfully dumb.

Intimidating dog owners who just want to give their dogs a little fresh air and some exercise by warning them of laws protecting migratory species is only going to make us look like fools.  No law that a human being can devise is going to protect an animal suffering from such a lack of intelligence.  It would make as much sense to go down to the river; camp out by the bird's nest with a copy of Darwin or Aesops fables and read continuously nite and day.

Rather than make enemies who will come to regard birders as crazy fantatics, could we please use the common sense of Darwin and come up with a more reasonable way of presenting ourselves--even to each other? The miracle is that the nest survived for two weeks.

Katie, aka YBTS from WVa, or South of the James

 

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