[wisb] Then and now

From: John Rasmussen <jras@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 08:19:06 -0500
comparing migrations to 20-40 years ago plus, it is really getting scary out 
there especially with the shorebirds and small passerine and grassland birds. 
the numbers just arent there!   Many ducks and waterfowl seem to not be 
affected as much, but the rest are in big trouble. 
The woods grasslands and prairies in Wisconsin today hold just a fragment of 
the number of birds that used to be here, and the numbers are getting smaller 
as time passes.
i remember what it was like in the fifties and sixties and there is no 
comparing the few birds we have now.both on migration and as resident birds.
Global Ag, climate, and loss of habitat have knocked the hell out of the bird 
numbers globally.

This recent somewhat first time public countrywide bird reporting on the 
internet is probably adding confusion to the perception of what and how many 
birds are out there in terms of number of birds seen by the public. This is not 
a criticism at all of reporting, but if an upland plover or Eastern Meadowlark 
is sighted in Portage County thousands of folks will see images of it on the 
internet. Where are those thousands of meadowlarks and plovers that used to 
frequent Wisconsin?

This is not to denigrate reporting or data harvesting but just to point out 
sometimes it can be a bit too comforting to see rare bird photos and reports 
when 50 years ago there were many fewer rare birds on our Wisconsin landscape.
Perspective sometimes clouds reality.

Stan Temples recent lecture on the Passenger Pigeon in Rhinelander was 
wonderful and very sobering in terms of realizing how quickly a mass extinction 
of a species occur. He offered many good thoughts on conservation and the 
importance of preserving our precious avian communities.



ras




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[wisb] Then and now

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