Subject: Re: Green Lake, Seattle, weekly count (long)
Date: Feb 26 15:29:24 1997
From: "Scott Richardson" - salix at halcyon.com


> From: Martin Muller <MartinMuller at msn.com>
> Notes:
> * Ever noticed how the wigeons grazing on the grass react differently to (i.
> e, can tell the difference between) dogs on a leash (sentinel pokes head up);

> dogs off leash but under voice control (birds closest to dog poke head up);
> dog off leash lacking control (all heads up, walking away from dog,
eventually
> flying to the safety of water)? This same level of "knowledge" is shared by
> the mallards and Canada geese.

First of all, thanks, Martin, for sharing results of long-term monitoring at
Green Lake.
Second, to the excerpt: Bird reactions to human and pet disturbance are
difficult to study. You have the makings of an interesting (and useful)
research project here.
Tweeters have visited this disturbance question before, in part due to the
Seattle Parks effort to provide "run" areas for dogs. Very often, emotions run
high, but few data are presented to indicate what level of disturbance is
intolerable for a given bird community.
Wigeon and geese at Green Lake are one thing; heronries or nesting plovers at
wildlife areas or refuges are another; and eagles on private property yet
another.
I monitor waterbirds at a small urban embayment that has a poor to nonexistent
buffer from human and pet activity. Some species and some individuals tolerate
quite a bit of "disturbance"--joggers running close by, gesticulating loud
talkers, dogs on or off leashes, waterbird surveyors, etc. Other species and
individuals generally have little tolerance for such activities. I believe the
waterbird community at East Bay will become larger and more varied as the
shorelines are planted with vegetative screens to hide passersby.
Still, if my hunch is correct, it will be very difficult to prove, as there
are far too many unknowns that would enter the equation.
--
Scott Richardson
northeast Seattle
salix at halcyon.com
http://www.halcyon.com/salix/