Dennis,
Ugh; I didn't consider the impact a fox might make on ground nesting
species; actually, I was hoping the fox(es) would have a impact on the
wandering house cats I see in the park. My apologies if you mind, I am
cc'ing your report to the rest of Tweeters for the enlightenment of us
all. (See Dennis' sobering message after my commentary below.)

Seahurst is large as coastal forest parks go, but between the cowbirds and
the foxes AND the cats and the increase in casual (translate to noisy
and littering the trails with gumwrappers, beer cans, etc.) human
visitation during the warmer nesting season, what controls would you
recommend? Should the foxes be trapped out and relocated (or even
euthanized?) This sort of situation is probably the fate of all our urban
forests, conflicts of interest among a variety of "attractive" wild
critters in a limited, fragile environment. I had seen Red Foxes in the
vast forest/mountain country of NE Utah, and was delighted to see them
again, without pondering the consequences to the rest of what I routinely
survey in Seahurst Park.

Your response is appreciated and thought-provoking,

Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu U of WA & Burien-Seahurst Park, WA

"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of
confusion and bamboozle requires vigilance, dedication, and courage."
-Carl Sagan-

"We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities." -Pogo-
********************DENNIS' MESSAGE BELOW***********
On Sun, 9 May 1999 denniskrockwell at juno.com wrote:

> On Sun, 9 May 1999 19:16:09 -0700 (PDT) Maureen Ellis
> <me2 at u.washington.edu> writes:
> >snip<
> >Finally, on a brighter note, I saw a Red Fox again today in the
> >forest, a
> >second sighting in the last three weeks. Though I have been seeing a
> >number of mouse and vole carcasses along the trails, I suspect our
> >local
> >foxes don't have to work too hard to survive. There are many yards
> >and
> >patios with pet-food dishes left out along all boundaries of the
> >forest.
> >I called after the Fox I saw today that he needs to watch his
> >waistline.
>
> Maureen,
>
> I take no joy in throwing a wet blanket over your enthusiasm at this
> sighting, but you should know that this species, introduced, not native,
> this side of the Great Plains, is the ecological equivalent of ten feral
> cats when it comes to nesting bird predation.
>
> Dennis K Rockwell
> Kennewick, Washington
> denniskrockwell at juno.com
>
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