Dear Tweeters,
And now a word from the Band Tailed Pigeon Defense League. I'm already
starting to sound like a broken record, but I believe the Band Tailed Pigeon
is one of the more declined native birds in this state. This is a stunningly
wonderful flyer that always made me think "falcon" for years after I got here
from the East. I consider it very beautiful. It's related to a bird whose
population crashed, the Passenger Pigeon. It relies partly on madrona trees
which are on a one-way ride to oblivion on all land that is mowed and the
horticulturalists haven't been able to help us out by figuring a way to plant
or transplant them. It was the victim of bad mismanagement and I'm not going
near the animal rights debate but this may be one bird that shouldn't be
hunted at all and California and Oregon I'm pretty sure still take our birds
on their wintering grounds. Hundreds used to have a roost site near the
stadium on the UW campus and now, appropriately, all you see there are crows,
which may be their most intransigent problem here.
-Ed Newbold, Seattle (newboldwildlife at netscape.net) PS. Swallows sure do
leave their residential sites in bad weather and congregate communally in
areas of better foraging, and I'm sure they would die if they didn't have a
wetland or lake or river to go to. I thought our lone male Barn did die after
last weekend's horrible weather, but wherever he went for six days must have
had a singles bar. He came back today and-- he's hitched!
--Ed Newbold


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