Subject: Fw: Egrets that eat swallows
Date: Feb 4 05:54:33 2002
From: Wayne C. Weber - contopus at shaw.ca



Gene, you took the words right out of my mouth! On my last visit to
the Dry Tortugas (1992), there was a small pond inside Fort Jefferson
which was frequently visited by numerous warblers and other small
birds during the day. Two Cattle Egrets hung out constantly near the
pond, attempting to capture warblers, and occasionally succeeding. We
were told, as you were, that many of the Cattle Egrets that arrive on
the Tortugas each spring end up starving to death, and migrant
songbirds are among the few available food sources.

Not only Great Blue Herons, but also Cattle Egrets and other heron
species, are capable of killing and eating an astounding variety of
animals.

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, BC
contopus at shaw.ca



----- Original Message -----
From: Gene Bullock <bullockg at earthlink.net>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2002 2:13 PM
Subject: Egrets that eat swallows


I've watched cattle egrets eating both swallows and warblers in the
Dry Tortugas. When there is a big fall-out there, the birds are
sometimes pinned down for days by the weather. Since there is
absolutely no food for them, they eventually starve. Thus, there is
plenty of food for the birds that can eat other birds. It's a sad
thing to watch, but a part of nature that usually goes unnoticed.
Fall-outs are an exceptional opportunity to see beautiful birds up
close, but are highly stressful and hazardous to the birds. I've
heard that the vast majority of migrating birds do not survive their
first season. Of course, we can't protect them from nature, but we
can certainly help them by preserving needed habitat along their
migratory
route. I understand the Park Service's prohibition against bringing
such bird food as meal worms into the park (Dry Tortugas), but I
sometimes question the undiscriminating policy of eradicating
non-native plants in environmentally sensitive areas in which these
plants have become important sources of food and shelter for both
nesting and migrating birds. In the Dry Tortugas, for example, the
eradication program has eliminated important habitat on such islands
as Loggerhead Key.

Gene Bullock