I have no problem with the gist of what is said about cowbird
control. But, keep in mind that the "god" of Kirtland's Warblers came
out years ago opposed to cowbird control because he contended it
didn't really work. Habitat loss is the key. Without retaining and
increasing the appropriate pine forests for Kirtland's, they will
always be in short supply, endangered, and in need of aggressive
(assertive?) protection from those ecological elements that benefit
from humans to the detriment of other native birds and wildlife.
Also, I apologize for my stupid comment about Mr. Weber being an
"anti-evolutionist" - I was in error and only being flippant - Jim
Greaves, Thompson Falls MT

At 01:00 PM 12/10/2009, tweeters-request at mailman2.u.washington.edu wrote:
>Message: 14
>Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:23:43 -0800
>From: "Wayne Weber" <contopus at telus.net>
>Subject: RE: [Tweeters] RFI killing barred owls to save spotted owls
> in Cle Elum area
>To: "TWEETERS" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>Message-ID: <004201ca79c5$e815ee30$b841ca90$ at net>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>Jo and Tweeters,
>
>There should be nothing disturbing about this proposed action. It has been
>proposed and seriously considered by wildlife agencies for quite a few
>years. Spotted Owls are threatened, Barred Owls are not; Spotted Owls are
>native to Washington and Oregon, Barred Owls are not.
>
>For comparison, the Kirtland's Warbler exists today only because many
>thousands of cowbirds, which were parasitizing them and severely reducing
>their breeding success, were trapped and killed on the breeding grounds. The
>cowbird control program continues, although the restoration of suitable
>breeding habitat for Kirtland's Warblers may soon decrease or eliminate the
>need for cowbird control.
>
>Wayne C. Weber
>Delta, BC
>contopus at telus.net