There are documented cases where fireworks displays have wreaked havoc on
seabird colonies. A Brandt's Cormorant colony at Cape Viscaino, CA was once
decimated by gulls after fireworks flushed the adults off the eggs and
chicks. I've heard of similar concerns at other coastal locations. I assume
the fireworks must have been really loud professional ones pretty close to
the colony.
On Mon, Jul 8, 2024 at 6:32 PM Michael Price via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
Hey tweets
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Any animal with its eyes on the front of its head which looks at you
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directly and maintains direct eye contact can safely be classed as a
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potential predator. If such an animal walks or flies into your
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panic-radius, you'd be best outta there as quickly as possible, just to be
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prudent. So eye contact alone may trigger panic/precaution flight. I have
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often walked past a crow (and this applies anywhere in the city) on the
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ground at a distance of 4 ft/1.1 meter as long as my face is averted and
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I'm side-eying without the bird flushing-;very wary, yes-;but the instant I
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turn my head and look at it directly, that crow is *gone*.
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An animal's characteristic panic-radius determines the minimum distance
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one can approach it. Dennis's flicker is often a ground-feeder so needs an
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ample open area for visibility; anything within a certain distance will
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trigger escape flight. As an extreme example, Surf Scoters will flush at
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any approach on the water of about 75-100ft/23-30 m (🤬kayakers) and
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completely vacate an area, sometimes not stopping for several miles/km,
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while Barrow's Goldeneyes sharing the same littoral waters allow closer
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approach and, if evicted, unlike the Scoters will simply return to their
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feeding/resting area after the intruding agent have left. Same for land
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birds at a feeder: chickadees and bushtits allow much closer approach than
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juncos and finches, and some scavenging bird species of the Taiga and
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tundra tend to have very short to no panic-radii at all-;food's too short,
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they can't afford one.
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best wishes, m
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--
Steve Hampton
Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)