next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_178B_01CE97A2.7F7C6D00
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Hi Mary & All, Aug 12, 2013
More on this later but I can't let this pass without taking a swipe =
at it because, in my view, it is dangerously simplistic to attribute =
such declines to pesticide dependent monocultures and especially roundup =
ready crops which is after all an herbicide.=20
This decline has been underway here for 70 years or more and for a =
host of reasons that all fall through one funnel; environmental =
destruction, fragmentation and degradation. It is not realistic to beat =
the crap out of something delicate, using the power of steam or the =
internal combustion engine, for 7 decades and expect no effect.=20
The one essential ingredient has been the explosive growth in =
private automobile usage since WW2; here and in the USA. This runs the =
gamut from bugs, amphibia, reptiles, mammals & birds becoming road kill =
to the cancerous, destructive growth of surburbia and the associated =
obliteration of habitat, air quality & water quality. Where, a mere 40 =
years ago, narrow roads with tadpole-friendly roadside puddles ran =
through woodland we now have residential-friendly wider roads with deep =
ditches that run red in the spring directly into streams.=20
Certainly pesticides were involved but one should not place all of =
the blame on 10% of the cause.=20
But as Fred observed this has been a strange year. In addition, =
fewer birds in the woods may reflect more birds at feeders. There has =
been no shortage of Deer Flies in the woods recently. But I was =
astonished recently to see no Andrenid activity on a large sand bank =
that is normally peppered with about 3 holes per dm^2.=20
One other thing Mary, the statement that " These pesticides are 1000 =
times as strong as DDT and bio magnify." conveys nearly zero meaning. =
Many early pesticides were soluble in lipids and consequently became =
concentrated up the food chain. Surely the industry has not repeated =
that mistake.=20
Or are the fund-raisers drawing on outdated information ?
And lastly, undisturbed woodland in general is not a good habitat =
for insects that feed on flowers, especially flowers of disturbed =
habitats. There will be lots of insects that feed on wood in various =
ways but they tend not to move much in the daytime. In season, and in =
somewhat open woodland, there will be insects that feed on flowers of =
plants such as Cornus alternifolia, Prunus serotina, Prunus virginiana, =
Amelanchier, Diervilla lonicera, Hieracium. ..., but insects associated =
with Solidago and other plants that need more sunlight are more likely =
to be seen in woodland that has been selectively cut or clearcut in =
small patches recently. I am no birder but have many times noticed bird =
activity to increase from near zero in undisturbed forest to high in =
nearby disturbed areas.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
=20
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Mary Macaulay=20
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 5:34 PM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] comment re Empty Forests
This is a global phenomenon and is largely due to roundup ready crops =
and other pesticide dependent monocultures. There is a lot of comment =
about this on the twittersphere from all over the world right now. =
Neonicotinoid use has brought it to the forefront now because of their =
effects in honeybees and other pollinators. These pesticides are 1000 =
times as strong as DDT and bio magnify.
Mary Macaulay, P.Eng.
Executive Director
Atlantic Concrete Association
www.atlanticconcrete.ca
Office: 902-443-4456
Cell: 902-489-2000
Fax: 902-404-8074
On 2013-08-12, at 5:12 PM, "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> =
wrote:
Here is a relevant note I wrote myself on Aug. 7:
AUG. 7, 2013 - I walked along the Wolfville Rail Trail this =
afternoon, as I often do, and noted just a few butterflies (mostly =
whites) flitting among the huge array of plants in flower, especially =
Queen Anne's lace, common tansy, knapweed, etc., from Wolfville Harbour =
but especially from Elm Street out to the Acadia Arena. BUT what really =
struck me was how very few other insects I am noticing on the flowers =
as I walk. Thinking back a couple of decades (or more?), I used to see =
a wide variety of insects and spiders on the flowers, and now I am =
seeing few to none, plus the few butterflies. Has anyone noticed the =
same thing? And does anyone know of a database somewhere out there in =
our world of information that has decades of data like we have for =
breeding birds?
Begin forwarded message:
From: Blake Maybank <bmaybank@gmail.com>
Date: August 12, 2013 2:52:49 PM ADT
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: [NatureNS] Empty Forests
Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
11 August 2013
I was part of a group that hiked a trail near Moses Mountain in =
the beautiful Avon Valley in Western Hants County yesterday. Despite =
walking more than 12 km through beautiful deciduous and mixed wood =
forests, we encountered very few birds. While I suspect that most of the =
migrant breeding birds had departed, why were we unable to detect a =
single chickadee, nuthatch, or Blue Jay? We heard a couple of vireos and =
a pewee, and one flicker. The one highlight was a soaring Turkey =
Vulture, a new species for my Hants County list.
Plenty of Goldenrod, knapweed, and other often flowers lined the =
trail along most of our hike, but we did not encounter a single =
butterfly. And there were very few bees in evidence as well, which was =
also discouraging.
On such a beautiful day it is hard to account for the paucity of =
birds and butterflies and other wildlife.
--=20
Blake Maybank
144 Bayview Drive,
White's Lake, Nova Scotia
B3T 1Z1 CANADA=20
(902) 852-2077
My Blog: CSI: Life
Organiser, Maritimes Nature Travel Club
Author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3392 / Virus Database: 3211/6563 - Release Date: =
08/09/13
------=_NextPart_000_178B_01CE97A2.7F7C6D00
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META name=3DGENERATOR content=3D"MSHTML 8.00.6001.23507">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY dir=3Dauto bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV>Hi Mary & All, =
=20
=
=20
Aug 1