[NatureNS] Vancouver has new "bird strategy"

From: "David Currie" <david_currie@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:22:44 -0400
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I hope I can help a bit with David=E2=80=99s bird questions and correct =
a misunderstanding.

Those were good questions on bird behaviour and maybe a little =
information can help. You may have noticed that Rock Pigeons and =
Starlings usually flock together. This is a feeding and protection =
strategy to find food faster and sound the alarm if one sharp-eyed =
member sees danger. I=E2=80=99m not saying they don=E2=80=99t get caught =
by cats but that strategy works really well for them. Both those species =
nest in places like cavities, overpasses, beams etc. where cats =
generally have trouble getting them or their nestlings unless they fall =
out of the nest or begin to fledge. Both species are increasing, =
especially starlings because we have provided perfect habitat for nest =
sites and they are completely at home in almost any environment close to =
humans. Natural bird and small mammal predators like Sharp-shinned =
Hawks, Peregrines, Merlins generally migrate south for the winter but =
some stay here, even with the food shortage, so will find those areas =
where bird congregate...backyards and Mourning Doves and Starlings are =
their prey of choice. Both European Starlings and Mourning Doves are =
doing well in NS, and increasing according to our Christmas Count Data =
despite hawk/cat kills.=20

People I talk to generally do not realize that a surprisingly large =
number of passerines use the ground to nest, among the thickets, in =
grassy tufts, in root balls, burrows, and crevices that are quite =
accessible to predators especially when the chicks are begging for food. =
In winter, kills and practice hunting by cats are reduced because many =
cats would prefer to stay inside and warm in cold weather, birds =
aren=E2=80=99t nesting or plentiful as many of our birds have left to go =
south. The really large losses occur when birds are on the nest and =
feeding young so yes, warblers, waxwings, sparrows, robins, flycatchers =
are affected. Adult Swifts and Swallows, not so much, but chicks of both =
are taken. Helene van Doninck showed us slides in Wolfville last week of =
photos taken by her husband of the species brought to her after a cat =
attack during a single month in the summer. I think most of the audience =
was surprised by the number and the variety including adult Cedar =
Waxwings, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, young Varying Hare, Robins and =
Starlings to name a few.      =20

I am sorry to have suggested that habitat loss wasn=E2=80=99t an issue. =
That was not what I meant. I was stating that we as cat owners comfort =
ourselves by convincing ourselves that cats are not a big problem and it =
is really habitat loss, collisions etc. that are the culprits. As we =
continue to lose habitat, we reduce the spaces for birds and other =
animals to live and breed which will bring our pets and animals closer =
together. Habitat is critical and we need to continue to protect green =
spaces, forests and water sources and did not mean to reduce that issue =
to non-essential.=20

My point, as Darrell and others have said, is that if we can reduce the =
number of cats that are outside, it is a win-win for them and the =
wildlife. We have free-roaming pet cats and then we have stray and feral =
cats with different sets of problems. If we can begin to change =
people=E2=80=99s attitudes to the thinking that it=E2=80=99s not OK to =
allow their pet cat out to get hurt or worse plus to prey on natural =
wildlife, we may eventually have attitudes that respect the cat enough =
not to abandon it. The TNR people, SPCA, veterinarians and anyone =
working with this desperate situation all agree that we need fewer cats =
outside. I met anyone yet who is trying to increase a feral cat colony. =
I still didn=E2=80=99t get the =E2=80=9Cpat on the back=E2=80=9D for not =
allowing a cat out at night. I guess we can call that practice part-time =
invasiveness while I pull up Purple Loosestrife and applaud coyote =
bounties.




From: David & Alison Webster=20
Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2016 9:44 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Vancouver has new "bird strategy"

Hi David C. & All,                        Jan 24, 2016
    Not being a birder I am on thin ice here but is it not correct that =
birds which commonly feed on the ground would be most susceptible to =
predation by cats (such as Pidgins and Starlings) whereas birds which =
seldom land on the ground to feed should be least affected by cats (such =
as Swifts, Warblers and Swallows) ?

    Are the above ground feeders (Pidgins and Starlings) in drastic =
decline while all the examples who feed above ground (Swifts, Warblers, =
and Swallows) are doing just fine ?  I would have guessed it was the =
other way around which, if correct, would demonstrate that cat predation =
is a non-issue.

    And you are going out on an extremely weak limb if you suggest that =
cat predation trumps habitat. I am sure you must know better; habitat is =
the foundation upon which life rests.=20

    Cats which are turned loose, probably because their owners can't =
afford to feed them, can't find an affordable apartment which allows =
pets, have to move... is an entirely different matter. Fixing them and =
turning them loose is also a non-solution.=20
    People who did not grow up seeing animals killed are reluctant to =
condone it. It is all part of the 'lets control the seal population by =
giving them contraceptive pills'  or let's give the Terns a break and =
control Gull populations by hiring people to make distracting noises =
whenever a Gull starts to mount a female school of "thought".=20
    This isolation of many humans from reality is sad but don't blame =
cats for that.

   And in review; if two three letter words (CAT and ATV) can generate =
all this traffic can you imagine what a four letter word (CATV) might =
do.

It is way past my bedtime.
DW, Kentville

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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: David Currie=20
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2016 5:27 PM
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Vancouver has new "bird strategy"

  Hi All

  We sometimes get caught up with the estimated numbers quoted from EC =
or others as being totally accurate for some reason, though always =
expressed in an estimate or within a certain range. I don=E2=80=99t have =
to tell this group that science is based on fact with thos