Well said Tim, but I think I hear the footsteps of Chris T-H on the way, so I’m going to mention a bird in this post and “duck” out of the way of the ban hammer!
Mike Cooper Ridge LI NY Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 4, 2017, at 6:03 PM, Tim Dunn <timd...@optonline.net> wrote: > > Fred and any others interested, > > Two mute swans by you is no problem. Up to 65 can be seen on any given day on > Argyle Lake in Babylon. It is a pond that is less than 1/4 mile in > circumference. All other breeding waterfowl here have been eradicated by > these swans. Some migrant waterfowl use the pond but less than in the past. > Few dabbling ducks use it as swans have eaten all vegetation on the bottom of > the pond to as far as their long necks can reach. > > Geese come and go in migration here, but the mute swans are a constant. So I > would expect that the reason that DEC wants to control them is that they are > an invasive species that is destroying the local ecosystem and driving out > native species. Maybe not happening by you, but definitely happening here in > western Suffolk. > > Non-birders are aware of this issue because it appeared in the newspapers > when the DEC came out and said they would start removing the swans. That > typically means shooting, trapping, poisoning, etc. Hardly anyone likes the > idea of culling these birds through cruel and inhumane ways (including me), > so the subject comes up for a debate that has reached beyond birders and > wildlife people from time to time. My understanding is that egg oiling and > similar tactics are being used, or at least are up for discussion, to control > the population. > > Since they are an invasive and destructive species, any connection that an > observer feels to wildlife by viewing feral mute swans is based entirely on a > lack of understanding of the natural world around them. You might have done > more for the guy you ran into today if you had told him that if it weren’t > for those swans, he might be seeing ten different species of waterfowl that > they have driven away. Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder, but > I’d prefer green-wing teal and pintails to those swans. > > (And sociologically speaking, to me those swans represent the escaped stock > of early successful Americans anxious to imitate the “Lords of the Manor” in > Europe, who are the same folks that my Irish ancestors fled to America to get > away from.) > > While stepping around goose droppings and occasionally having to hit the > brakes to allow a goose flock to cross the street is an inconvenience, I > don’t think it has nearly the adverse effect on the local environment that > the swans have had in my part of Long Island. > > Thanks, > Tim Dunn > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Dec 4, 2017, at 4:58 PM, Frederick Kedenburg <kedenb...@optonline.net> >> wrote: >> >> Although yes, I do know this issue was posted locally on the NF, yet it >> still has many repercussions to birders throughout NYS therefore I am >> posting. >> If you wish to eradicate Mute Swan I am sorry. >> rk >> >> North Fork LI NY: I went looking for the reported Snowy at the Mattituck >> Inlet Breakwater today but although I looked along the Beach, east & west >> and patrolled the DEC conservation and boat ramp area I could not find it. >> I’ll try again as once the species shows up it can be persistent. The >> predominant waterfowl there today was Long-tailed Duck. It was good to hear >> their call once again this season. >> >> After some coffee and a late breakfast in Mattituck I went to Laurel Lake. >> There were plentiful numbers of Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck and American >> Coot. Also seen were one Great Blue Heron, one Pied Billed Grebe and a >> Gadwall. >> >> As an aside: >> There were two Mute Swan in the Laurel Lake compared to hundreds of Canada >> Geese there today. >> Why does the NYS-DEC seem so preoccupied with extirpating all the Mute Swan >> and is doing next to nothing in addressing the vast numbers of Canada Geese >> in NYS. The geese cause so much damage to wetlands and to water quality due >> to the hugh amount of poop they produce. Loading nitrogen into our bays and >> wetlands is only part of the problem. Maneuvering about many parking lots >> and commercial businesses with grass without encountering poop is >> problematic. >> I understand from DEC records that the Mute Swan population in NYS is >> somewhere between 2800 and 3500. Please correct me if I am wrong. >> >> As I was looking through my scope this morning at Laurel Lake a fellow came >> along walking his dog and asked me what I was looking at. I gave him a brief >> description of the species there and he said to me. “Why do they want to >> kill all the swans? He continued to say “I love the Swans, they are so >> beautiful and my kids love to see them as well”. I wondered how an average >> person had come to know about this issue. >> >> My point here is that I believe the Mute Swan, although yes it is an >> ‘invasive species’, does more good than harm as it helps connect people with >> a world around them they did not know before. The Swans in effect connect >> people to nature and help create a culture of conservation that helps us all. >> >> As for Canada Geese I have nothing against them; however, to put thing into >> perspective when I do the DEC Winter Waterfowl Census in January I >> frequently find about 3,000 Canada Geese in the fields along Oregon Road >> Mattituck NY alone. Imagine how many statewide. >> >> In my opinion the DEC needs to get their priorities in the correct order and >> concern themselves with a gradual reduction in the population of Canada >> Geese. Whether it be through addling of eggs or a more lenient view when it >> comes to hunting and or donation of the take to food banks something must be >> done. >> rk >> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "North Fork Birds" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to north-fork-birds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> -- >> NYSbirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> ABA >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
