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April 2012

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From:
Haans Petruschke <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Haans Petruschke <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:11:21 -0400
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Hi,

I agree with Bill that if birders take active measures to change the
habitat, I mentioned cutting forage cover and cutting down nest trees, it
can have a detrimental effect on the birds in that area.

That said having birded Headlands for 40 years and Magee Marsh long before
there was a boardwalk, I can say Headlands has really improved over the
decades.  The dunes habitat was once more devoid of plant species, and the
Grand River Dock Co.Property was far more open.  At Headlands the cutting
of trees by DNAP has made far more of an impact on the wooded area behind
the dunes than any birder activity on the preserve.

There were actual more paths through the dunes a decade ago, signage,
 removal of old fencing, new fencing in other places, plus stricter
enforcement of the no pets regulation has resulted in many of the old paths
becoming overgrown.  The path I used to take out to the beach is gone and
the path to the beach pond is disappearing.

The Grand River Dock Co. property is private property and there have been
various attempts over the years to block access from the nature preserve,
more in response to non birding related activity that goes on in those
tangles than people looking for birds in the honeysuckle.

Magee Marsh before the boardwalk had far less traffic.  A weekend in May
might attract 200 birders.  The boardwalk was built on top of the main
paths that had been worn into the vegetation by birders.  The visibility in
those days was not as good because there actually was more vegetation, as
this was before the invasives got in, and there were indeed side paths that
would go back into areas that could not be seen from the main path.  I
could only imagine what would happen if the rails were gone and the 700
people on a fully loaded boardwalk were not constrained.

Another factor we should also consider is noise.  Researchers are finding
the soundscape can be as important as the landscape to wildlife in a
particular area.  Experienced birders know that loud talking will flush a
bird or cause it to hunker down far more readily than movement.  With the
industrial area next door Headlands is a very noisy place and yet there are
still a lot of birds.

Finally we need to remember these hotspots are the way they are, because
they concentrate birds in small areas where they are easy to see.  The
birds found in these areas are a tiny fraction of the the whole. While it
would be devastating to birders and those who depend upon them, I would
speculate we could pave these areas over, without having any effect on the
overall population of species we see during migration.  I have been
fortunate to 3 times witness true waves of migrating neotropical
passerines.  in September of 2004 I estimated over 20,000 birds passed
though the small section of my back yard I could observe, in just 4 hours.
 This again was just a small fraction of the whole as the trees were full
of birds for a considerable distance in every direction.
 Radar imagery gives us some indication of total populations and they are
vast indeed.

In conclusion birders really have little effect on bird populations.
 Humanity on the other hand can cause extinction.  Through pollution,
spreading chemicals in the environment, destruction of habitat to make
paper, mine coal, create crop land, and though market hunting.  The hook
and bullet community has done far more for habitat preservation over the
years than the birdwatching community.  If birders really want to help
birds they should open their checkbooks and help to preserve critical
habitat.  This habitat may not be good for watching birds, but it is
crucial for their long term survival.

Haans Petruschke
Kirtland

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