Saving Birds Thru Habitat

Several years ago, the writer of a piece in the New York Times Garden Section said that conservationists and native plants lovers decry non-native plants out of some kind of horticultural xenophobia. The author further maintained that proponents of native plants present a danger to domestic gardens by discouraging the incorporation of exotic species. This assertion is not only mistaken, it’s silly. It is unlikely that we’ll see cultivars and alien flowers, shrubs and trees disappearing from nursery shelves – or from gardens – any time soon, so non-native plants will likely be with us for a long time to come.

The real danger is to our native flora, which is the foundation of our food web. Renegade garden escapes such as creeping myrtle and English ivy blanket forest floors in many areas of the Midwest, smothering spring ephemerals and destroying forest ecology. Tamarisk trees choke western wetlands, and Japanese honeysuckle strangles New England woodlands. The above alien plants were introduced as ornamentals. Other reasons for alien introductions include tamarisk (”salt cedar”) and kudzu, both widely used for erosion control and misguided conservation efforts such as autumn olive, which was promoted for birds. As these aliens have swamped entire regions of the country, biodiversity has diminished significantly.

We are all aware that many of our most beautiful migrating songbirds, including orioles, warblers and tanagers, are in decline. We also know that these losses are the direct result of habitat loss. But how many of us give a second thought to how we have contributed to that loss by what we choose to plant in our yards? Many birds – especially migrants – as well as amphibians, butterflies, some reptiles and a number of mammals, depend on insects for their nutritional needs. Too many people, including the author of the earlier mentioned NYT piece, do not realize that those insects are hosted by native flora. Every alien plant, whether landscape choice or garden escape, reduces the available insect biomass required by birds and other creatures.

Each of us can make a difference for birds whose numbers are falling. We can do that not by filling feeders with birdseed, but by providing the right kind of habitat for them. And habitat means native plants, not just native flowers but native trees, shrubs, grasses and ferns.

A significant number of our songbirds depend heavily on insects for survival, and all of them must have insects for their young. Baby birds require protein to develop; that protein comes only from insects.

Do your part. Incorporate native plants in your personal landscape. Remember:  If it’s not native, it’s not habitat.

Phragmites australis, or common reed, is a European wetland plant that was introduced to this continent late in the nineteenth century.  It is choking wetlands in every state across the lower 48 and well up into Canada.  It is the most aggressive alien wetland plant on our continent, overtaking not only native vegetation, but also crowding out other non-natives like reed canary grass and purple loosestrife.  Cattails and other native vegetation disappear under the relentless growth of this plant, which can extend its runners from 40 to 80 feet in a single season.  Alien Phragmites changes both the structure and the function of wetland ecosystems by altering nutrient cycles and hydrological processes.  In monotypic stands of Phragmites australis there is virtually no biodiversity.  Lost are wetland dependant reptiles, amphibians and migrating and nesting birds.

Those who don’t care about declining wildlife might care that this plant gobbles up beaches, rendering them useless for humans, and it robs waterfront owners of their views.  Areas that depend on beach loving tourists to boost economies stand to lose many, if not all visitors once this plant chokes off shoreline access.

It is believed that this plant was first introduced in New England.  A survey of Connecticut marshes revealed that rare and threatened bird species requiring wetlands were excluded after Phragmites invaded.  More common rail species like soras, king rails and Virginia rails, as well as federally listed yellow rails, cannot use wetlands filled with this plant.   Nesting bitterns and marsh wrens disappear along with other wetland nesting species vanish.  Even if birds did nest there, the parents would have to go elsewhere for protein rich insects to feed their young.  Like other non-native plants, this one does not support the insect biomass required for parents of nestling birds.

One year, an April walk at sunrise around a large Phrag filled wetland on an island in the Detroit River indicated the degree to which amphibian populations suffer.  At a time of year when spring peepers are screaming their tiny heads off in search of mates, the pond was absolutely silent.  Not a single frog of any kind called.  It was an eerie silence.

This vegetative menace has taken over in many riparian areas, and it must be dealt with or we will lose our wetland dependant birds such as rails, bitterns and others. Getting ahead of the Phragmites menace will require persistence and perseverance.  And it will require public support of chemical applications.  Currently there is no effective alternative to herbicides; pulling is only effective if every single strand of root is removed, cutting doesn’t slow it down and burning won’t kill it.

If Phragmites australis appears in your part of the world, go to the Beaver Island Association website and play the video in order to learn how one community launched a successful attack.

The good news is that all wetland and shoreline native wildlife populations – birds and butterflies, frogs, fishes and reptiles – recover once Phragmites is brought under control.   And beachfront properties regain their esthetic and real values (when the plant is brought under control) as well.

There is currently an effort to gain control of Phragmites australis in the Grand Traverse region.  This effort is sponsored by a host of conservation organizations, including the Watershed Center, Saving Birds Thru Habitat, local conservancies, National Wildlife Federation, local, state and federal agencies.  All of these organizations are aware of the potential risks associated with using herbicides.  But every one of them is dedicated to doing everything possible to help those bird, amphibian, insect and fish populations that are at risk.  In an effort to accomplish that, we might consider using glyphosate applications as chemotherapy for habitat.

Recently, a woman called our office with a knotty problem.  She lives in Michigan’s Traverse City where hundreds of redpolls and siskins have been visiting her feeders this winter.  The numbers were not surprising as a reported failure in the Canadian pinecone crop resulted in an enormous eruption of redpolls, siskins and crossbills in the Northeastern U. S.

The problem for the caller was that every day one or two of the redpolls would die.  The woman was asked if the birds exhibited signs of avian conjunctivitis (House Finch Eye Disease) – red, swollen or crusty eyes.  They did not.

Bird expert Jeff Kingery was consulted.  The caller had said that when each ultimately doomed bird came to her feeders, it looked thin.  Jeff suspected that the birds that died may have been “out of gas” before they arrived and that the food they discovered was simply too late for them.  He said he believed they had died of hypothermia, which is not uncommon in late winter.

A month or so earlier Lisa and Warren Strobel reported seeing a white-throated sparrow infected with House Finch Eye Disease on their blog: birdingcouple.blogspot.com.  Although the Strobels saw this bird in their home state of Maryland, this condition is fairly common – again, especially during late winter months.

A week later we received reports of Pine Siskins dying from salmonella.  One woman said that her cat had become ill after bringing one of the dead birds inside.  The cat’s bloody diarrhea suggested that he had contracted this intestinal pathogen from the bird.

Following is information on how to recognize the most commonly occurring diseases in wild birds:

House Finch Eye Disease:  Birds with avian conjunctivitis have red, swollen, watery, or crusty eyes; in extreme cases the eyes are so badly affected that the birds are virtually blind.  Spread through the air and fecal material, especially where birds congregate in large numbers.

Salmonella:  General symptoms of Salmonella include lethargy, anorexia, and diarrhea.  Spread through the air and fecal material, especially where birds congregate in large numbers.

Aspergillosus:  This fungal disease affects the respiratory system of birds. Healthy birds normally resist the disease, but birds with depressed immune systems are especially vulnerable. External symptoms include difficulty in breathing, emaciation, and increased thirst. Birds also can appear to have difficulty walking. When their eyes are infected, there may be a white opacity in one or both eyes, accompanied by a discharge.  Birds become infected by ingesting or inhaling mold spores from naturally occurring decaying vegetable matter or contaminated foods

How To Prevent or Reduce Transmission:
To reduce transmission of bird diseases, adhere to the following guidelines:

• Clean feeders on a regular basis with a ten percent bleach solution.   Allow to dry thoroughly.
• Do not offer moldy seed.
• Keep the ground under the feeder as clean as possible.  In summer, rake the area to remove accumulated seeds. During the winter, shovel fresh snow over the area.
• Provide ample feeder space to reduce crowding.
• Use only non-porous plastic, metal, or glass feeders that are easy to clean.  Avoid wooden feeders.  Feeders with perches, rather than tray feeders, are also helpful as the trays catch fecal matter of afflicted birds, infecting the remaining food.

A WORD ON HEATED BIRDBATHS:
For the record, SBTH recommends against heated birdbaths.  Marketers say that these things are essential during the winter months, because “birds are in need of a source of open water to drink and to bathe.”  That statement defies logic.  Birds have been overwintering in snowy, frigid landscapes for millennia without the so-called benefit of heated birdbaths.  For needed water, they eat snow.  Some marketers have said that birds will experience hypothermia if they eat snow – another ridiculous statement.  Birds eat snow all the time without adverse effects.  But if they should actually bathe in the warmed water during extremely cold weather (which they do not generally appear to do, but the possibility exists), they would experience hypothermia, as they would immediately lose the insulating value of their feathers.

THE BEST WAY TO HELP BIRDS:
We at SBTH believe the most important thing all of us can do to help our wild bird population is to offer as much native plants habitat as possible.  We do not subscribe to the old canard that once you begin feeding, it is essential that you continue to offer that food.  It is unlikely that birds become dependent on your offerings.  However, during very cold winters like this last one, the food you put out might actually mean the difference between life and death.