And this email was brought to you by the oil and gas industries. LOL Just kidding
Sent using Zoho Mail ---- On Fri, 23 Oct 2020 19:58:45 -0400 David Nicosia <[email protected]> wrote ---- > All, > In Broome Co we have been fortunate to have had a great year for the > AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER. That is most definitely related to the drawdown of > Whitney Point Reservoir which empasses ebird hotspots of Upper Lisle Co. > Park, Dorchester Park and Keibel Rd. But, based on looking at Bull's > comment from his 1974 publication and many of you chiming in on how much > less common this bird is, what could be causing this decline? The only > thing that has changed significantly for this species , especially in the > last 10-15 years, is the proliferation of wind farms in the central Plains > and midwest. This is a major migratory pathway for this species especially > in the spring and still even in the fall. The rapid and continued rapid > deployment of wind farms in fields where these birds forage and rest on > their way to the Arctic likely has something to do with the population > declines. The Arctic has not warmed much since 2010 and the fact that the > Arctic was 2-4C warmer 8000 years ago vs today based on paleoclimate studies > suggests that this is not a major factor.... at least yet. Winter grounds > look similar and I could not find anything published related to a use of a > new pesticide or herbicide down there. They also like the wetter areas on > their winter grounds that are grazed by cattle which hasn't changed much. So > unless the declines are cyclic related to availability of other prey for > predators (lemmings etc) the only other thing to consider is the rapid > increase in wind farms in a major migratory pathway for this species. I > think as birders we have to be careful supporting wind farms. Wind farms > and solar farms Which can destroy a lot of field and forest habitat DO have > an impact on birds. And energy companies don't care about this stuff, they > want to make money. My contention is that wind farms are what is causing the > declines in the golden plovers and other shorebirds passing through the > middle of the country. With projections of a 4 times increase in wind farms > by 2050, this could be a major issue. If our country goes through with this > without a commitment from China, Russia or India to reduce CO2 emissions it > will all be a waste. So in summary I don't agree with Audubon's position > on renewable energy. I think it could have major negative impacts for our > birds. A climate that is gradually warming likely will help birds, not hurt > them. Summers without cold rainy periods are good for nesting. A warmer less > stormy arctic is good for arctic nesting shorebirds. When we had a very > chilly summer with leftover snow in the Arctic a few years back I remember > the nesting season was proclaimed really bad by researchers up there. So > let's be very careful about supporting renewable energy when it leads to > destruction of habitat and literally death of our birds. I am concerned > about the future related to this. > Dave -- > 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/[email protected]/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/ --
