GateHouse News Service
Posted Jan 25, 2010 @ 02:31 PM
Weymouth —
This article is written by a Weymouth resident, Neil Russo
Pop: Quick Put the kettle on I need some Earl Grey to calm my nerves You aren't going to believe it I just got back from taking Eb to the emergency room at the hospital. Oh, he's fine - just a bit of a headache.
Remember… I told you the other day that he was all excited because he sent away for a coonskin hat like Davy Crockett, and figures it would be a good fit for the winter - make him look rather suave while keeping his head warm. Well, he got the hat and started to wear it feeling quite proud. But, alas It only took a couple of days and he ran smack into trouble.
A red-tailed hawk has been swooping down and trying to get the hat… it actually looks more like it's skin from a squirrel rather than from a raccoon. Well… after having to run for cover every time he ventured out of his house, the inevitable happened - the hawk got the coonskin hat and Eb fell and hit a large chink of ice with his head Well, I figured the best bet was to take him to the hospital to be certain he didn't have a concussion.
Like I said he's just got a bit of a headache, and has to relax for a few days, 'Course he's pretty upset about losing that hat, but I rather think the hawk must be equally upset at finding the coonski' hat inedible
Mom: That's for sure The important thing is that Eb is okay. And the ironic thing is that you wrapped the chunk of ice in a towel and made Eb use the cause of his distress as a means of comfort. There are just so many twists and turns in a person's life And talk about coincidence remember how I was so happy to get my copy of the magazine Massachusetts Wildlife, and the last article is “Hawks and Highways” by Sandy Quadros Bowles. Her web site is
www.thesandybowles.com.
Here, you take a peek at it while I make some more Earl Grey and some strawberry shortcake - these strawberries are wonderfully sweet
Ah, that was most satisfying You know, Pop it's really a funny twist for the good that happened from the building of the Interstate Highway System that began in 1956 by President Eisenhower. It created 47,000 miles of roadways, and created hundreds of thousands of acres of grassy median and forestland, and provided wonderful wildlife habitat, especially for the red-tailed hawk.
The red-tailed hawks like the habitat edges: areas where they can nest and meander in secluding woods, and find vulnerable prey in the nearby grassy medians. The highways provide them with the wooded edges they need for nesting, and the medians offer a steady supply of small rodents such as voles and mice. And they can also scavenge road-killed rabbits, squirrels, and other animals.
Pop: The red-tailed hawk has exploited a man-made environment to its great benefit. It is the most visible raptor in Massachusetts, and its population remains high. The red-tails hunt out in the open and from convenient perches provided by exit signs and light poles on highways. It is felt that the population is at its peak because there are simply not enough rodents and space to sustain them at a density much higher.
Adult red-tails are best distinguished by a reddish tail when viewed from above, and dark markings on the underwings; many have partial belly bands composed of dark brown spots and streaks.
Actually, most hawk species have been increasing. For example, the Peregrine Falcon, which was just about eliminated east of the Mississippi by 1966, was successfully reintroduced after a program of intensive captive breeding. Over 1,200 young falcons were released from 1975 through 1993, and the falcons now breed on structures such as skyscrapers and bridges. Some breed in quarries, and a few have returned to their historical sites on natural cliff faces.
Mom: Unfortunately, the American kestrel the smallest of our falcons has experienced a significant population drop. The kestrel is unlike the red-tailed in that it is a cavity nester; it nests in abandoned woodpecker nesting cavities, holes in old, rotted trees, in abandoned buildings, and artificial nesting boxes.
The cause of the decline of the kestrels is still a mystery. Although open fields have given way to development, and good nesting trees are scarce, the changes in habitat don't explain the rapid drop in kestrel numbers. The most prominent theory is that they are being killed and eaten by Cooper's hawks which have experienced a rapid increase recently.
When kestrels hunt in open fields, they hover in place before dropping onto prey. Now Cooper's hawks specialize in avian prey, and the hovering kestrel provides an easy target. Evidence seems to indicate that the Cooper's hawk is a factor, if not the main cause, of the precipitous decline.
Pop: Conservationalists are also concerned that part of the reason for the increase of the Peregrine falcon population might be the predation of other birds. On two days this past spring, a peregrine was seen at a large colony of common and roseate (reddish color) terms on Buzzards Bay. The peregrine took at least one tern, and likely more.
Dr. Tom French, assistant director, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, related that several years ago, a Peregrine falcon spent several weeks at a tern colony and killed more than 20 common and roseate terns. The falcon was trapped by wildlife biologists and found that it had been banded as a chick the previous summer in Greenland. Since Peregrine falcons do not usually breed until they are 2 years old, the feeling was that it a was wandering juvenile that had no particular territory, and found a ready food source and settled in.
Mom: According to Dr. French, the Peregrine falcons have not yet created a problem for terns despite those 2 instances. However, the 2 large tern colonies in Buzzards Bay are very important for the endangered roseate tern, and the appearance of a peregrine at one of these colonies is cause for great concern.
I think the lesson we can take away from our discussion is that it's good that we have wildlife biologists working to preserve our native wildlife - although keeping the proper balance can be tricky and risky, and sometimes have dubious benefits. For example, the Canada geese pollute water bodies and are unwelcome visitors to grass, the wild turkeys also are a nuisance who become most possessive of their territory and can be violent, and then there are the coyotes that eat our small pets. Wildlife management is fine as long as the needs of humans are included in the equation.
Whitman's Pond Journal: Monday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Mon. 10:30 a.m.
