Homer, Alaska - Oped - Protect our songbirds; keep nature's music alive 05/07/08

Story last updated at 11:53 PM on Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Protect our songbirds; keep nature's music alive

Editorial

Another spring is almost here. Soon the sandhill cranes will be returning from their immense journeys, and dancing again upon our fields with joyful cries. Every April 20 almost to the day I can count on their arrival. Soon after will come the sparrows, the thrushes, the warblers also "on time" quietly showing up one morning, after many nights of flying, from a land far, far away, waking us with a song they carried with them for thousands of miles.

Except there are fewer and fewer of them coming back every year to sing.

Thankfully, one exceptional, hardy fox sparrow has made it back to my yard for the last three years. Which is a miracle, when you consider the many dangers he faced while flying all the way from California back to my yard.

Arriving at the end of April, he immediately goes back to "his" old bird feeder, reclaiming my garden, and proclaiming it his territory with the world's most cheerful, unique song, which I have often recorded, proving without a doubt that it is the very same bird. He sings enthusiastically from four in the morning 'til late at night between forays into the bushes to protect his female when off the nest, to mark his turf and chase off rivals.

The main reason his family is able to survive is because I do not allow roaming cats or dogs on my property. Fox sparrows build their nests on the ground like most sparrows and many thrushes, warblers and other Alaska birds. These ground nests are easily crushed underfoot by you and me, by our four-wheeler, our tractor and our livestock. They are vulnerable to any human activity in spring, including our pets. They are prime targets for ground predators, including squirrels, weasels and coyotes.

But at least their wild enemies are part of the balance of nature. Dogs and cats are an invasive species, disrupting the natural balance. Dogs are just as destructive as cats during our short Alaska nesting season.

"My doggy would never hurt a bird," I used to think. "Besides, I keep an eye on him all the time when I go for a walk." That was before my heeler proudly brought me a fledgling in his teeth, just snatched from the grass beside the trail.

That was before I found my adorable little terrier munching down a nest full of bird eggs in my raspberry patch. Helpless little baby birds probably taste even better.

But who even sees what goes on every time you let the dog out for just a few minutes, or while going out for a walk in the woods. He can sniff out anything for miles around, and gulp it down in a flash, and we will never know his impact on the bird population.

Once a nest has been destroyed by a dog or a parent killed by a cat, it will probably be too late to rebuild or find a new mate. They only have a few months here to breed and raise their young to adulthood before they head back south.

Or they might forever abandon their territory as unsafe. (Would you pitch a tent near fresh brown bear tracks?) Since no youngsters were raised to replace the older birds, there will be fewer and fewer birds returning each year. We do not just lose one bird nest here, or one parent bird there, but all the future descendants of that one bird family.

When I think of the many modern hazards my fox sparrow encounters not just on his wintering grounds, but along the journey back home to Alaska I can't help but be in awe.

For instance: Cars going 80 mph on freeways, treacherous plate glass windows on countless high rise buildings, cell phone towers (known to kill tens of thousands of migrants a year), deforestation, wildfires, loss of habitat for shelter and food along the way (new subdivisions where there used to be scrub oak and sage brush), domestic cats, tons of pesticides and herbicides (contaminating the seed, insect and water supply) and then add in a few hawks, high stormy mountain passes, freak hailstorms and it's a wonder we have any bird music at all in the spring echoing through our forests.

Another amazing fact about fox sparrows: They are thought to be the only songbird to fly nonstop across the Gulf of Alaska between our coast and southern California over 3,000 miles, day and night, without food or rest.

Once they finally make it back, there are many things we can do to protect the birds. Most important is to keep our cats indoors for the short bird season, and our dogs on a leash when outside.

Bird proof our windows. Restrict poisons in our gardens. Leave as many brush piles, nettle patches, elderberries and alders around as possible for them to hide in.

Considering what the birds went through, it's the least we can do for them. Think what they offer us in return. Think of the countless insects they devour. The importance of songbirds to the health of our forests is just being recognized. They contribute to the well-being of our planet and to the well-being of our spirits.

For anyone who loves birds, I highly recommend a beautiful, eye-opening book just recently published, "The Silence of the Birds," by Bridget Stutchbury.

This ornithologist from Canada describes in detail the obstacles now facing our remaining songsters many of which are veering towards extinction.

Another extremely fascinating and useful book which lists our most endangered species and shows what everyday citizens can do to help them is the "Birder's Conservation Handbook," by Jeffrey Wells. This book explains how the well-being of birds, the environment and humans are all interdependent.

We can make a difference before it is too late.As the country song goes: "You never miss a drink of water, till the well runs dry."

The well of songbirds is running lower every year. I never want to miss their cheery wakeup call on a beautiful Alaska spring morning.

Mossy Kilcher is a lifelong Homer resident.

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