Clucking and cooing may be sweet sounds to us upland hunting purists, but there are other birds worth mentioning—especially this year—the year when the bald eagle was taken off the endangered species list.
- Back in June the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) announced to the world that the bald eagle was removed from the Endangered Species Act's list of threatened species.
Can you images that our national symbol, along with the golden eagle, were hunted and poisoned and by 1962 it was a crisis. Only an estimated 417 pairs remained in the 48 contiguous states. Let’s not even mention how DDT impacted the remaining birds. The population in the lower 48 and in DC is now 11,040 pairs. The danger has not passed, however, land development is the next predator to our national symbol. These birds need raw land next to water to survive. The eagle cannot live next to clusters of condos or McMansions built on the edge of our waterways.
- Not to be out done by the bald eagle, a pair of Mississippi kites successfully produced an offspring in Ohio for the first time. Their range is the southern US, from Texas to the Carolinas. Diminutive compared to our national symbol, the Mississippi kite weighs about 10 ounces. They are agile flyers and feed mostly on flying insects, snagging large dragonflies, cicadas, and wasps on the wing—something a wing shooter or a fighter pilot can appreciate.
- Then there was Alex, an African Grey parrot, who pasted away a few weeks ago. According to the New York Times, Alex knew his colors and shapes, more than 100 English words, and was a quick wit with one-liners. His language skills were about as competent as those in trained primates. Alex was 31. His last words were spoken to Dr. Pepperberg, who studied, trained and took care of Alex since 1977. Alex looked at her and said at the end of day: “You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you.”
Comments
I know 31 year old people that don't know that many words!
Posted by: darrell | October 13, 2007 04:59 PM