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Re: Help! Pigeons Overtaking Yard; and news report



On Thu, 26 Oct 2000, John P.Biles wrote:
> 
> I've thought about asking this question for awhile but kept hoping my
> pigeons would diminish in quantity.  I really do need help.  What
> started off in the beginning of the year with our rare "snowstorm", I
> had two pigeons feed.  Well, 2 became 4 then as spring came, 4 became 8,
> etc, etc., until now I have over 40 pigeons.  Is there anything  natural
> to do without bringing harm to them to eliminate the pigeons from
> feeding in my yard?  I've thought about not putting seed out for a
> period of time but that bothers me that it affects our daily visitors to
> the yard.  Any suggestions?   Please help.  Everywhere I look is
> pigeons.  Thanks!

There's no reason why you can't stop feeding for a while. Ornithologists 
have published research showing that bird feeders (seed, at least) make 
no difference in terms of bird survival, and this was done in winter in 
Minnesota! And as for your daily visitors, I stopped feeding in late 
May, then resumed in late September. My local chickadees, titmice, 
nuthatches, and woodpeckers were back on the feeders in less than 48 
hours! These critters have a long memory, at least when it comes to food 
sources...

On the other hand, your pigeons might have just as long a memory as the 
other bird species in your yard. In that case, it might be time to 
consider what you're feeding, and how you're feeding it, and what species 
you really want to attract. Pigeons generally come to cracked corn, and 
maybe millet (that's what brought all the Mourning Doves to my yard 
anyway). They are also pretty strictly ground and platform feeders, so 
they don't do well at bird feeders that require perching. So your options 
include feeding only seeds that pigeons don't like, such as sunflower and 
safflower seed, thistle, peanuts, and so on; and feeding only via 
cylinders, domes, and other feeders that exclude large ground-feeders 
like pigeons. The drawback here is that you may have to exclude other 
bird species in order to also exclude the pigeons; for instance, most 
sparrows are strictly ground-feeders and eat primarily millet, so it's 
hard to attract them without also attracting pigeons.

I'll close with a news story below about some birders in South Carolina. 
I guess they are non-Carolinabirders, none of the names sound familiar... 
Is THAT how Robin Carter keeps getting all those huge big day totals? ;-)

Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/

---------------forwarded message----------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 22:51:40 GMT

Check out this news report from http://www.abcnews.com/102934453.html
...What's next, random drug testing at the birding classic...?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

Birders Decry Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs
(AP) Grandon, South Carolina.

Birdwatchers--or birders, as they prefer to be called--have struggled for 
years to shed the image of little old ladies in canvas tennis shoes 
stalking sparrows in the park.  Since the late 1960s, birders have 
promoted the competitive aspects of their hobby through listing--usually 
friendly competitions to see the highest number of species in a given 
area or during organized day-long birding events.  However, several 
recent incidents have cast a dark shadow across the face of competitive 
birding.

Earlier this week, Jim Spondahl, an active birder from Wasteborough, 
South Carolina was featured on a local newscast after the Grandon 
Audubon Society stripped him of his first prize award in its local 
birding competition after it was determined that Spondahl had won the 
competition while taking performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

"I'm shocked and bewildered," stated Jane Waspund, a local Audubon 
member. "I've known Jim for years.  He's developed quite a reputation 
lately for being able to find birds where others have come up empty.  We 
were starting to wonder how he did it, but I guess now we know."

In a statement to local authorities, Spondahl denied having taken PEDs, 
and attributed his birding success to an intensive training regime 
involving hours listening to an extensive collection of taped bird calls.

"I've collected hundreds of tapes and CDs, as well as thousands of hours 
of unpublished call notes taped by birders all over the country," stated
Spondahl.  "I rigorously deny taking any performance enhancing drugs to
boost my daily bird totals."

However, when a fellow birding team member accidentally ingested a pill 
found on the front seat of Spondahl's Chevy Tahoe during the latest 
birding competition, he made the discovery that blew the lid off this 
latest birding scandal.

"I just thought it was an orange Tic-Tack," claimed Andrew Limisk, "but 
several minutes after eating the pill, I started seeing and hearing birds 
we hadn't been able to find earlier.  However, it was only Jim and me 
that were able to see all of the good birds.  Our other team members were 
unable to see and hear everything we were able to."

Eventually, when Spondahl and Limisk both claimed to see a distant a 
Ferruginous Hawk, a bird normally found thousands of miles away in the 
western United States, fellow team members began to become suspicious.  
And then a few minutes later, they both reported hearing a Canyon Wren, 
another western species.  And only ten minutes later, the two glimpsed a 
Green-tailed Towhee.

"We've never had either of these three species within 200 miles of here," 
stated Dave Urntle, a former birding companion of Spondahl's. "We started 
wondering what was going on, then Andy started breaking out in a cold 
sweat. He was shaky all the rest of the day."

When Limisk collapsed at work the next morning, he was rushed to the
hospital and found to have suffered an allergic reaction to mosbitol, a 
mild stimulant and hallucinogen.

"All I could think of was that orange Tic-Tac," said Limisk. "I asked 
Jim about it, but he said he didn't know what I was talking about.  I 
pressed him on it, and he just started getting really defensive."

The next day, a package of orange mosbitol tablets was anonymously mailed 
to the Grandon Audubon Society from Wasteborough, the rural community 
where Spondahl resides. Allegations of Spondahl's mosbitol use were 
found in a note attached to the bottle of pills.

Caspar Isenhoff, a prominent member of the American Birding 
Association--the largest national organization of serious birdwatchers, 
claimed that it was not the first time such allegations have been made 
about the misuse of PEDs by birders.  "We've got several prominent 
listers who are always seeing really rare birds that no one else is able 
to see.  For years we've joked that these guys must be doing drugs, but 
only recently have we found out that some of them actually are."

Birders across the country are starting to become increasingly suspicious 
about unconfirmed bird sightings reported to local birding authorities, 
while others are decrying the large bird lists that are beginning to make 
birding competition totals suspect.

"How can we compete fairly with folks who are using these performance 
enhancing drugs?" asked Gene LaCoost, a bird enthusiast from Mendocino, 
California.  "We've got some of these guys who are finding rare birds 
almost every other week.  Some of them are seeing 40 to 50 percent more 
birds than have ever been seen in their area before.  These PEDs give 
them an unfair competitive advantage, and it may be starting to drive the 
more traditional but serious non-PED-users out of the sport."

LaCoost is spearheading a move to create a list of banned substances for 
use by bird competition organizers.  "We all know that some birders may 
drink a little alcohol, and that this can affect their daily bird totals, 
but generally we haven't been too concerned about this in the past 
because it hasn't significantly affected the published listing totals.  
However, we've really got to do something soon about these new birding 
PEDs. It's just a shame that we have to deal with this in what has always 
been a friendly competitive endeavor."

According to LaCoost's guidelines, Spondahl's use of mosbitol would 
definitely warrant the stripping of his birding title.  "We can't have 
people running around, using these drugs to help them find rare birds," 
said LaCoost.

However, an anonymous birder from Oakland, California recently published 
a strident defense of PED use, in which he claimed that "birders have has 
always been driven by the quest for improved birding equipment, 
information, and opportunities.  Anything that we can use to help us 
find more birds and better enjoy our sport should be deemed acceptable.  
When all is said and done, what's the real difference between the use of 
the latest high quality coated optics and a few PEDs.  They're both just 
tools to help you see more birds."

Meanwhile, the American Birding Association has yet to include a 
denunciation of PEDs in their Birding Code of Ethics, though Isenhoff 
admitted that they have recently discussed taking such a stance, though 
"we have a lot of high-powered listers who might object if we start 
questioning their listing totals," he said.

So, in the meantime, move over grandma and make way for the doped-up 
birdwatcher zipping by in a mosbitol induced clarity as he pushes birding 
to the next competitive level.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Rob Fergus
Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory
2210 S. FM 973
Austin, Texas 78725

Phone: (512)929-1019
Email: fergus@hornsbybend.org
Website: www.hornsbybend.org

_________________________________________________________________________

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