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Re: clean water act, Goldfinches, etc.



Hi Carolinabirders,

Continuing the western invasion, a Western Tanager (maybe Bob Perkins' 
Fayetteville bird?) turned up in Mathews County, VA on Monday. Wish Bob's 
bird had stuck around another week or so, *I* haven't seen one in NC 
yet... Also, a red-shafted Northern Flicker in Grady County, GA, at the 
Birdsong Wildlife Center; and a Yellow-headed Blackbird in Seminole 
County, GA.

Big dates coming up: ABA members, don't forget to submit reports of lists 
and big days by January 31. And this year's Great Backyard Bird Count is 
scheduled for February 16-19.

On Wed, 10 Jan 2001, modius wrote:
> 
> today, 1/9/01 the u.s. supreme court ruled  5-4,
> that the army corps of engineers can't use the federal clean water act
> to forbid the building of a landfill in a migratory bird habitat.
> the court majority split along familiar ideological lines.
> it ruled that congress intended the clean water act
> to apply to large or navigable bodies of water...
> 
> i was wondering what this ruling means to endangered piping plover,

It means pretty much nothing, at least directly. The supreme court was 
ruling on a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act, while endangered and 
threatened species are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Also, 
virtually all Piping Plover habitat *is* on large, navigable bodies of 
water due to their strong preference for white sand beaches, sandbars, 
and mud flats with little or no vegetation, so the clean water act still 
protects them.

The bad news in this ruling is not so much for birds, but for species 
restricted to "vernal pools" and other temporary wetland habitats. These 
habitats are apparently now up for grabs. And, of course, since the 
Supreme Court has suddenly taken the habit of making 5-4 politically 
charged decisions on a regular basis, I really hope that there are no 
lawsuits filed over the Endangered Species Act in the next, oh, 4 years 
or so...

On Wed, 10 Jan 2001, Dr. S. J. Froning wrote:
>
> Any transplants from cooler climes who noticed that
> GF's ate more sunflower seeds in the coldest months?

Actually, contrary to Carolina trends, I can't say as the Goldfinches 
back home in Massachusetts ever even touched our sunflower seed up there; 
they were, if anything, *more* strictly thistle feeders than down here, 
not less. Maybe because there was more competition up there for winter 
seed supplies or something.

Good birding,

Josh



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

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