Bye-bye blackbirds, what's next?

By Moryt Milo

Ever since I joined the National Wildlife Federation my mailbox has become an information drop for every environmentally conscious organization on the planet. My initial motives for membership were the current administration's blatant disregard for the environment. I figured if mainstream organizations like the federation were calling out for help it was time for the masses to rally.

But I had no idea that becoming a member would create a trading of mailing lists so prolific it would bring a whole new meaning to the phrase "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

On any given day, mail arrives hawking free birdfeeders, tote bags, calendars, note cards, T-shirts, and address labels for a mere contribution of $15 each.

However, on most days I simply stand by the recycle bin and toss the requests. Occasionally I'll take the mail inside, give it a quick once over and decide to read an eye-catching promo while grabbing a bite to eat.

That's how the letter from the Audubon Society ended up being opened. It was an easy choice because I love birds. But as my first spoonful of cereal was about to be eaten, I read, "Can you believe that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing a program to poison and kill 2 million red-winged blackbirds a year?" Pausing in mid-air, I said out loud, "What! That can't be true."

The entire thing sounded so preposterous I had to read on.

Apparently there are around 39 million blackbirds, and if Wildlife Services can eliminate 2 million there will be less damage to our national sunflower crops. Does that make sense to you? We would still have 37 million blackbirds, which sounds like a lot of blackbirds to me.

The Wildlife Services' grand plan is to scatter chemically laced rice in small plots where the birds roost. It's not an instant death. But the birds will eventually die through damage to their kidneys and heart, which sounds incredibly cruel.

And if that's not bad enough, as I researched this issue further, I learned that a poisoning program has actually been going on since 1994. Fortunately, this year through better efforts in publicizing the issue, the program was temporarily halted. Yet the Audubon letter was the first I'd even heard of it.

What's more troublesome than this program, is that our government continues to espouse the quick-fix solution. Over and over the immediate answer involves some sort of chemical component embedded into the fix. This lack of broader vision can be found everywhere. It governs our energy policies, our farming programs and our wildlife issues.

Now I do feel for those sunflower farmers. It's got to be a nightmare to watch black clouds of red-winged blackbirds swoop down on their sunflower crops during harvest time. But it's also ironic that the crop they are growing is going to be used for birdseed. How can it not be an attractive place to lunch? But poisoning these birds just seems wrong. Maybe scarecrows and propane-powered cannons are more work, but they sure are a lot safer.

And how do we know that the only victims of this program will be the blackbirds? What about other creatures that might eat the rice or even the poisoned birds?

So this time I didn't throw away the "junk mail" because it wasn't just about the blackbirds in the Dakotas.

Who's to say that one day some official might not just decide to reduce the scrub jays in our neighborhoods because they are too loud; or the Mourning doves because their cooing is disruptive; or the sooty shearwaters that blacken the horizon along the waters of Santa Cruz because they eat too many fish. The list of reasons could be endless. I'm sure if we look hard enough, nature can be easily used as an argument for every man-made problem.

So I gave the Audubon the $15 they wanted and signed the petition at the bottom. What can I say, except this one got me. And when my birdfeeder arrives, I'll be more than happy to place it in my yard and fill it to the top with sunflower seeds.

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Contact Moryt at morytb@aol.com.

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