I saw a news story this morning about a town in Northern California which
(again) has been invaded by Egrets and Herons. I did a Google search for
"egret heron invasion Northern California" to find out more about it and
got 15,000 hits. Many of them come from other continents. Their populations
are growing everywhere in the US, thanks to their protected species status.
They maim and eat our pond fish. Your tax dollars at work. sigh

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War.
They are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops.
You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

On Sep 16, 5:57 pm, Nick Cramer wrote:
I saw a news story this morning about a town in Northern California which
(again) has been invaded by Egrets and Herons. I did a Google search for
"egret heron invasion Northern California" to find out more about it and
got 15,000 hits. Many of them come from other continents. Their populatio
ns
are growing everywhere in the US, thanks to their protected species statu
s.
They maim and eat our pond fish. Your tax dollars at work. sigh


Currently the bulk of American taxes goes to the military. That is
not to say that the soldier is treated well - a lot of the money is to
pay the debt from wars we have and are fighting, much of it goes for
storing nuclear weapons and making more of them (arms were our biggest
export this year I believe), the military industry gets a really big
chunk... Our infrastructure has been neglected for years, budgets for
the arts has been cut, education and science budgets have been cut
(getting a research grant is almost impossible for a young
researcher). I had to LMAO or cry when I heard someone at the
convention complain about our country becoming more and more like the
third world - we just had to cut taxes before it was too late
(apparently this person was unaware that the countries considered 1st
world pay much more in taxes than we do). but I do digress

Odd - I did the search with your string and came up with nothing
significant. Just because you get thousands of hits does not mean
that any of them relate to the actual topic you have in mind. For
example there could be thousands of sites that are talking about
egrets dieing in Northern California because of an invading parasite.
It was fun to read that African egrets came into this country
naturally and are now well established. They are not a protected
species as far as I could find.


"Unlike most exotic animals that have made their way to North America,
the cattle egret arrived without human help and generally is
considered a welcome addition to the continent's fauna. Complaints
arise here and there about noise and odor stemming from colonies
situated too close to residential areas. But to balance the ledger,
each cattle egret eats more than 600 grasshoppers and crickets a day--
equal to half its body weight --placing the species firmly among the
farmer's best feathered friends.

Some competition for nesting sites and nest materials occurs between
the newcomers and native herons in northern breeding colonies, but not
in the South, where cattle egrets arrive after snowy egrets, little
blue herons, Louisiana herons and other wading birds have established
their nests. The flip side is that little blue herons often hang out
with cattle egrets and have learned to feed with cows. In the pastures
of North America, this beautiful African heron found an empty
ecological niche where it could prosper, adding yet another chapter to
the world's most astonishing avian success story
"

Nick Cramer wrote:

I saw a news story this morning about a town in Northern California which
(again) has been invaded by Egrets and Herons. I did a Google search for
"egret heron invasion Northern California" to find out more about it and
got 15,000 hits. Many of them come from other continents. Their
populations are growing everywhere in the US, thanks to their protected
species status. They maim and eat our pond fish. Your tax dollars at work.

"Thanks" to their protected species status? Hardly that. aiui, birds in
the US are treated much as they are in Canada - if they're not
considered "game" (essentially Ducks/Geese, Turkeys & Grouse/Partridge)
birds, they're protected. Don't farmers need permits to destroy pest
birds? Now, some birds have greater protection - you can't disturb their
habitats, but afaik that doesn't apply to Herons and Egrets, so why are
Herons and Egrets multiplying while all sorts of songbirds are decreasing?
Probably habitat modification.
--
derek

dkat wrote:

"Unlike most exotic animals that have made their way to North America,
the cattle egret arrived without human help

You _should_ learn something new every day :-) I had never realized cattle
egrets were not native, though I did know they were expanding their range.
--
derek

"dkat" wrote ...
Nick Cramer wrote:
- I saw a news story this morning about a town in N- California which
- (-) has been invaded by Egrets and Herons. I did a Google search for
- "egret heron invasion N- California" to find out more about it and
- got 15,000 hits. Many of them come from other continents.
- Their populations are growing everywhere in the US, thanks to
- their protected species status.
- They maim and eat our pond fish. Your tax dollars at work. sigh

-Currently the bulk of American taxes goes to the military.

Being very brief (since it's OT and divisive);
If you count SS, military under 20%,
if you aren't including SS, still under 30%.

- I had to LMAO or cry when I heard someone at the
- convention complain about our country becoming --
- -and -- - we just had to cut taxes before it was too late

The old philisopical debate is valid,
"Who is wiser in spending your money,
you, or some distant person on govt. pay?"
It cuts both ways. Somethings are best done
individually and locally, some best nationwide.

-Odd - --- African egrets came into this country
-naturally and are now well established. They are not a
-protected species as far as I could find. ----
-each cattle egret eats more than 600 grasshoppers and crickets
-a day-- equal to half its body weight --placing the species firmly
-among the farmer's best feathered friends.
-Some competition --- between the newcomers and native herons --
- cattle egrets -- snowy egrets, little blue herons, Louisiana herons
- and other wading birds -- beautiful African heron found an empty
-ecological niche where it could prosper, adding yet another
-chapter to the world's most astonishing avian success story"

OK.

But I do think that Nick's larger point,
(? perhaps, the 'box' we put ourselves in re;
wildlife/pests) is very valid.

On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:05:43 EDT, "a425couple"
wrote:

"dkat" wrote ...
Nick Cramer wrote:
- I saw a news story this morning about a town in N- California which
- (-) has been invaded by Egrets and Herons. I did a Google search for
- "egret heron invasion N- California" to find out more about it and
- got 15,000 hits. Many of them come from other continents.
- Their populations are growing everywhere in the US, thanks to
- their protected species status.
- They maim and eat our pond fish. Your tax dollars at work. sigh

-Currently the bulk of American taxes goes to the military.

Being very brief (since it's OT and divisive);
If you count SS, military under 20%,
if you aren't including SS, still under 30%.

- I had to LMAO or cry when I heard someone at the
- convention complain about our country becoming --
- -and -- - we just had to cut taxes before it was too late

The old philisopical debate is valid,
"Who is wiser in spending your money,
you, or some distant person on govt. pay?"
It cuts both ways. Somethings are best done
individually and locally, some best nationwide.

-Odd - --- African egrets came into this country
-naturally and are now well established. They are not a
-protected species as far as I could find. ----
-each cattle egret eats more than 600 grasshoppers and crickets
-a day-- equal to half its body weight --placing the species firmly
-among the farmer's best feathered friends.
-Some competition --- between the newcomers and native herons --
- cattle egrets -- snowy egrets, little blue herons, Louisiana herons
- and other wading birds -- beautiful African heron found an empty
-ecological niche where it could prosper, adding yet another
-chapter to the world's most astonishing avian success story"

OK.

But I do think that Nick's larger point,
(? perhaps, the 'box' we put ourselves in re;
wildlife/pests) is very valid.

Let's get back to ponds. Aside from the cattle egrets that follow my
tractor around when I bush-hog (mow) there is one that hangs around
the pond when I "weed" with my pellet gun. It almost seems to be
attracted to the noise. It stays either well to the left or right of
my line of fire (I don't change suddenly, I work one patch of weeds
before going on to another). I haven't the foggiest why it comes,
maybe the sound of the pellets makes the grasshoppers easier to catch
or something, I really don't know, but the egret shows up so often I
have to think it isn't just a coincidence.

Getting past the weeding with a pellet gun, which
takes a creative mind to come up with, and better
not let DH know about this as he is dangerous
enough with his flamethrower weeder....
maybe the weeds getting blasted with the pellets
stuns the grasshoppers and other insects and makes
them easy pickings.

k :-)

On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:38:32 EDT, kathy wrote:

Getting past the weeding with a pellet gun, which
takes a creative mind to come up with, and better
not let DH know about this as he is dangerous
enough with his flamethrower weeder....
maybe the weeds getting blasted with the pellets
stuns the grasshoppers and other insects and makes
them easy pickings.

I don't think so. I shoot wasps, grasshoppers, etc. just about every
chance I get, they make good moving targets. I don't see very many
though, so I usually shoot weeds (I don't shoot dragonflies or
butterflies, even though I have a lot of those). I have never had
the egret take any interest in any of the bugs I have "put down."

"Nick Cramer" wrote in message
...
I saw a news story this morning about a town in Northern
California which
(again) has been invaded by Egrets and Herons. I did a
Google search for
"egret heron invasion Northern California" to find out
more about it and
got 15,000 hits. Many of them come from other continents.
Their populations
are growing everywhere in the US, thanks to their
protected species status.
They maim and eat our pond fish. Your tax dollars at work.
sigh
==========================Their populations are increasing *because* of our ponds.
:-) They've got more to eat than ever before and are
protected by law.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

"Reel McKoi" wrote:
"Nick Cramer" wrote in message

I saw a news story this morning about a town in Northern
California which (again) has been invaded by Egrets and Herons.
Their populations are growing everywhere in the US, thanks to their
protected species status. They maim and eat our pond fish.

Their populations are increasing *because* of our ponds. :-) They've got
more to eat than ever before and are protected by law.

They nest heavily at the lake on Balboa Golf Course. Our ponds, while easy
pickings, are just desserts to them. ;-]

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War.
They are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops.
You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

Derek Broughton wrote:
"Thanks" to their protected species status? Hardly that. aiui, birds in
the US are treated much as they are in Canada - if they're not
considered "game" (essentially Ducks/Geese, Turkeys & Grouse/Partridge)
birds, they're protected. Don't farmers need permits to destroy pest
birds? Now, some birds have greater protection - you can't disturb their
habitats, but afaik that doesn't apply to Herons and Egrets, so why are
Herons and Egrets multiplying while all sorts of songbirds are decreasing?
Probably habitat modification.

Generally there are 2 main causes to bird population decreases:

Habitat reduction is one, but is in 2nd place.

Predation is the other and is in 1st place, by a fairly large margin -
especially among ground nesting birds. Natural predators (birds of
prey, skunks, foxes, coyotes, etc) account for a fairly steady
percentage of this and have not changed significantly for a very long
time (hundreds of years). So what new predator is accounting for the
losses of birds?

A: pets who are allowed to roam free (mostly cats). Note that I am NOT
referring to feral cats - those essentially become part of the wild
animal environment where natural selection weeds out those who are "bad
hunters". The REAL danger are pets who can kill one day, miss the next,
but get a nice meal at home with a safe place to stay on both days.
These animals are predators with impunity.


Which explains why I shoot cats - ALL CATS - straying on my property
(yes, I live out in the country). If they are wearing a collar, I shoot
them twice.

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

"Galen Hekhuis" wrote ...
kathy wrote:
Getting past the weeding with a pellet gun, which
takes a creative mind to come up with, --
stuns the --- insects and makes them easy pickings.
I don't think so. I shoot wasps, grasshoppers, etc. just about every
chance I get, they make good moving targets. I don't see very many
though, so I usually shoot weeds (I don't shoot dragonflies or
butterflies, even though I have a lot of those). I have never had
the egret take any interest in any of the bugs I have "put down."

Probably the birds food and safety laws require they
be proven fresh / self kills?? (grin!)

Long time ago I heard tell of a way to really
impress others with your marksmanship skills.
(I never tried this, so I'm not sure.)
Bet them you can shoot a flying dragon fly from the air.
Shoot at them with a BB gun. Suposedly their sensors
detect this inbound moving target, Identify it as food,
and automaticly calculate intercept trajectory,
and move to intercept,,,,
(bad plan in case of BB pellet - weight/mass & speed).
Supposedly the result is you knock their heads off
most times with this trick.
(always nice to have the target move to hit the projectile!)

Recalling with fondness (not in a pond - but big river),
Used to every summer take a kid (or two) on a
canoe camping trip. Recall just drifting in the morning
at times watch the struggle play out.
The dragon flys emerge with their new wings, (from the
cat-tails) that need to dry/cure some before they can first fly,
then the first several minutes of 'flight training' are
not real skilled.
The red wing black birds just loved feasting on
these 'newbies'. Better be quick / not waste time!
Because after just a few minutes of flight training,
the dragon flies are very good at quick side stepping.
The 'matches' were very interesting.
A blackbird against a 'mature' dragon fly, ---
lots of frustration maneuvering, then give up.

Galen Hekhuis wrote:

Let's get back to ponds. Aside from the cattle egrets that follow my
tractor around when I bush-hog (mow) there is one that hangs around
the pond when I "weed" with my pellet gun. It almost seems to be
attracted to the noise. It stays either well to the left or right of
my line of fire (I don't change suddenly, I work one patch of weeds
before going on to another). I haven't the foggiest why it comes,
maybe the sound of the pellets makes the grasshoppers easier to catch
or something, I really don't know, but the egret shows up so often I
have to think it isn't just a coincidence.

The sound of a pellet gun is like the sound a grasshopper makes when it
jumps, I would think.
--
derek

Derek Broughton wrote:
Galen Hekhuis wrote:

Let's get back to ponds. Aside from the cattle egrets that follow my
tractor around when I bush-hog (mow) there is one that hangs around
the pond when I "weed" with my pellet gun. It almost seems to be
attracted to the noise. It stays either well to the left or right of
my line of fire (I don't change suddenly, I work one patch of weeds
before going on to another). I haven't the foggiest why it comes,
maybe the sound of the pellets makes the grasshoppers easier to catch
or something, I really don't know, but the egret shows up so often I
have to think it isn't just a coincidence.

The sound of a pellet gun is like the sound a grasshopper makes when it
jumps, I would think.


Must be something like that. The durn things are almost impossible to
hit with a shotgun.... and don't ask me how I would know that. LOL

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

Chris Barnes wrote:

[of grasshoppers and pellet guns]

Must be something like that. The durn things are almost impossible to
hit with a shotgun.... and don't ask me how I would know that. LOL

LOL. I can't help thinking the cure may be worse than the disease.

--
derek