World Bird Wednesday LXXII

Nesting

God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.

                                                           P. D. James

   And He doesn't build the nest either!
   I think one of the very fine things human beings do is to set up bird houses and feeders. The payoff is that we get to closely observe our feathered friends as they eat and raise their young. Not all birds care for our charity and remain fiercely independent, but others, like Bluebirds, actually need our attention when it comes to housing. The invading armies of aggressive European starlings and English sparrows out compete bluebirds for the naturally occurring cavities and holes that the pretty blue species depends upon. Between 1920 and 1970 there was a sharp decline in the population of Bluebirds, and this icon of happiness, once as common as the American robin is today, began to fade from the scene. Like death from a thousand tiny cuts, it seemed everything conspired to diminish the Bluebird's light. The near eradication of beaver, and in turn the elimination of their left over stumps, had the unintended consequence of limiting nesting opportunities. Even the change over from wooden to metal fence posts on farm boundries took it's toll.
    That humans have a conscience; an inner voice that prods us toward an enlightened end, is an essential mystery. All the great thinkers, both religious and secular have struggeled to explain it's origin. The Bluebirds fate hung on this instinct to do good.
   So it was the human community led by Dr. Larry Zeleny,  intentionally began to build millions of bird houses specifically to save the Bluebirds, and it has helped, populations have rebounded at the estimated rate of 5% a year since the alarm was sounded in 1978.
   I have never been so proud to be human.

His soft warble melts the ear, as the snow is melting in the valleys around.

The bluebird comes and with his warbles drills the ice and sets from the rivers and ponds and frozen ground.
                                                                 Henry D. Thoreau, March 2, 1859

   The young Snow owls of the 2012 eruption continue to fight for survival. Here is the second of this group I have seen. I spotted this beauty deep in Nayanquing Point Wildlife Reserve, what fantastic luck!
    Is the idea of a Wildlife Reserve an oxymoron?

Fast

Beautiful

  

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