Wednesday, Sep. 1, 2010

Volume 9 Issue 8

Coots usually start to lose their wing feathers late in July. This year Beaky's wings had not turned into short stubs until the second week of August. Usually all the wing primaries drop over a period of about 48 hours, but this time took at least a week. Perhaps the remarkably cool weather this summer caused this delay. Coots become extremely nervous when they lose their wing feathers and will seek cover with the slightest disturbance in the marina.

He is partially crippled with his broken right wing, but still can make good use of his wings when he needs to "hop" up on something. Even without the use of his wings, he is still able to hop up onto the finger dock where food and water is left when the boat is gone. Two small boat fenders are half filled with water and tied together to form a "raft" so he has a firm platform to hop from.

As Beaky's pinfeathers begin to grow, he looks like an old sofa coming unravelled.

At the end of the month, Beaky's new wings are about half grown, but he is still itching and shedding small feathers.

Beaky (bottom center) goes to see his friend who would give him a piece of bread in the afternoon. But, she is not there.

The pair of crippled Brewers blackbirds are still alive and still miserable. Maybe a little more miserable.

On the last few days of the month, this badly crippled female blackbird has disappeared.

The marina spent tens of thousands of dollars on manhours and contract labor turning the yacht basin into a death trap for small animals. They continue to irrigate the bare ground, and if anything grows, they spray it with weed killer. Then they water it again. One of the palm trees looks different from the others. It replaced a tree that had died after repeated application of weed killer and water.

Sometimes a few other species of birds appear at the marina. An angry male blackbird was chasing the kingfisher away. The familiar green heron was flying around the docks in the morning as usual. (below)

Big Picture: Click on the image to view it full size. Use your browser's Back button to return. A beautiful young blackbird has attractive feather color patterns during molting.

July Movies

Here is a movie showing Beaky's lazy summer routine. Click on this link to see holiday.wmv, (44 seconds long, 3 Megabytes) This short subject is recorded in 320 by 240 pixels to conserve file space and download time. There's not much to see.

Here is a movie showing the pigeon getting a bath. Click on this link to see bath2.wmv, (15 seconds long, 4.66 Megabytes) The bathtub is too small.

The Port continues to promote itself as a protector of wildlife by erecting signs at the taxpayers expense, while maintaining a practice of exterminating wildlife with habitat destruction.

September

This month is the second anniversary of the mass extermination of Ducks in September 2008 at Chula Vista Marina. The following page is reproduced here in memory of that occasion. One additional concern coming from this may affect the viability of the marina. If the US Fish and Wildlife Service is able to get convictions under US Code Title 16, the use by the marina employees of state property (under their lease from the Port of San Diego) to commit federal crimes, would certainly void their leasehold title to the property.

Wild Bird Mass Extermination in Chula Vista

Now it is clear that more money can be made by exterminating wild birds than by protecting them. Between summer 2008 and spring 2009, at least fifty and probably more than a hundred wild birds, chicks, and eggs disappeared from the Chula Vista Marina and RV Resort. Speculation is that it was a "professional" job done by a company from Miramar, or a few employees paid by management (off the record) to exterminate the birds. When entire broods of chicks and hens would disappear overnight in April, it seemed most likely that a few renegade employees were working for themselves. The reason for this theory is that the disappearance of birds stopped when the US Fish and Wildlife Service agent appeared. It's just common sense. However, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service agent, the marina management intended to continue trapping and killing birds. Their efforts at baiting were inept, and there is no indication that any birds were taken after this. They don't know how to trap the birds, and it seems that no volunteers have come forward to help. Still, the loss of life has been huge, and it appears that the marina literally got away with murder.

The above picture shows food and water placed in an enclosure behind the yacht broker's office.

Penalties under Title 16 can run as much as $5000 per bird, and include imprisonment, because the birds were taken by baiting. Why killing these birds is so important to these people is just inconceivable.

Viewpoint - Hindsight The primary threat to wildlife for the past fifty years has been loss of habitat. In many parts of the world this is no longer credible, the habitat is already gone. This is certainly the case in the Southern California bight from Point Conception to Mexico. Except for a few tiny isolated spots, the wetlands are all gone. There is just not enough contiguous habitat to support a viable population. The problem faced by wildlife now affects the few species that have managed to survive by moving into the urban environment. Local government and commercial property managers now work to exterminate the remaining wildlife that are perceived as a nuisance to their operations. For almost a year, several indications of problems were overlooked because of ignorance of the law and inattention to facts. People are generally naive and have misconceptions about how local agencies work. It's always easier to look the other way, until in this case, it became impossible to ignore. Between fifty and one hundred wild birds have disappeared. Education is always valuable, and in this case it didn't come cheap. The following lessons were learned the hard way from this experience.

Lessons

• Signs

The first sign of illegal activity is "Do Not Feed" signs like the one above. A manager may be trying to dispose of animals by abandoning them, or to exterminate a protected species on public or private property. A sudden plethora of any kind of signs indicates a failing or incompetent manager. Since the signs never work, a manager soon resorts to more extreme tactics. According to the Port of San Diego, signs that do not display an applicable criminal code number are unenforceable and have no effect. Take the time to research any posted numbers to determine if they apply. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service there are no laws preventing the feeding of wild birds here.
• Baiting

If a large number of birds assemble at the same place and the same time every day for no reason, they are being baited for capture. This is the time to get busy with the following items.
• Bird Counts

Count the birds every day. When a hen with a brood of a dozen chicks appears one day, and they are all gone the next day (including the hen) you have a problem. Predators kill to eat. It's normal for a chick to disappear every day or two. They eat what they need, not every last one.
• Conflict of Interest

Local government agencies may not be what they seem. . There are no secrets here, everything is available in the public domain. In the Coot News we learned about the conflict of interest in the Port of San Diego, and how they are not responsible to the voters, taxpayers, or to the state, whose property they manage. It's on the front page of their website. It's the classic example of the "Fox Guarding the Henhouse" while wearing an ill-fitting sheepskin suit.

Local governments are often exempt from state and federal laws, or act as if they are. They can cause huge damage to wildlife because of their financial resources and the large area of land they cover.

• US Fish and Wildlife Service

The first thing to do is call the local US Fish and Wildlife Service agent. The agent is independent of any conflict of interest with state and local governments, and will explain the law as it applies to the case. The agent can provide leadership and guidance in any kind of wild bird problem.

U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service Office Directory For any sort of wild bird problem, call your local USFWS office first. In San Diego call Special Agent Lisa Nichols at (619) 557-5063 or (619) 954-5498

• Bizarre Events

Things happened here that no rational person would believe. Believe it.
• Know Your Government Agencies

This is really difficult. It takes lots of telephone calls and some imagination, but there are probably local government offices who can help you. Keep up the pressure on lawbreakers by reporting any kind of violations you see. The County Health Department (as an example) was helpful in identification of other agencies
• Always Carry a Camera

Physical evidence is needed for an indictment. There are not enough federal agents to be everywhere all the time. Photographs can be mailed in anonymously.
• Report

Almost every agency will accept anonymous reports. The biggest problem here was fear of retribution. Evidence can be mailed anonymously. Official but anonymous reports can be given by telephone. In the worst case, evicted tenants may be eligible to file a counter suit. The following link gives telephone numbers for Code Enforcement Agencies in San Diego County.
• Talk

Talk to people you see in public parks. Alert them to the problems and find out if anyone has been harassed about feeding the birds.
• Don't Expect Much

With only one federal agent working sixteen hours a day to cover an area the size of many European countries, you can't expect a very comprehensive investigation on any one case. When you read about convictions in the news, usually someone has come forward to confess and plead guilty. These laws are virtually unenforceable.

A warning of a $250,000 federal fine was given to the marina manager in the third week of May 2009, and the same ducklings were seen still alive for several days until the end of the month. Several signs appeared after this.

Unknown individuals are still seen feeding the ducks on a regular basis. According to Agent Nichols, there is no law against feeding the ducks.

The scenario of a typical government wild bird extermination program annotated by the Urban Wildlife Society

(I don't make this stuff up department)

Lawmakers want probe of NOAA agents Gloucester's state lawmakers have launched a campaign for a special federal prosecutor to investigate possible criminal behavior by national fisheries enforcement agents, who seized assets from and fined fishermen and then spent the money.

Embattled fisheries enforcer remains on NOAA payroll Dale Jones, the scandalized former chief of fisheries law enforcement, is still on the NOAA payroll with no job assignment.

Gulf Spill Still Threatens Millions of Migrating Birds “Unfortunately, most of the birds that die are never seen by humans, and so the total is still untold.”

Cranes reintroduced into Britain after 400 years A siege of cranes have been successfully released into the British countryside for the first time in 400 years after being hand-reared by carers

Pilots at Gnoss Field worry about proliferation of birds The big concern: a growing flock of white pelicans

Some Question the Granting of Police Power to Security Firms In Boston, tenants groups have complained that "special police," hired by property managers to keep low-income apartment complexes orderly, were overstepping their bounds, arresting young men who lived there for trespassing.

Gulf oil spill threatens survival of an isolated village In Grand Bayou, La., wiped out by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the spill is the latest catastrophe to strike its Atakapa-Ishak people, who have long contended with oil companies' encroachment.

Murre Bird Population Increasing NEWPORT, Ore. -- Scientists are constantly looking for new ways to study climate change.

Giant ice island breaks off GreenlandMore Global Warming Politics.

American Coots thwart nest invaders and kill their chicksCoots have evolved remarkable cognitive abilities that allow them to thwart other coots that lay eggs in their neighbors' nests.

Shambhallah Awareness CentreShambhallah Awareness Centre is a Pagan Kirk (church) and spiritual educational orgaisation

Rare yellow lobster avoids boiling potMore results from the BP oil spill.

California Tenant LawLegal advice by attorney Ken Carlson , specializing over 25 years in landlord-tenant law on California renters' rights.

Inside the Minds of Animals More research about what we already knew.

Crew member in fatal Coast Guard crash was texting Safety board says new policy limiting mobile phone use merely "a first step"

Banana Tow ‘Trademarks’ the Color Yellow Sea Tow now has exclusive rights to use a color nobody would want on a boat.

1860s logbooks used in study of Frenchman Bay fishery researchers are hoping to draw comparisons with current commercial fish stocks to find out more about how much, other than the obvious steep decline in overall fish landings, has changed.

Seafood Safety and Politics Don't Mix: Opening of Gulf Fisheries at Odds With Evidence of Harm Jason Brashears has flashbacks of a scene that he witnessed one day in Lake Ponchartrain, Louisiana: Thousands of fish gasping at the surface in a sea of foamy oil and dispersant.

Much Oil Remains in Gulf, Researchers Estimate Researchers at the University of Georgia said Monday that more than three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon drilling-rig explosion could still be in the Gulf threatening fisheries and marine life

If You Love Me, You'll Feed My Duck okay, so the title says it all.

California Tenant Law Legal Rights Your Legal Rights

Quote

"You might think that an MIT- and Harvard- trained scientist working at 
various universities would be given a certain amount of deference, but as 
a woman working with a bird, I found it was sometimes the opposite."

Irene Pepperberg Alex & Me

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