STella@xanadu.com (STella Calvert) (11/15/89)
I'll let y'all ask Susan howcome I followed up the article I did when
you email her advice on this problem. I would appreciate it if you
_email_ to her (preferably) or me (if email to her bounces and you can
get through to me), since she has a readonly newsfeed and doesn't
always see postings before they expire. However, I _will_ attempt to
track this group for a while, so if you can't manage to make email
work, it might STILL get to her. (If I see the post and save it for
her....)
Susan writes:
From uunet!wang!harvee!scm Fri Nov 10 23:15:26 1989
I don't know how they caught them but my neighbors have three
cardinals(two females and a male) in what used to be their pidgeon
coop. This family has been very unfriendly since we moved into
our house nine years ago, so we see no point in talking to them.
[Having listened to her tribulations with these bozos, I tend to think
shotgun therapy is about the only thing that would get their
attention, and that, unfortunately, would have undesirable legal side
effects! -- STella]
The only one who even answered when we said hello was a guy in his
late teens who was reasonably pleasant till we caught him shooting
at a woodpecker in OUR yard at OUR birdfeeder. When my husband
asked him not to shoot things in our yard he said he was "just
trying to complete his collection," and has been avoiding us ever
since.
I don't know what to do. Is there anyone I can report them
to (SPCA, wildlife/conservation/hunting authority) who could help?
If they raided a nest and raised the birds from babies, is it
kinder to release them or to keep them safely in the cages they
are now used to? Should I stop feeding my birds if it puts them
at this kind of risk? We always had a few cardinals attracted by
the feeders but mostly put out safflower seed to attract my
beloved black-capped chickadees, and thistle for the goldfinches.
I haven't started my winter feeders yet but the birds are coming
around: chickadees, cardinals, and a woodpecker so far, but I've
had several other species and don't know what else is likely to be
"collected".
I live in the last house on a dead end street, surrounded by
woods, in suburban eastern Massachusetts. Any suggestions?
[I have already suggested that she move to California, but she KNOWS
that's because I miss them, rather than because such problems couldn't
happen here! -- STella]
-----
So, reply to her (uunet!wang!harvee!scm) if you can, me
(uunet!xanadu!STella) if you can't, and post if both of those bomb for
you. Thanks!
Love is the law, love under will!
STella@xanadu.com 1016 E. El Camino Real, #302, Sunnyvale, CA 94087john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) (11/16/89)
STella Calvert (STella@xanadu.UUCP) forwards this from her friend: >...I don't know how they caught them but my neighbors have three >cardinals... It is illegal under federal law in the USA and Canada to possess native birds, dead or alive. Shooting them is also illegal. Exceptions are made for hunting and scientific research, but only with the proper licenses and permits. Introduced birds (e.g., starlings, house sparrows, rock doves) are excepted. If you are aware of any violations of this law, you should report them to the authorities; failure to report violations could make you liable as an accessory. Game wardens or other employees of your state game and fish department can handle these complaints. They will also handle any necessary rehabilitation. -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico john@nmtsun.nmt.edu, ucbvax!unmvax!nmtsun!john ``Let's go outside and commiserate with nature.'' [Dave Farber]
ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (11/16/89)
In article <3499@nmtsun.nmt.edu> john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) writes: >If you are aware of any violations of this law, you should report >them to the authorities; failure to report violations could make >you liable as an accessory. Game wardens or other employees of >your state game and fish department can handle these complaints. >They will also handle any necessary rehabilitation. Reporting violations can well lead to the destruction of the birds. Far too many state game officers would rather destroy the bird than bother with the difficulty of finding a rehabilitator. I've "rescued" many birds and been told to just put them back outside by local game types when it would have been impossible for them to survive. Wildlife rehabilitators will tell you that it is rare that these state people will bother to bring them an injured bird or animal. Most of them come from private shelter people or those who find the bird in the first place. There have also been multiple cases of people finding and rehabilitating birds to the point where the bird will survive, but have some physical defect that makes it unsuitable for life in the wild. When game types have found out about this, they have confiscated and destroyed the bird. This happened last year with a crow whose wing had to be amputated. The bird had become a pet, learned to talk and was having a wonderful life when the state of arizona decided that they knew better and destroyed the bird. The intent of the laws against taking native birds is good. Unfortunately, sometimes it is lost on those who wish to uphold the letter of the law at the expense of the birds. Mikki Barry
john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) (11/17/89)
First, I wrote: +--- | Game wardens or other employees of your state game and fish | department...will also handle any necessary rehabilitation. +--- Mikki Barry replied: +--- | Reporting violations can well lead to the destruction of the birds. | Far too many state game officers would rather destroy the bird than | bother with the difficulty of finding a rehabilitator. +--- Thanks, Mikki, I was going by what I've seen with the New Mexico Game & Fish folks; it never occurred to me that other states might be more hard-hearted. I encourage anyone with knowledge of such an incident, where a bird was `rescued' only to be destroyed, to complain to the director of the agency in question. -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico john@nmtsun.nmt.edu, ucbvax!unmvax!nmtsun!john ``Let's go outside and commiserate with nature.'' [Dave Farber]
ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (11/17/89)
One of the most useful resources I've found for dealing with birds that need rehabilitation is an avian vet. They have lists of all of the people in your area that do bird rehabilitation services. They are usually licensed by the state and required to take courses to teach them proper ways of dealing with hurt birds, with the hope they can be re-released. I've had great luck in Virginia. Before I knew how to hand feed birds, I found a baby mockingbird whose mother was trying very hard to defend it from a crow that had killed his nestmate. The baby was soon going to lose so I took it (much to the annoyance of his mother). The wildlife rehab person came and took him (after I fed him hard boiled egg yolk through the night) and put him in a home nest with 3 other babies who were released 30 days later when they were mature. There have been other instances in this state and NH where I used to live where wildlife people were wonderful and went far out of their way to come get and take care of an injured bird (or possum in NJ where the police offered to come shoot it. All that was wrong with it was a concussion which it recovered from in 24 hours and was released). Friends of Animals volunteers also often have knowledge of rehabilitaiton. So do some private animal shelters. It's actually a wonder that this person with the cardinals got them to survive. I'm told that cardinals, sparrows, robins, etc. are among the most difficult to deal with because they are so fragile. Mockingbirds, on the other hand, are VERY tough :-) Mikki Barry