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10 most potentially damaging invasive birds in north america... (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter maersk
- Start date
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Interesting that the same old rubbish gets trotted out - House Sparrows are bad for agriculture. I haven't noticed the papers quoting the failure of crops over huge swathes of prairie cornfields due to hordes of House Sparrows. Our experience in UK is that agriculture is bad for House Sparrows!
John
John
bkrownd
Well-known member
Nasty buggers! But how would they be any different than the present plagues of starlings and pidgeons, aside from their awful screeching?
lostinjapan
Well-known member
Common Mynah are aggressive and will compete with other species for nest space.
Sacred Ibis, not mentioned yet would also be bad, as in Europe they are starting to spread and they like to predate onother birds eggs and nestlings...
Sacred Ibis, not mentioned yet would also be bad, as in Europe they are starting to spread and they like to predate onother birds eggs and nestlings...
John o'Sullivan
Well-known member
The only invasive species that really matters are humans. They get every where and are capable of messing up everything. Western industrialised monoculture agriculture being a perfect example. Not only is it ecologically damaging in itself but it allows population growth which leads to further spread and damage. Every other species aside from humankind is fundamentally irrelevant. Even introduced species (which I admire) are a symptom of our problematic relationship with the world and ourselves.
Never mind following the next extinction event the process of evolution can start again.
Never mind following the next extinction event the process of evolution can start again.
rob stoff
Well-known member
KnockerNorton
Well-known member
and a Merry Christmas to you too!
chowchilla
Well-known member
Common Mynahs are a major pest species here in Aus. I've noticed their numbers have increased hugely since I first arrived in the 90s. They have displaced a lot of native species, as have introduced House Sparrows and Spice Finches (Nutmeg Mannikin).
You sound like Agent Smith from the Matrix, John! I hope you´re not going to burst through my walls tonight and rip my heart out....
Happy Christmas in any case....John o'Sullivan
Well-known member
Most of us on bird forum will survive Christmas so Merry Christmas one and all.
Some figures that put the idea of "damaging invasive species" into perspective.
10,000 years ago around 4 million people
1 AD following the widespread introduction of agriculture 200 million plus
1600 around 560 million
1800 following industrial and agricultural revolutions 945 million
1900 around 1,650 million
1927 around 2 billion
1960 3 billion
1974 4 billion
1987 5 billion
2000 6 billion plus#
AAAARGGH!!!!!
and I'm suposed to care about mynahs, quela's, ibises, grey squirrels, ruddy duck, jackdaws. Totally absolutely irrelevant.
Past extinction events show it doesn't matter anyway because "life" can/will recover, reinvent itself and repopulate. This is a reason to rejoice not worry. So once more merry Christmas one and ALL.
Some figures that put the idea of "damaging invasive species" into perspective.
10,000 years ago around 4 million people
1 AD following the widespread introduction of agriculture 200 million plus
1600 around 560 million
1800 following industrial and agricultural revolutions 945 million
1900 around 1,650 million
1927 around 2 billion
1960 3 billion
1974 4 billion
1987 5 billion
2000 6 billion plus#
AAAARGGH!!!!!
and I'm suposed to care about mynahs, quela's, ibises, grey squirrels, ruddy duck, jackdaws. Totally absolutely irrelevant.
Past extinction events show it doesn't matter anyway because "life" can/will recover, reinvent itself and repopulate. This is a reason to rejoice not worry. So once more merry Christmas one and ALL.
Until the sun goes cold and the planet simply dies, that is. Oh dear. There goes the Christmas cheer. Sorry, folks.
rob stoff
Well-known member
sure John, but if you go too far down the Deep Green line of reasoning you become part of the problem rather than part of the solution or, more likely I'm afraid, marginal to the whole debate. Because there are big problems doesn't man that small solutions should be ignored.
Rob
John o'Sullivan
Well-known member
Of course I am part of the problem. We all are. at least I understand that my individual actions don't matter in reality to anything but potentially making me feel better that I am doing my bit to save the world. I feel better because I realise my actions are completely irrelevant.
Small solutions don't matter because the real problems are MASSIVE. BIGGER THAN MASSIVE f****NG HUGE. ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC AND REALISTICALLY INSURMOUNTABLE.
People worry about trivialities and imagine they are achieving something.
No more for me on this thread i'm afraid.
Small solutions don't matter because the real problems are MASSIVE. BIGGER THAN MASSIVE f****NG HUGE. ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC AND REALISTICALLY INSURMOUNTABLE.
People worry about trivialities and imagine they are achieving something.
No more for me on this thread i'm afraid.
I think your contribution to the thread was interesting and thought-provoking, John. :t: (Little smiley to cheer us all up). It reminds me of something a (birding) mate said once, to the effect that it doesn´t matter what your hobby/interest/sport/passion/obsession is, we´re all just train-spotters filling up our idle hours so we don´t have to confront some rather unpleasant truths. There are some very big questions hanging around the edges of your posts, the only comfort that comes to mind is Kurt Vonnegut´s comment, "We´re here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.....". Have a good Christmas, hey, the days get longer in a week!
chowchilla
Well-known member
Geez, I forgot that the longest day of the year's coming up!
Happy Chrimbo, one and all!B
Cheers, Chowchilla!BGeez, I forgot that the longest day of the year's coming up!
Happy Chrimbo, one and all!B
Enjoy midsummer's day below decks! In fact I overestimated....the longest day is in only two days!sideshow bob
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
Gotta love those nihilists
If all our problems are so insurmountable that any actions we take to rectify the damage we've done are actually completely ineffectual, then why are we bothering? Why bother with the Kyoto or Bali treaties (such as they are)? Why bother with the RSPB, BTO, Greenpeace, et al? Why don't we all go out and start setting fires to peat bogs, shooting Golden Eagles out of the sky, and filling the seas with even more garbage than we do already?
Crikey, my mentality is generally touched with a bit of misanthropy, but even I'm not that defeatist. What's wrong in taking satisfaction in our environmental achievements, however small? The 'environmental movement' (and apologies for such a generalist, umbrella term) still operates from a tiny base, but is attracting supporters all the time, and it's starting to become regular front-page news. Let's hope that trajectory continues, and everyone starts looking for small, and large-scale solutions.
Having said that, I'd love one more white Christmas! But no chance - thanks, climate change!
Hey, sideshow bob, the only time I ever saw a White Christmas in Dublin, between 1962 and 2006, was three years ago. So you could be lucky in ´07!Gotta love those nihilists
I'd love one more white Christmas! But no chance - thanks, climate change!
