Yellow-head Blackbird

Every day is a new bird discovery here in the Texas desert (Permian Basin). I feel like I am in a bird dream. Today I looked up and there was a Yellow-Headed Blackbird feeding in my yard. He has been there most of the morning and is still there now, pecking away at the seed I put out! This picture doesn't do him justice. He is jet black.

House Sparrows: Words in Their Defense

House sparrows were brought to the U.S. in the 1800's and now are our most common songbird. They are being destroyed in areas with bluebird and purple martin populations. However, they pose no specific problem in the Midland Basin of Texas.
Read words in defense of house sparrows

Are We Sacrificing Our Birds for Wind Energy?

Wind Turbines, What Is The Risk?
There is no question that wind turbines pose a risk to birds. The degree of risk is at its worst when wind farms are located in a bird habitat with concentrated numbers of birds or when they are located directly in the migratory path of a great number of birds. Some risks can be mitigated by responsible location and operation of wind farms.

The most famous case of damage by wind farms was at Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area in California. It was built in the 1980’s and was one of the first wind energy farms in the United States. The California Audubon Society says that 4,700 birds die each year as a result of the wind farm. Among these birds are Golden Eagles, Burrowing Owls Red-tailed Hawks, and American Kestrels.

One Case in Texas
In Texas, PPM and Babcock and Brown are planning a 60,000-acre wind farm with 500+ turbines in Kenedy Ranch along the Texas Gulf Coast. The Texas Audubon Society has taken an official stand to oppose this wind farm, “Audubon Texas opposes the wind projects proposed in Kenedy County and other sites along the Texas Coast due to potential bird collision mortalities that may have negative impacts on entire species populations.”

On September 16, 2008, I spoke with Mr. Walt Kittleberger, Executive Director of the Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, a founding member of the Coastal Habitat Alliance. We discussed the litigation that CHA brought against the Texas Land Commissioner, the Public Utility Commission, and PPM and Babcock and Brown.

CHA is concerned that the area in question is home to many birds that are named in state and federal lists of threatened and endangered species. Further, the proposed wind farm “is located within one of the most active and important bird migratory pathways in the United States.” CHA also believes that the State of Texas is not honoring its agreement under the Coastal Zone Management Act (federal). Under that act, Texas agrees to have in place a regulatory program that governs all electric-producing facilities in the Texas coastal area.

Dr. Glenn Perrigo from Texas A&M was hired by the partners in the wind farm to study its impact on bird populations in the area. In a sworn affidavit, he reported that after three years of study, he felt that the sites that were selected for the wind farms were appropriate. He swore that the site proposed no greater risk than any other wind farm in the country. That, however, may not be a small risk based on reported fatalities at other sites across the country. Also, per his affidavit, Dr. Perrigo reported that there were 72 kills per turbine each year. If the site is limited to 500 turbines, that comes to 36,000 kills per year! Those are statistics for daytime kills only, so they don't represent the total loss of birds.

Mr. Kittleberger informed me that a federal judge, Lee Yeakel, has dismissed the suit and has not yet given a formal opinion giving his reasons for doing so.

You can read more about this Texas dispute and learn more about supporting the CHA in this cause by going to their website. The Link is listed below.

Is The Wind Industry Concerned?
I also spoke with Ms. Kathy Taylor who works for Resolve in Washington, D.C. Resolve is a non-profit organization that facilitates opportunities for National Wind Coordinating Collaborative and other parties with interests that are impacted by the wind industry to work together from both sides of this issue. She explained that members of the wind industry, in general, have the desire to operate in the most responsible way in order to avoid public reproach and that there is an ongoing concentrated effort to discover and mitigate the damaging effects of wind farms.

Ms. Taylor told me that most states have guidelines that require two-year pre-construction studies for proposed sites and that post-construction studies are required as well. I am under the impression that Texas has no current laws in place that require permits for wind farms. I was unable to verify what, if any, legislation is in place that otherwise governs the operation of wind turbines, especially as they relate to risks to wildlife.

It Looks Like They Are Here To Stay
The bottom line is that electricity generating wind farms are popping up everywhere. Texas is the leader of this industry in the United States. It looks like, for better or for worse, they are here to stay.

Anywhere man builds his structures, he endangers wildlife. There are deaths due to collisions with buildings, automobiles, airplanes, communication towers, etc. There are electrocutions when birds attempt to land on power lines. Agricultural pesticides and other poisons kill millions of birds per year. We encroach on their nesting areas and disrupt their food sources. Those in favor of wind energy site all of the above risks as being more of a threat to birds than responsibly sited and operated wind farms.

According to Wikipedia, T. Boone Pickens believes that we can use wind power instead of natural gas to produce electricity. The natural gas that is saved could then be used in the transportation industry. However, Wikipedia also sites problems with “leaking lubricating oil or hydraulic fluid running down turbine blades.” In some cases, these can wind up in water supplies. Wikipedia also discusses the possibilities of some contribution to global warming by the operation of these turbines.

The volume of information on both sides of this issue is overwhelming. My hope is that our lawmakers will see fit to institute regulations and guidelines that will guarantee that everything that can be done to protect our wildlife will be done when the wind industry builds and operates its farms.



SOURCES & LINKS OF INTEREST:
Coastal Habitat Alliance
National Wind Coordinating Collaborative
National Audubon Society
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine
T. Boone Pickens, Wikipedia
Environmental Effects of Wind Power, Wikipedia

No Author Listed, Avian Mortality at Altamont Pass.Golden Gate Audubon Society
No Author Listed, At a Glance: Kennedy Industrial Wind Projects. Coastal Habitat Alliance
9-16-08 Telephone conversation with Walt Kittleberger, Coastal Habitat Alliance, (956)944-2387
9-17-08 Telephone conversation with Kathy Taylor, Resolve, (202)965-6392

The Birds We See Regularly in Midland, Texas

The Reason for this Blog
I have always loved animals and my husband and I have always enjoyed feeding birds in the backyard. However, birds became a passion after I was faced with saving and raising my first baby bird, a white-winged dove. I fell in love so deeply and so did my husband.

This blog will be about feeding and watching wild birds, helping orphaned and sick birds, and many related subjects.

When I was faced with saving that first baby, I was petrified. I had no idea what to do and had a hard time finding reliable information, even after spending long periods searching the web. I want to share what I have learned in hopes that others who are faced with raising a baby bird will find the answers they need here.

Some people in Midland who know that I have raised baby birds successfully have given out my name and number to others. In the springtime, I get a lot of calls from people asking me to take birds. I usually have to say "no." I have a job! I am a registered pharmacist and I cannot be a one-woman wildlife rehabilitation center. The expense and time spent raising even one bird is hard for most people to comprehend. My husband and I make a joint decision about when we can and cannot adopt a baby bird and we usually personally find our own quota of orphans each spring.

The subject of orphaned baby birds will be more needed in the springtime. I am beginning this blog in September, 2008 so the subject of rescuing orphaned doves, and some other orphaned birds, will be saved for later.

I will start out with information to help you avoid spreading some heartbreaking diseases from bird feeders. That article will be posted in a few days.

Birds We Feed Regularly
We live in Midland, Texas. Midland (in the Llano Estacado region) is in the “oil patch” and it is a semi-arid environment (some call it a desert). For that reason, we have a limited variety of birds in our neighborhood.

We feed in our backyard and regularly attract white-winged doves, mourning doves, Inca doves, house sparrows, house finches, grackles, and hummingbirds. Mockingbirds are nearly always feeding in our yard in the spring. They eat insects, berries, and are seed eaters but are not attracted to my seed feeding stations.

Birds That Occasionally Come to Our Yard
Occasionally I get a curved bill thrasher at the feeder and I have had one or two cardinals over the last few years.

Birds We Were Surprised to See
For a few days, early this spring, there was a road runner in our yard. I actually believe it was living in one of our raised beds that was a bit overgrown with vines. I think it was disturbed, and later left, because we tried to clean up that area by pulling out some dead vegetation. We have now allowed a honeysuckle to completely cover one small raised bed. We plan to leave it in case other birds can find shelter there.

I have had a parakeet or two come to the yard to feed over the years.

Birds We Were Thrilled to See
Our biggest thrill was when an indigo bunting came to feed and stayed an entire weekend. I had never seen one and didn't know what it was. It looked like a house sparrow, but it was an electric (neon) blue!

(photo of Indigo Bunting-from Wikimedia under public domain)

Another exciting visit was by a Eurasian collared-dove. These are now believed to reside in all areas of Texas but were once seen only in certain counties. I had never seen one before and it was beautiful!

Birds That I See in Town That Don't Come to Feed
I have seen a blue jay in my yard a few times. They stay mostly in the front yard where we have oak trees and they love the acorns. Unfortunately, they are known to eat the eggs of other birds and nestlings. There are American robins in the front yards in my neighborhood but I have never seen them at my feeding station or in my fruit trees or my grapevines. They eat insects, worms, and berries. The Western Kingbird is seen sometimes in the grapevine in my yard but not at my feeding station. Their diets consist of insects and fruit.