This ties in to a mini-series of pre-election environmental/birding diaries that lineatus, juliewolf, and I are doing.
Most Kossacks are already familiar with the Republican Party's attempts to weaken or dismantle the Endangered Species Act. Palin's assaults on it are particularly enraging: she wanted Polar Bears taken off the list so her "Oil Maggot" pals can do whatever they want, and she wanted wolves off so she could have them shot from airplanes. I admit, I may be simplifying things a bit, but the reasons they want to get rid of the ESA don't matter. The only thing that matters is the effects it will have. Being a bird watcher in Central Texas, it's personal to me.
More below the jump...
This little fellow is a Golden-Cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia).
He's an endangered bird that lives in a few areas of the Texas Hill Country (just outside Austin). There used to be vast areas of uninterrupted mixed juniper forest that these warblers lived in. Then people came in and cut down some of that forest for farm and ranch land, and what was left got divided up by roads. That's where the Cowbirds come in:
For those who are unfamiliar with cowbirds, they are brood parasites (they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and the "foster parents" raise the young). Cowbird chicks hatch much quicker than any of their hosts, and then roll all the other eggs out of the nest, thereby smashing them.
This wasn't a problem when the juniper forests were contiguous, because cowbirds usually stayed out. They followed the buffalo around, eating insects kicked up by the thundering herds. They never went more than a mile into the forests. When the humans showed up, the roads cut the forests up into conveniently-sized chunks where the cowbirds can easily get in.
Faced with a threat they were never prepared for, the warblers started dying out.
Today, they live in only a few small areas on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. The only thing keeping the species from going extinct is the efforts of volunteers trapping cowbirds.
If the Republicans are allowed to win, the Endangered Species act itself will be endangered. Conservation funding will be nonexistent. Without funds or protection, the few remaining habitats of this endangered bird may be sold off to developers, or just be neglected and taken over by cowbirds.
It's not just protecting a single species though: we have no idea what effect losing one part of the delicate web will have. There are species of plants and animals all over the country that are teetering on the edge of extinction. losing any of them could put entire ecosystems out of balance, and that can affect us directly.
And just look at that little yellow face! (">
For more birding fix, look for Dawn Chorus on Saturday mornings, hosted by lineatus. Also look for "Photo Breaks" from juliewolf throughout the week.
Also, plf515 has a meta series called Daily Kos University, where containing links to all the "teaching" diaries from the week. And Translator will be answering any and all questions (without reference!) at around 7:00 EST in "Tweak the Geek" (formerly "Outwit the Nitwit", formerly "Stump the Chump") Check it out!
As usual, The Left Wing is sort of an avian open thread. Feel free to share any bird (or any critter) pictures/stories, whether they're from the other side of the world, or from your own backyard.