The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
|
The closest relative of the now extinct passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is the band tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata), which is also the largest pigeon in North America. The coastal subspecies is a bit larger than the inland species. They can most easily be distinguished from the old world rock pigeon by their yellow bill and feet.
Continued below the orange coprolite
Wikipedia describes their range thusly:
It ranges from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and southern Arizona south in higher elevations through Mexico and Central America to northern Argentina. In autumn it migrates out of its permanent resident range into northern California, New Mexico, and parts of Utah and Colorado. Populations from Costa Rica south are sometimes considered a separate species, the white-naped pigeon (P. albilinea).[6] It is found at altitudes from 900 to 3,600 m (3,000 to 12,000 ft), generally in oak, pine-oak, and coniferous forests. It feeds on seeds, notably acorns.
wiki
Peter Fimrite, in this article makes the passenger pigeon connection as follows:
Band-tailed pigeons are the West Coast version of the passenger pigeon, which was once the most abundant bird in North America until it was hunted to extinction. Millions of band-tailed pigeons used to inhabit California, but they too were hunted for food throughout the 19th century, and much of their habitat was destroyed. They were eventually protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which was passed largely out of guilt over the wholesale slaughter of many bird species, including the killing off of the passenger pigeon.
The California contingent prefer to live in redwood and pine forests at higher elevations along the Central Coast and in the Sierra Nevadas, but they winter in oak and conifer forests between the Bay Area, Santa Barbara County and the San Bernardino Mountains. They then migrate in late winter or early spring to far northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
Over 1,000 of them have died since December, raising serious concerns for their overall wellbeing since they have a low reproductive rate. The primary cause appears to be a parasite, Trichomonas gallinae, aka avian trichomonosis. It is believed that the parasite is being spread by the non-native rock pigeons and that the situation may be exacerbated by California's long and severe drought. These mortality events have happened before, but seem to be happening more frequently of late.
Krysta Rogers of the California DFW, who is researching this matter, has requested residents to be on the lookout for and report sick or dead band tailed pigeons:
Dead pigeons can be reported by calling the Wildlife Investigations Lab at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at (916) 358-2790 or online at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/....
Sick birds should be reported to local wildlife rehabilitation centers, which can be found at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/....
(From the SFGATE article cited above)
**
"Spotlight on Green News & Views" will be posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time and every Wednesday at 3:30 Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.
**
Now It's Your Turn What have you noted happening in your area or travels? As usual post your observations as well as their general location in the comments.
Thank you.