Blog de Puree

I don’t consider myself an activist, but I do have opinions. One of those being that humanity needs to be more sensitive to its surroundings. We have a long way to go before we achieve a symbiosis with the planet, as every other species on Earth seems to have done. It’s pretty sad, really.

Two recent news items prompted this blog post.

The first, from the Newburyport Daily News. A flock of Snowy Egrets has started roosting in a creek that abuts a marshy area in Salisbury, Mass., the next town over. These beautiful birds are causing quite a stir because people are flocking to the area to check them out. No problem there, but when you get hundreds of people jamming the roadway and the shoulder on Rt. 1 to view the egrets, it creates traffic problems, and more importantly, disturbs the birds.

Thankfully, the Salisbury police and town officials are taking the side of the egrets. They are putting cones up to block the area during prime watching hours and are petitioning the state to put up No Parking signs. Police will also be on hand to shoo away rubber-neckers and parkers. This is especially important because the Snowy Egret is a migratory bird and the areas that it chooses to spend time are key to its survival.

(The Snowy Egret)

Score one for the local authorities, for doing the right thing.

On the other side of the coin, an example of malicious human behavior towards birds disgusts me. A friend of mine recently blogged about an experience he had when he was in traffic because of a gaggle of Canadian Geese walking across Rt. 9, a state highway that runs through his neck of the woods. He was taking his daughter to school. She was innocently enjoying the moment, when a car from behind his, sped past him and drove down the geese working their way into a glade. It took out an old goose, breaking its back, where it died a slow death. The other birds could only scramble out of the way and watch this unfortunate bird succumb to its injuries. Disgusting.

I truly hope that someone had the foresight to get that person’s license plate and report it to the authorities.

It’s no secret that animal and bird habitats are shrinking as humanity expands its footprint. People and animals need space. Whether we mean to or not, we still seem to blunder about, getting in the way and disturbing local habitats and migratory weigh-stations.

For me, the first news item is encouraging because it shows our ability to control our behavior, while still being able to appreciate the wildlife around us. The second item shows that we clearly still have a long way to go.