The following commentary was published by The Daily Progress, the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, Virginia, on September 24, 2024. You can read it at the newspaper’s web site (by clicking on the web address below), or you can read the unedited (original) version posted here below the link.

https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/marlene-a-condon-bad-science-results-in-bad-environmental-outcomes/article_3d570250-791d-11ef-8952-afc030209d81.html

Bad Science Results in Bad Environmental Outcomes

You can take a Carolina Chickadee out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of this bird. A flawed study unintentionally verified just that. 

 

 ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon

A serious problem for the environment nowadays is the scholar- and media-driven promotion of peer-reviewed scientific studies that do not actually prove what they purport to establish.

 

The result is an unknowing public being led to follow the erroneous dictates of careless scientists, creating, in the end, more difficulties for our ailing natural world.

 

A prime example is the current widespread narrative that “nonnative plants reduce habitat quality for insectivorous birds”. This quote from a now-famous chickadee study by Drs. Desirée L. Narango, Douglas W. Tallamy, and Peter P. Marra overgeneralizes their results that, in fact, only apply to the Carolina Chickadees they observed and other similarly forest-dependent bird species. In other words, the scientists have made a statement that is more universal in nature than is justified by their available evidence.

 

https://www.pnas.org/content/115/45/11549

 

This indiscriminate declaration has served as the keystone argument to encourage land managers to prioritize growing native-plant species on properties by first removing so-called invasive, non-native species. Additionally, it has convinced other scientists, the media, government officials, environmentalists, and even individuals to disseminate these ideas far and wide.

 

However, this entire study is based upon a flawed premise; its results are therefore not valid; and no action should be taken based upon the scientists’ recommendations.

 

For scientific findings to be considered sound, researchers must follow protocols (an official system of rules) known as the Scientific Method.

 

First, they make an observation: In this case, that some insectivorous-bird populations are decreasing.

 

Next, they ask a question: Could human-dominated landscapes containing an abundance of alien plants that don’t support many leaf-feeding insects that birds eat be the cause of this situation?

 

And third, the scientists design a study that will enable them to collect data that they can then examine to determine the answer to their question.

 

The flaw in the chickadee study occurred before researchers left the building and got out into the field. The senior scientists—one of whom was Smithsonian ornithologist (bird authority) Peter Marra —inexplicably chose the Carolina Chickadee, a forest bird, as the avian species they would study in suburbia, which is typically more akin to field habitat.  

 

If people (and their associated developed areas) did not exist, a chickadee would be found only in forest because it nests in natural tree cavities. And because it occupies that kind of niche (the physical space that makes possible survival and reproduction of a species), it has evolved to feed upon the insects closely associated with the large native trees that comprise forest.

 

In other words, the life of a chickadee is tied forever to large native trees, so any area without an abundance of these specific plants—as is the case in much of suburbia—would be regarded as inferior habitat.

By performing their study in sub-optimal habitat, the three scientists reached a foregone conclusion: A chickadee’s reproductive efforts will be sub-optimal (fewer healthy chicks) in yards devoid of numerous large native trees.

 

A legitimately done study would have looked at avian species living in suburbia without human-supplied assistance, such as the feeders and nest boxes that encourage chickadees to try to reproduce under less-than-desirable conditions. Native birds of field and edge (where field meets forest) habitats, such as the cardinal, wren, catbird, dove, jay, mockingbird, and many others, are common and could have been studied quite easily.

 

The researchers could have compared how well these species were able to reproduce in yards with a higher percentage of nonnative plants versus yards with a lower percentage to see if it truly made a difference. Of course, as any birdwatching person living in an urban/suburban area realizes, the birds living and reproducing there do quite well among the mix of native and nonnative plants.

 

Urban-/suburban-adapted birds feed upon a host of insect species, unlike forest-dwelling birds, such as the chickadee, many kinds of warblers, and other species that are more tied to leaf-feeding caterpillars and sawfly larvae found in large trees.

 

It's unfortunate that so many people have been so fooled by this study. Thanks to Drs. Narango, Tallamy, and Marra, a great deal of perfectly functioning habitat has been, and will continue to be, destroyed—often with the application of herbicides that not only harm wildlife in the area, but can poison the ground and water.

 

It will take years for viable habitat to replace it—precious time our wildlife can’t afford—and there’s absolutely no guarantee, either, that it will consist of native plants.

NATURE ADVICE:

Just because a scientific study by people with “Ph.D.” after their names is peer-reviewed doesn’t mean it cuts the mustard. Always scrutinize what scientists say to be sure their arguments are logically sound.

DISCLAIMER:

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

 The Trouble with Horticulture

Slugs and snails are viewed in the gardening world as “pests”, when the reality is that they exist to help recycle rotting, organic debris, such as pollen that has collected on the author’s carport. In other words, they return nutrients to the soil to fertilize your plants so you don’t need to do it. Don’t kill these helpful animals as extension web sites tell you to do; instead, feed them by keeping decomposing organic matter in your yard and garden.

ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon

 

NOTE: “The Trouble with Horticulture” was published by The Daily Progress (the Charlottesville, Virginia, daily newspaper) on August 15, 2024. To read it at the site, click on the link below. I’ve also posted it here for your convenience.

 

https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/marlene-condon-the-trouble-with-horticulture/article_cc6704f2-5430-11ef-abf8-eb36c45559e1.html

People rant about various kinds of wildlife that are problematic for them, when they themselves are responsible for the difficulties they encounter. Expecting to garden without a knowledge of nature is akin to expecting to bake bread without any knowledge of kneading and proofing (the process of activating yeast).

 

Despite the admonition much given these days to not grow alien plants, many nonnative species (such as this Red Clover—Trifolium pratense) can furnish wildlife (such as these Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies) with nourishment throughout the growing season.

Still, generation after generation of horticulturists get degrees that are not based upon an understanding of how the natural world works, even though that is where gardeners and farmers grow their plants. Consequently, they provide gardeners with a lot of misinformation that has become “factual” by way of constant repetition by those who’ve obtained doctorates in this field. As a result, gardeners encounter wildlife problems and end up believing that many critters are “pests” when, in fact, they are nothing more than innocent animals trying to survive.

 

Your gardening doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Thus, you have no choice but to follow natural laws. So, let’s look at just a few of the “truisms” in gardening lore that are, in fact, myths. When followed, they make unnecessary work for the gardener, and are also detrimental to wildlife and the environment.

Putting up bird boxes is not enough to entice birds to nest in your yard. You must provide them with food. For this Eastern Screech Owl in the author's yard, mice and insects that people often think shouldn’t be around their house are required.

As summer draws to a close and fall arrives, gardening experts issue the same axiom year after year: Clean up your garden to keep pest problems at a minimum. However, if you have a yard that is wildlife friendly, this task is totally unnecessary. It deprives many animals of needed winter food and cover, and over time, bankrupts the soil nutrition available for growing plants.

 

While it’s true that some insects overwinter in plant stalks, either as adults or eggs, it’s also true that many animals will find these insects and eat them. Wrens and woodpeckers will come to feeders to get sunflower seeds, but they mainly subsist upon insects all the year around. As a result, they can be in big trouble if we have a harsh winter with lots of snow. If you leave plants standing, especially tall ones, these birds have a better chance of surviving because they may find insects or their eggs on the stems above the snow.

 

Deer Mice also eat insects. While you probably care more about birds than these mammals—thinking that all rodents are “pests”—consider that mice help to replant our forests and grasslands. They are Mother Nature’s gardeners, carrying seeds back to their nests and dropping some along the way that may then grow where they fell.

 

It’s easy to overlook the fact that every creature does its part to keep the other components of the ecosystem functioning properly, but humans need to recognize this actuality. Even though you don’t want mice in your house, you should welcome them outdoors, and not only because they are inadvertent gardeners. Mice are a prime food source for owls, and thus are a real attractant if you would like to see these birds of prey around your home.

 

Another gardening myth is that you must keep your plants totally “bug-free” to keep them healthy. Healthy plants can withstand a few insects chewing or sucking on them. Remember, plants exist to feed animals (“Marlene’s Axiom for Life on Earth to Persist”). There’s no need to run for the insecticide spray at the first sign of a few six-legged critters, especially as many of these insects will be eaten if you’ve created a yard that welcomes predators.

 

For example, many folks worry about aphids, yet they rarely cause significant damage in a yard full of birds. Hummingbirds, especially, require such tiny insects to obtain protein and fat for good health. Remove aphids and you remove a significant food source for these sprightly creatures.

Putting in even a small artificial pond provides habitat for aquatic wildlife, such as this male Green Frog resting on a waterlily pad in the author’s three- by four-foot front-yard pond. Ponds containing wildlife are not a significant source of mosquitoes because most of the aquatic larvae get eaten. However, beware the water garden that only holds plants! With no animals to limit mosquito production, you’ll get mosquitoes galore.

You’ve probably also heard that you shouldn’t allow your perennials to go to seed as it drains the energy they could put into growing. A plant’s ultimate “goal” is to reproduce so it’s well adapted to making seeds and still accomplishing the growth that it should do each year. If you spend time deadheading (removing all “spent” blooms—those that are going to seed), you are performing busywork and, again, depriving your local wildlife of food. In my yard, House Finches flock to the seeds of my Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia spp.), and it still has grown larger and larger every year.

 

Lastly, anywhere you plan to cover bare ground with mulch, you should instead let some “weeds” grow. They serve as your natural mulch. Rather than stealing water, they keep the ground shaded to prevent moisture loss, and many turn into lovely flowers that provide beauty for the gardener, nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies and/or numerous other insects, and possibly seeds for birds and small mammals if you leave them standing.

 

Pillbugs (also known as Roly-poly Bugs or Woodlice), are often found underneath flower pots. They are not insects, but rather, land crustaceans related to marine arthropods, such as lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish. Their function in the environment is to help recycle dead plant and animal matter, which is why you see them in association with planter pots. Yet, extension offices often refer to them as “pests” and tell gardeners to get rid of them! Ignorance of the true roles of our fellow life forms endangers the proper functioning of the environment that supports all of us.

Save time and energy by gardening in a more relaxed manner, and you’ll help our wildlife while you’re at it. Your reward will be the opportunity to watch nature at work instead of you! 😊

 

NATURE ADVICE:

 

Here’s my definition of gardening: The perpetual expenditure of human energy to defy Mother Nature™. From this follows my Golden Rule of Gardening: Always follow Mother Nature’s examples™. Obey my Golden Rule (as I have always done) and you won’t suffer the difficulties farmers and gardeners typically encounter—because they are doing things incorrectly. And then you won’t need to waste energy trying to make amends for disregarding the natural laws you have no choice but to obey (the whole point of my book, The Nature-friendly Garden).  

 

DISCLAIMER:

 

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

Link To Latest Published Article, “Drought Gardening for People and Wildlife” 

Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), a native plant, suffers in drought conditions.

 ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon

 

The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA daily newspaper) and The News Virginian (Waynesboro, VA daily newspaper) both recently published my article, “Drought gardening for people and wildlife” at the following links, respectively:

 

https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/marlene-condon-drought-gardening-for-people-and-wildlife/article_4bd921fa-45c9-11ef-9111-0bc7c5d7ea25.html

 

https://newsvirginian.com/opinion/column/marlene-condon-drought-gardening-for-people-and-wildlife/article_3a2d7b10-e4c9-531b-992e-d8cc8bd87b5d.html

 

If you can’t access it at either of these sites, I am reproducing it below for your convenience.

 

Sincerely,

Marlene

  

Drought Gardening for People and Wildlife

 

Once again, Virginia is suffering from a significant lack of rain. With each drought building upon the last, the pattern we are in does not bode well for our collective future. Therefore, if you own land, it’d be wise to manage it in the best possible manner to preserve water.

 

Limiting how often your property is cut is perhaps the foremost action people can take to preserve water, especially to conserve ground water. Most lawns are trimmed way too short, eliminating the "umbrella effect" gained from taller grass.

 

Longer blades shelter the ground, suppressing water evaporation from uncovered soil due to sunshine and wind. Water that goes back into the atmosphere is water that doesn't reach the water table to feed your well.

 

Leaving alone unused areas of grass, such as ditches and hillsides, would be extremely prudent for water conservation. Hillsides are subject to water runoff if there are not enough plants to hold the water in place, and ditches can collect water not only to recharge the soil moisture, but also for the use of wildlife. It’s time for aesthetics to take a back seat.

 

As early as June 25, grass cut way too short in Albemarle County had turned brown.

When it comes to gardening, you should only water when flowers begin to show signs of wilting. They can withstand this process (if it’s not prolonged), which forces them to grow more roots to help survive unusually dry conditions.

 

Common horticultural advice suggests you remove “competing” plants (aka, “weeds”) because they “steal” water from your plants, but it’s best if “weeding” is minimally done, especially during drought periods.

 

When I was young, I listened to the “experts” one time, and one time only. I reluctantly pulled wildflowers from among my veggies and quickly learned my lesson. My plants were wilted by the next day because the soil was no longer shaded by the "weeds". As with grass, you don’t want bare ground around your plants.

Of course, you can make more work for yourself by putting down a mulch layer in place of the plants you pulled, but living plants in proximity to one another do a great job of maintaining soil moisture—and you don’t need to buy them. As every gardener knows, Mother Nature is constantly trying to fill even the smallest of bare spots.

 

You should always follow Mother Nature’s examples, and this is one of them. Conservation of water is one of the reasons plants are always filling in any bare spot they can find.

 

Lastly, prepare for the future by investing in some type of water storage. Rain barrels don’t hold much liquid, but they will do if your gardening efforts are minimal.

 

For larger gardens, you’ll need to consider greater storage capacity. I have two 350-gallon containers sitting under my deck connected to the nearby downspout. I’m thus able to keep plants watered and my two small artificial ponds filled.

The oft-repeated assertion nowadays is that native plants don’t need watering. Could this be the reason so many newly planted trees around town have died? 

We can help wildlife during drought by making water available in our yards. Bird baths are great for birds and flying insects. Many kinds of 6-legged creatures drink water, or make use of it in other ways. For example, I’ve watched honeybees collect water from my bird bath to bring back to the hive to cool it.

 

Toads drink water through their skin, so placing a bird bath on the ground is a great way to help them—and mammals—to obtain water. Whether the bath is on the ground or a pedestal, it’s vital that the bath be shallow: a two-inch maximum depth at the center.

A Tufted Titmouse gets a drink of water while a House Finch family enjoy taking a bath in July of 2015.

Do not use mosquito dunks or any other pesticides in bird/toad baths to kill mosquitoes; it’s totally unnecessary. Mosquito eggs will be slurped up by animals drinking water. Additionally, all animals require clean water so you should be dumping out the water every few days anyway (preferably on your plants), which will dump any mosquito eggs within it.

 

Help hummingbirds by hanging sugar-water feeders for them. Water-deprived plants can’t make much, if any, nectar to feed these small birds. Or grow nectar-producing plants in pots that can be kept watered.

 

During drought, most native plants are not getting the amount of water they need. Now is the time to be realistic, rather than idealistic, and embrace so-called invasive plants. Most of these plants, such as Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra), do fine in drought and continue to feed our pollinators (and deer) that could otherwise starve.

 

Drought will likely bring a dearth of seeds come fall for seed-eating birds. Please consider putting out bird feeders for them when that time arrives.    

Placing unwanted tomatoes in the yard, especially during drought, helps Box Turtles to get the liquid they need.

NATURE ADVICE:

 

If global climate change has brought recurring droughts to your area, it’s time to prepare for similar future scenarios. Homeowners, as well as government entities, such as highway departments, and farmers who cut grass for hay, must rethink how they manage landscapes under their control. It’s no longer business as usual; changing weather patterns require changing routines.

 

DISCLAIMER:

 

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

 

 

 

Link for My Latest Published Article on “Invasive" Plants

When people like nonnative plants, they don’t complain about how far and wide they spread. At a facility near the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, alien crocuses have spread throughout the lawn over the course of decades. Would anyone ever refer to these flowers as “invasive”? Probably not, because they create such a lovely sight. 

ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS  © Marlene A. Condon

 

On July 12, 2024, The Daily Progress (the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, VA) published my article regarding the value to wildlife of so-called invasive species, such as the Mimosa-tree (Albizia julibrissin). You can find it at the link below, where half a dozen photos make clear the reason for the spread of naturalized plants (now usually referred to as “invasive”) as well as provide examples of some of the wildlife that makes extensive use of the alien Mimosa.

  

https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/marlene-a-condon-theyre-not-invasive-species-theyre-naturalized/article_d65069bc-4031-11ef-b27f-3774d5c1dde3.html

 

If you can’t access my article at this site, I am reproducing it below for your convenience.

 

Sincerely,

Marlene

Exotic Mimosa-tree Provides Food and Beauty

 

You’ve probably noticed the tropical-looking trees with gorgeous pink puffs of flowers that are currently blooming around the area. Known as the Silktree (or Silk Tree), Mimosa-tree, or just Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin), it presents a sight that most folks enjoy viewing, but others do not because they consider this nonnative tree “invasive”. But is it? Not at all; it’s “naturalized”.

Untended areas, such as the one in this photo, serve as important food sources for our native wildlife trying to eke out a living in urban areas. Here, a blooming Mimosa-tree helps to ameliorate the pollinator food-desert resulting from the nearby native trees having long since flowered. 

The lovely blooms and fern-like leaves of the tropical-looking Mimosa-tree provide landscape color at a time of year when it’s hard to find a native tree blooming.

If you’re a gardener who has lived long enough, you’ll recall that decades ago, plants that became established and survived on their own, able to spread in a region where they were not indigenous, were considered wonderful additions to the landscape. You got more plants for free and more beauty to savor in your surroundings.

 

Even today, some plant catalogs tout naturalizing: “For a carefree, colourful display year after year, let your bulbs go wild! Flowering bulbs will keep your garden ablaze with colour when other plants are just emerging or have faded. Naturalizing is the process of imitating nature with bulb plantings.”

 

https://www.brecks.com/how_to_landscaping_with_bulbs_naturalizing

 

Note the final sentence that imparts the wisdom that “naturalizing is the process of imitating nature”. This statement reveals recognition of the fact that plants spread when conditions suit them in the natural world. In other words, what folks today refer to as invasiveness is a misreading of a natural process that is neither mysterious nor mystical, nor hard to understand.

 

Old books don’t complain about “invasiveness”; to the contrary, they treat naturalization as the normal—and often desired—outcome it is for some alien-plant species.

 

My 1988 Peterson Field Guide to Trees tells the reader that Mimosa is “[n]ative to S[outh] Asia but widely planted and naturalized in the eastern U.S.” My 1983 Illustrated Book of Trees informs us that “[the Silktree] has become extensively naturalized from Virginia southward and often grows by the wayside.”

 

The latter book points out that Mimosa “is able to thrive on even the poorer soils”. My 1980 book, The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, concurs. It tells us this tree occurs in “[o]pen areas including wasteland and dry gravelly soils.” And the 1981 University Press of Virginia book, Trees and Shrubs of Virginia, adds “[w]ood borders, clearings, [and] roadsides”.

 

What do each of these locations have in common? Every single one of them results from people having impacted the soil at some point in a site’s history. Otherwise, the area would be filled with old-growth trees, the original landscape of eastern North America.

 

A 1998 Timber Press book, Trees of the Central Hardwood Forests, makes the mistake of telling the reader that the value of Mimosa is “[n]ot significant to any native wildlife species”. Indeed, this declaration has been much used by people, such as activist-entomologist Doug Tallamy, to disparage plants they view as alien invasives in need of removal. But I must beg to differ.

 

In 2019, I had the opportunity to document the life in the canopy (the upper layer of a mature tree) of a Mimosa. I had noticed this plant growing alongside a bridge I have crossed numerous times while exercising. As Mimosas are fast-growing trees, it didn’t take many years for this one to get large enough to bloom at the level of the bridge where I could observe the goings-on.

A day-flying Hummingbird Clearwing moth(Hemaris thysbe) is happy to feed upon nectar from a Mimosa-tree bloom.

In addition to this Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly (Papillo Troilus), you could see a Tiger Swallowtail (Papillo glaucus) and Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus), as well as small bees, obtaining nectar from Mimosa-tree blooms.

This large, healthy caterpillar was probably close to pupating after feeding upon the leaves (still closed here in early morning) of this nonnative Mimosa-tree.

Hummingbirds, small bees, several species of butterflies, a day-flying moth, and even caterpillars were getting food, courtesy of this foreign tree. Obviously, these animals could get food from native plants, if the appropriate plants existed nearby—and there’s the catch.

 

People seem to think “invasive” plants have stolen space from native plants that could be growing there, but most native plants can’t survive in the degraded soil where you typically find the nonnative plants designated as “invasive”.

 

I’ve found that what’s true for the Mimosa is also true of the many other so-called invasive plants that I’ve studied. The wildlife value of these plants is, without a doubt, certainly of significance when you consider that we are living in a world where development—that robs wildlife of habitat and destroys the soil profile for most native plants—never seems to end.

When people come upon “invasive” plants filling an area, they don’t consider its prior history of native-plant removal and soil damage that inevitably invited alien plants to grow there. The notion of “invasiveness” developed out of context to this bigger picture; without taking the whole story (i.e., background) into account, it’s easy to misinterpret the result.

Additional attributes of the so-called invasive plants—including Mimosa—is that they can withstand drought and often are tolerant of pollution, whether it be in the air or the soil.

 

Thanks to climate change, drought has become a more-frequent occurrence that can kill plants. (Along the river near where I live, some species of large trees are seriously suffering right now, even some located within the river!) Without drought-tolerant “invasive” plants, there could come a time when little habitat will exist. All plants, native or not, provide a living space for wildlife in some way.     

 

In a 1989 conversation with PBS journalist Bill Moyers, the novelist E. L. Doctorow, said, “When ideas go unexamined and unchallenged for a long enough time, they become mythological and very, very powerful. They create conformity. They intimidate.” His comments apply well to the “invasive”-plant narrative.

 

Orville Wright pointed out that, “If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.”  I would adjust this truism to read that, “If we all work on the assumption that what is accepted as true about invasive plants is really true, there is little hope of conserving our wildlife.”

 

DISCLAIMER:

 

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

 

 

Links to Three Articles Recently Published in Newspapers

  

Monarch nectaring at potted Lantana in author's yard.

ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon

  

On April 17, 2024, The Daily Progress (the Charlottesville daily newspaper) published my article regarding the clearing of land along the Rivanna River by the parks department so their folks could get rid of so-called invasive plants. They replaced the nonnative trees and vines with tree saplings planted in neat rows, as if they were creating a tree farm instead of useful-to-wildlife habitat.

 

I feel that in a world with precious-little room left for wildlife, the destruction of functioning habitat to create what some people nowadays consider “ideal” habitat is a mistake. It robs wildlife of yet one more area to use NOW, as if these critters can afford to wait ten years or more for this area to possibly once again support them. You can read my commentary by using this link:

 

https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/marlene-a-condon-charlottesville-is-ripping-up-acres-of-plants-its-intentions-are-good-but/article_f755845c-fc8f-11ee-bbba-3fcd236be9a7.html

  

On May 27, 2024, The Daily Progress published my second article based upon the over-100-years-old book of bird lists I received from a reader. [You can find the first article link at In Defense of Nature: 2023]

 

I believe this little book makes clear why our wildlife is disappearing. You can read my article at The Daily Progress by using this link:

 

https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/marlene-a-condon-a-century-old-book-of-charlottesville-birds-provides-an-answer-to-the/article_6a464dc4-1b0e-11ef-8571-0321072d43b2.html

The article can also be accessed at The News Virginian that published it on May 29, 2024. Here’s the link:

 

https://newsvirginian.com/news/state-regional/marlene-a-condon-a-century-old-book-of-charlottesville-birds-provides-an-answer-to-the/article_ea177999-52d5-564f-9a41-444108e75c56.html

  

On June 13,2024, The Daily Progress published my article on the steep decline of Monarch butterfly populations, the migration of which may now be in peril. You can find it here:

 

https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/marlene-a-condon-the-monarch-butterflys-reign-may-be-at-an-end-and-were-to/article_32adeb76-28c7-11ef-ba09-43e76fdae454.html

 

You can also find this article at the Waynesboro daily newspaper, The News Virginian, that published the Monarch article June 14, 2024. Here’s the link:

 

https://newsvirginian.com/news/community/marlene-a-condon-the-monarch-butterflys-reign-may-be-at-an-end-and-were-to/article_7505e38d-cc25-5925-aaef-552a8fd5a69b.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

  

Sincerely,

Marlene

DISCLAIMER:

 

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

 

 Virginia Department of Forestry Has Made a Huge Mistake Removing Bradford Pear Trees

You need to place your nose right up to a Bradford Pear flower to smell it. It doesn’t perfume the air; if it did, no one would keep it long enough to grow large.

ALL TEXT © Marlene A. Condon

The Virginia Department of Forestry has committed a grievous error by encouraging folks to get rid of their Bradford Pear trees. The blooms of this cultivar feed uncountable numbers of pollinators in early spring when few other plants are blooming. Its fruits feed birds, such as waxwings and robins, in winter—the toughest time of year for them.

 

When Bradford Pears come up in degraded areas, such as roadsides, where the soil has been compacted and is nutrient-poor, they add value to the landscape by increasing the diversity of plant life and thus animal life. This tree is not “detrimental to the state’s environment” because it might not feed as many caterpillar species as a native tree. All plants cannot be all things to all animals. What matters is that they do support wildlife, be it by providing food, shelter, and/or nesting sites.

 

Environmentalists and government agencies have embraced the false narrative of “invasive” plants being to blame for our disappearing insects and birds because these plants don’t have a constituency that will fight tooth and nail against them. It’s easier to get folks to pull plants than to, say, get many cat lovers to keep their pets inside.

 

The American Bird Conservancy has been talking for decades about the 2.4 billion birds killed every year by cats. Can anyone really believe that alien plants pose more of a threat to birds than cats do? Yet government doesn’t regulate these felines as it should. https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/

 

The dearth of caterpillars is not due to an abundance of alien trees, but rather an abundance of far too many lights at night. Moths are attracted to lights where they are more easily predated by night-flying predators, such as bats and owls, which I watched happen every summer for years in Shenandoah National Park. And moths aren’t procreating if they’re spending the night at light fixtures that are left burning all night at people’s homes and businesses. 

 

You know an environmental narrative doesn’t carry much weight when the people pushing it need to resort to such silliness as how bad the blooms smell or how easily the plant breaks. This big stink about Bradford Pear trees is a solution in search of a problem.

 NATURE ADVICE:

If you like your Bradford Pear trees, keep them. Despite what government agencies, such as the Virginia Department of Forestry, may tell you, these trees DO feed and shelter wildlife. And that truth is what counts.

 

DISCLAIMER:

 

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software.