UVa’s Forgotten Pond a Reminder We Should Protect Nature

Lewis Mountain and the future Alumni Hall can be seen across University Pond in this turn-of-the-century photo from the Corks and Curls Alumni Yearbook, 1919.

An 1895 map of the University of Virginia shows the marsh (see arrow) where John Bowie Fernyhough and his birding companions regularly viewed Marsh Wrens. Courtesy of  https://www.jarretthousenorth.com/2014/06/26/1895-map-of-the-university-of-virginia-grounds/

ALL TEXT © Marlene A. Condon

In 1929, a letter written on Lynchburg (Virginia) College stationery was sent to people known to be quite interested in birds. The letter was to find out if folks would be interested in forming "an ornithological organization for the State of Virginia".

 

John Bowie Fernyhough was one of these people, and he went on to become a charter member of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Mr. Fernyhough's handwritten book of lists made on bird walks around UVA and the immediate vicinity in the early 1900s was passed along to me by his great-nephew, Waller Wilson, of Front Royal, Virginia.

  

The first of what I plan to be several articles on the amazing information I've discovered via research based upon Mr. Fernyhough's book has been published in The News-Virginian, the daily newspaper of Waynesboro. If you are interested, you can find it here:

 

https://newsvirginian.com/opinion/column/condon-uvas-forgotten-pond-a-reminder-we-should-protect-nature/article_d3b2360e-591e-11ee-8a3c-3b30f1ceadd1.html

 

Sincerely,

Marlene

 

 

 

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

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).

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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).   

 

[Is It Time to Halt Bird Banding?] published as “Bird-banding has failed to stem the tide of decreasing bird numbers”: A Letter to the Editor, Hudson Valley One, published August 30, 2023

 https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2023/08/30/policing-lawyering-up-winston-farm-and-more-letters-from-our-readers/

In a study published in 2014, researchers tracked Tree Swallows crossing the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana south to their wintering grounds in the Yucatan Peninsula. They found that “although most days during autumn migration were characterized by unfavorable headwinds blowing to the northwest, migration over the Gulf mostly occurred on days with strong winds blowing to the south.” This bit of information is telling: It verifies that the energy requirements for traveling across a large body of water are so high that birds wait for strong southward winds to help carry them across. https://doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/60.5.653

ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon

Bird banding has been done for so long that bird researchers and watchers typically don’t give it much thought. Perhaps they should.

 

I visited a bird banding station once, and when I saw the intense fear in the eyes of the birds being handled, I had to leave and never wanted to revisit the experience.

 

Am I motivated by emotion when I call for an end to this practice? Absolutely! But there’s plenty of emotionless rationale behind my contention that banding should be discontinued, and it’s based upon physics, biology, logic, and empathy.

 

Physics (the science of the relationship between matter and energy) dictates that increasing the amount of mass to be carried over miles requires increased energy stores to carry it.

 

Logic (the science that deals with the principles of valid reasoning) thus suggests that banding must be detrimental. A migrant has evolved to add just enough fat to its body to provide the energy needed to carry its average weight across the Gulf of Mexico. Adding a band—which increases mass to be carried—means a songbird’s energy will be exhausted sooner. Even if a bird’s energy is not depleted until it is as close as a few inches from land, the result is disastrous because the creature will drown if it falls into the water. Songbirds don’t swim.

 

Empathy (the ability to identify with and understand another’s situation and feelings) tells you that birds are terrified when handled by humans who are their natural enemies (some humans, including scientists, still kill birds).

 

Bird-banding science began in America over 100 years ago. As a tool for preservation, it has obviously failed to stem the tide of decreasing bird numbers. Hence, there’s no reason to add insult to injury; these animals are struggling enough to survive in a degraded world. 

 

NATURE ADVICE:

 

Scientists diss the emotion I’ve acknowledged here as part of my motivation for calling for an end to the practice of bird banding. When they criticize someone’s sensitivity in this particular scenario, however, they are suggesting everyone should just ignore the trauma that banders induce in the animals they profess to care about. But banders are inflicting severe stress, which is just as detrimental to birds as it is to people. There’s no shame in experiencing a conscious mental reaction to the expression of dread obvious in the eyes of animals being handled by humans, so don’t let scientists intimidate you with such cheap shots. It doesn't speak well of them to try to stop folks from speaking out by putting them down for caring justifiably about wildlife.

 

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