Well, the winter months do tend to make us a bit cranky, but I do not fault the linesman or master electrician here, or the tech from the gas company. They have vital, dangerous jobs. This phone I am using at this very moment to post here depends on their hard work - I DO think about where the power comes from. No, what we really need to change is the culture of the powers that be (no pun intended). I am not one of the thousands that assail the power companies when a natural disaster overwhelms their ability to make us happy and warm (or cool in a sweltering Washington summer) with the magic of electricity or the flow of natural gas.
Just as there needs to be a responsible community of birders, butterfly enthusiasts, naturalists and wildlife photographers that do not disturb our feathered beauties and all creatures, we have the right to expect that utility companies will think about the impact of the "grid" on the natural world. Come on folks, haven't we been fighting the good fight long enough? If Rachel Carson did not assail the chemical companies way back in the early sixties where would we be, specifically and scientifically, in regards to a multitude of bird species?
My joy and unending curiosity of all things natural started when I began watching birds in the Navy from my ship. I knew then that something latent in me had been brought to life, and I have been a strident advocate on the side of living things ever since. The world does not revolve around the human species, yet we seem to think we are apart, somehow "special" animals. We are not.
And so there will be those here that call for an end to discussions like this, but a bird, bug, or plant forum has to allow for serious thought along with the ticking off of list species and the chasing of rarities. I won't post again here on this thread, but you can bet that as sure as the sun will rise this morning, I will be a voice for nature, even if it makes my fellow naturalists a wee bit uncomfortable. We must get out of the "here and now" mentality and think about the legacy we are leaving to future generations.
Frank Boyle
Rohrersville, MD
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 8, 2013, at 10:16 PM, "Tom Stock" <altomomatic...> wrote:
> I guess you missed my post about BGE denuding the power line right of way at Soldiers Delight of critical habitat for at least one critically declining Maryland species, Edwards' Hairstreak, this despite the fact that an effort had been made by several people (myself included) to work with DNR to identify the critical habitat so that it could be managed in cooperation with the utility. All for naught.
>
> Nor would it have been that big a deal for DNR to rope off the area around the owls and alert the public AND the utility to steer clear of the roost. Should it matter that Long-eared Owls aren't threatened?
>
> Tom Stock
> Silver Spring, Md.
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Mark Johnson" <mj3151...>
> Sent: Friday, February 08, 2013 7:29 PM
> To: <altomomatic...>; "MDBirding" <mdbirding...>
> Subject: Re: [MDBirding] The Soldiers Delight Problem
>
>> I don't think peole have really thought this issue through very thoroughly. Situations like this tend to shut down peoples' left brains and the resultant by-products are a lot of hand wringing and finger pointing. Have you considered that the owls probably wouldn't even have selected that spot to roost if not for BGE? It's not by coincidence that owls and raptors roost and build their nests along the edges of wood lots that interface with open fields...it's where they make their living. They like to set up shop in an area that will provide shelter, but be close to their hunting grounds. Power line cuts that are created and maintained by these utilities provide ideal habitat for these guys. If the open area were allowed to return to dense woodland, the edge that's so attractive to these birds wouln't exist and the birds would go elsewhere. Long-eared Owls aren't an endanged species. There are lots of them and they have a very broad range globally. They're just really good at hiding from people. We call them a "sensitive species", but it's really a misnomer. They're not as sensitive as the people who churn their intestines into knots trying to protect them. The difference between us and the owls is that we have a conscience and actually feel compassion for them, sometimes more than is warranted, some would say. We worry about them more than they worry about, say, a vole that they're in the process of skull-crushing for breakfast. We focus on these situations when they present themselves, because they so infrequently present themselves. Every year thousands of these situations happen daily, out of our view, while utilities like BGE go through their routine pruning activities. It's anybody's guess how many owls are potentially or actually disturbed in the process, but they seem to manage to get by in spite of the commotion.
>>
>> I love nature, and even a few of the people who are, undeniably, part of it. In my perfect world, people would just take a deep breath and think for a few moments before they organize a lynch mob for some hapless photogropher or BGE-contracted tree trimmer.
>>
>> Mark Johnson
>> Aberdeen
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <altomomatic...>
>> To: "MDBirding" <mdbirding...>
>> Sent: Friday, February 08, 2013 5:06 PM
>> Subject: [MDBirding] The Soldiers Delight Problem
>>
>>
>> I'm puzzled. Many subscribers to this list were full of sound and fury over a report of an owl roost tree being disturbed -- presumably by a photographer, but then fell silent when the actual culprit was identified. That actual culprit being an ineffective DNR and an over-zealous utility.
>>
>> Of the two -- photographer versus a state agency and a utility -- isn't the fact of the latters' actions far more disturbing? (I think so.) And what should we do about it? Must the sound and fury elicited by the original report of a disturbance signify nothing? I would hope that DNR and BGE be held responsible for their lack of effective communication.
>>
>> This is a recurring problem and it's not going away.
>>
>> Tom Stock, frequent visitor to Soldiers Delight
>> Silver Spring, Md.
>>
>>
>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>>
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