Settlement birds

I enjoy watching the birds at my feeders, but this was a much more entertaining activity in the mid-1990s when I first began feeding birds. I still remember the first time these large, chunky finches arrived, literally just outside my bedroom window. That was back in November of 1993, but I still recall the incident quite clearly. I was still in bed when I heard some unusual bird sounds that I could not recognize. About a dozen or so large yellow songbirds fought with each other for dominance in the “pecking order” hierarchy at my feeders, which were well-stocked with sunflower seed. I am describing the male Evening Grosbeak. The female is more subdued. These hungry birds quickly emptied my small hanging feeders. For several consecutive winter seasons in the 1990s, I hosted Evening Grosbeaks at my feeders. I last saw an Evening Grosbeak in 2000. These large, noisy and conspicuous finches have simply not visited in the last 12 years. At the start of each winter season, I am hopeful that this might be the year the Evening Grosbeaks return. So far, that’s not been the case.

Das tropische Usutu-Virus hat der Amsel-Population in Deutschland zugesetzt. Die Ursache für das grassierende Amselsterben wurde bereits im September 2011 durch Experten des Bernhard-Nocht-Instituts für Tropenmedizin (BNI) in Hamburg entdeckt. In mehreren Organen einer Amsel, die tot in Birkenau bei Weinheim gefunden wurde, konnte das tropische Usutu-Virus nachgewiesen werden. Die ersten Ergebnisse der bundesweiten Mitmachaktion „Stunde der Wintervögel“ zeigten, dass etwa ein Drittel weniger Amseln gezählt wurden als noch bei der Zählung vor einem Jahr. Das berichtet der Naturschutzbund (Nabu).

Many kinds of lace bugs, family Tingidae, feed on landscape plants throughout the United States. Hosts include alder, ash, avocado, azalea, coyote bush, birch, ceanothus, fruit trees, photinia, poplar, sycamore, toyon, walnut, and willow. Several dozen species of lace bugs occur in the western United States, mostly on trees and woody shrubs. California Christmas berry tingid (Corythucha incurvata), ceanothus tingid (Corythucha obliqua), Western sycamore lace bug (Corythucha confraterna), and the recently introduced avocado lace bug (Pseudacysta perseae) are some of the species that can be pests. Almost any insecticide will control lace bugs if it is sprayed directly onto the insects. Insecticides that are absorbed and move within plants can provide longer-lasting control than contact sprays. Imidacloprid is available to both homeowners and professional applicators. In situations where IPM-compatible insecticides are inadequate, imidacloprid is usually the preferred choice. It may provide season-long control if applied in spring before populations dramatically increase. Imidacloprid can be applied as a foliar spray or soil drench. It can be injected directly into trunks if their diameter is relatively large.

There are multiple ways that plants in urban landscapes can contain imidacloprid-contaminated nectar, since it is commonly applied in the landscape for many pests and many greenhouse plants are treated with prior to sale and transplanting. Imidacloprid may persist in nectar for a long time, since soil applications were effective against foliar pests for 1 to 2 years in containers and landscape trees. Injections of concentrated volumes of imidacloprid applied to trees trunks and roots were effective for 12 months for ash and linden. A soil application of imidacloprid to Eucalyptus tree resulted in 500 ppb in nectar and pollen, which will kill any insect feeding on nectar and pollen. Tree injections of imidacloprid at flowering are cause for concern, since linden flowers are a good source of nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.

Soil injections of imidacloprid are effective at preventing attack by the walnut twig beetle, a very aggressive beetle that will attack both healthy and stressed trees. Imidacloprid can also be injected directly into the trunk or soil so there is no public contact. Soil injections of imidacloprid are also very effective against Elm leaf beetles, a cyclic pest, European elm scale, one of the most widespread and destructive scale insects, Hawthorn mealybug and Kermes scale, which affects pin oak and red oak trees.

House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) were introduced to North America after 1850, increased and spread up to 1920, and stabilized or decreased thereafter until 1960. In the Maritimes (and perhaps some other areas), a further decline set in after 1970, continuing to the present. Now the species is rare to absent in much of the Maritimes, except around farms with livestock. Decline here since 1970 probably approaches 90 per cent in most other areas of human settlement except south of 45°N.

In Obstgärten finden unzählige Tiergruppen ihren Lebensraum: Vögel, Fledermäuse, Schläfer, Igel, Spinnen, Schmetterlinge, Schwebfliegen, Käfer und weitere Insektengruppen. Über 1000 Arten von Insekten, Spinnentieren und Tausendfüssler wurden in Obstgärten festgestellt. Besonders wichtig sind Obstgärten für Vögel: Rund 40 Brutvogelarten leben in der Schweiz im Lebensraum Obstgarten. Dies entspricht einem Fünftel der einheimischen Brutvögel.