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topdog15
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 14 Jun 2006
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Location: Flour Bluff
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 Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:30 pm Post subject: Predators on spoil islands |
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So as not to hijack a thread I'm starting my own.
So here's my question. Why don't native predators have the same right to these man made islands as the birds? Why is the park focused on removing native wildlife from these islands?
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Stoner150
Member White Shrimper Boot Club
Joined: 30 May 2007
Posts: 670
Location: On the Redneck Riviera
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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Good question Aaron, real good question. IMO, the predators eat the birds and that is not what the park has is mind.
No trying to be a wise A**, but that is the answer I would expect
Jeff
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Skipjack
Flour Bluffian in training
Joined: 29 Jun 2006
Posts: 300
Location: San Antonio, TX
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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My best guess is that the predators they are removing (or intend to remove) are in abundance in regards to the nesting birds that may be a threatened or endangered species.
I don't have any resources on this. Just a guess. Maybe there are nesting snowy plovers, brown pelicans, and least terns on these islands. These are threatened or endangered species.
Since the nesting season for these species is about to end its probably a good time to get rid of the predators.
Yet, they didn't say they were removing the predators yet did they? Maybe they are just taking pictures to see if they might see a problem. It would be prudent to assume the park is taking action before getting some real data right?
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Last edited by Skipjack on Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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kweber
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Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 2399
Location: Hondo
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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losta money spent on bird watching.
not so much on coon, skunk and possum watchin'. JMO
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jebsays
Member White Shrimper Boot Club
Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 523
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| How about a simple call to the folks involved in the study? Nick posted her number in the other thread. Instead of trying to stir the pot and invite speculation... why not go to the source and relay it back here? |
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topdog15
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4566
Location: Flour Bluff
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| jebsays wrote: | | How about a simple call to the folks involved in the study? Nick posted her number in the other thread. Instead of trying to stir the pot and invite speculation... why not go to the source and relay it back here? |
quit hijacking my thread 
Am i not allowed to post questions on this forum like any other member?
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jebsays
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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| topdog15 wrote: | | jebsays wrote: | | How about a simple call to the folks involved in the study? Nick posted her number in the other thread. Instead of trying to stir the pot and invite speculation... why not go to the source and relay it back here? |
quit hijacking my thread
Am i not allowed to post questions on this forum like any other member? |
Sure you are... Again though, if you want answers instead of speculation, go to the source. It's not that hard, is it? |
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frayed
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Posts: 1535
Location: Austin and a lil East of the Bluff
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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I'm with kweber, these types of issues oftentimes just boil down to money, directly or indirectly.
Issue reminds me of baby seals. If they looked like opossums nobody would care.
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Jeff
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robul
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 26 Jun 2007
Posts: 2677
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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hows the no smoking thing going aaron? Keep up the good fight!! 
/hijack off |
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RodBreaker
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Joined: 07 Mar 2006
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Location: Austin, TX
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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| robul wrote: | hows the no smoking thing going aaron? Keep up the good fight!!
/hijack off |
I see, that explains a lot.
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The Trash Heap
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Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 1932
Location: Corpus Christi
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: Predators on spoil islands |
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| topdog15 wrote: | So as not to hijack a thread I'm starting my own.
So here's my question. Why don't native predators have the same right to these man made islands as the birds? Why is the park focused on removing native wildlife from these islands? |
I can't speak for the park, of course, but I can give you some answers based on years of listening to experts like the late Dr. Allan Chaney and several Audubon nesting island wardens.
Despite what seem like endless numbers of spoil islands on which to nest, many of Texas's colonial nesting seabird species are in decline for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are easier to tackle than others, predators among them. A rule of thumb is that unless a spoil island is very isolated or very small, predators will eventually be able to reach and sustain themselves until they either annihilate or drive off the nesters. Isolation is hard to manage for, as is island size (the cost per cubic yard becomes more prohibitive the smaller the spoil area and the greater the distance to the next one).
So, if you have islands like some of those at PINS which lengthy record-keeping shows were once very well-populated by birds, it may be that predators somehow reached their colonies, and, if that proves to be the case, the cheapest way to restore the nesting populations of particularly diminished species like the reddish egret is to remove the raccoons or coyotes that are the commonest predators.
In answer to your second question, because the islands are man-made, neither the birds nor the predators are "native" to them. Man is responsible for creating these unnatural but attractive habitats from the animal perspective, and therefore responsible for sorting out the imbalances. In answer to your first question, the egrets are swiftly becoming much rarer than the predators, and need to be assigned priority in deciding how to correct the imbalances. The predators have plenty of available habitat both on Padre Island and the mainland, but the birds have only a few acres of suitable nesting islands
Anticipating a third question, if it turns out there are no predators on the islands, what next? Some ground-nesting species, like terns, may shun an island because it has become covered with vegetation, while others, like the egrets, shun an island without brush or trees in which to nest above the ground. Management for terns may require dumping more spoil on an island regularly to create bare spots, while management for egrets may require planting brush or trees, and/or building artificial nesting platforms. Both are costlier to do than removing the predators, but may be just as necessary under various circumstances to avoid losing the birds.
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topdog15
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4566
Location: Flour Bluff
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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| robul wrote: | hows the no smoking thing going aaron? Keep up the good fight!!
/hijack off |
It sucks. 
Thanks for the support, Rodbreaker.
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fishinglady
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Joined: 05 Feb 2007
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Location: N. Padre Island
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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So where did the birds nest before the man made spoil islands were created?
I'm guessing the drought may have cut down on gophers/rats, etc. that coyotes eat, thus driving the coyotes to turn more to birds and fish for dinner. |
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Chef Lefty
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 4659
Location: The First Sandbar (a.k.a. Flour Bluff)
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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It sucks. Twisted Evil
Thanks for the support, Rodbreaker.
Keep fighting the good fight bro.
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| Central Scrutinizer wrote: | | I call shenanigans on that one. |
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riofrio
Flour Bluffian in training
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 352
Location: Padre Island
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| Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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I'm guessing the drought may have cut down on gophers/rats, etc. that coyotes eat, thus driving the coyotes to turn more to birds and fish for dinner.
Coyotes or racoons will eat anything they can catch, in good times or bad, especially an easy target like eggs or chicks on the ground. Predator control makes sense if the goal is to maximize the populations of rare and declining birds. There is no shortage of predators....... |
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