Linda's For the Birds: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle for the Wildlife


Photo Credit: Chris Jordan, boingboing.net

by Linda Gangi

I witnessed a disturbing thing the other day while I was birding out by the marsh.  I spotted a grackle and the first thing I noticed was that it had something white in its mouth.  At first I thought, 'oh it has some bread', but then I had to question where would a grackle get bread out in a marsh?  Upon further inspection, I realized there were several grackles and that each had the same thing in their mouth.

Intrigued, I got out of the car and trained my binoculars on each bird.  This is the disturbing part.  What I thought were pieces of bread were actually pieces of Styrofoam.  A week before this incident I had been looking at graphic pictures on the internet of dead bird's stomachs that were filled with plastic products.  These images flashed through my mind as I watched these birds rip off small pieces of Styrofoam and swallow them.  I'm not an expert on bird mortality regarding these products, but I know it can't be good for them.  I can only hope that the pieces were small enough to pass through their system.  Imagine the field day they would have with those Styrofoam packing peanuts.  Isn't it wonderful the names they give things?  Packing peanuts sounds harmless right?  I think they should be renamed chemical puffs.  That would be more appropriate and maybe people wouldn't use them.

So many times I see, or other people report, birds being injured by products that should never be in a natural environment.  I found fishing line lying around on the ground many times during the last few months.  These can become tangled in the legs of birds, or around their body or neck and they would have no hope of getting free.  Slowly the lines tighten and cut into their body causing infections, disabling them, and thus dooming them to a life of misery and even death.  The fishing line will never degrade in that bird's lifetime.  The plastic loops that hold six-packs together can also get stuck on a bird's body or some other creature, causing much the same problem.

Birds don't know what these products are.  They don't know that humans produce plastic for our convenience and that it is not supposed to be eaten.  All they know is that it looks like food.  Imagine if your pet dog or cat ate large plastic caps every day.  Unable to pass the plastic, their stomachs would become full while their system absorbed dangerous chemicals.  With any luck at all you would discover it in time and rush your pet to the veterinarian where it could be helped.  These wild creatures have no hope of such humane intervention and are doomed to die slowly and painfully.

I'm writing this so maybe someone who reads it will think before they throw their fishing line on the ground, or maybe they'll cut up those six-pack plastic rings before they throw them out.  Please think twice before buying that Styrofoam cooler or cup and instead look for metal or ceramic replacements.  If this is impossible, try for something that is a better quality that will last years, such as a soft nylon cooler.  Buy eggs that come in card board cartons.  Those packing peanuts I mentioned can be taken to a UPS store and recycled.  I've done it, and all that's required is that they are clean.  It's easy and can be done on your errand route.

There are little things we can do so that creatures that don't know any better don't have to suffer for our extravagances.  Plastic is an epidemic at this point.  Plastic bottles are used even when we could save ourselves the money by investing in a reusable bottle and filter our own water.  All those plastic bags you accumulate can be returned to the store from whence they came for recycling.  What a drag!  Just use canvas, it's easier!  These are all easy, doable things. 

If you are already doing these things, that is great and maybe you can tell a friend.
Since many people have written about these issues, I thought I'd provide some links that give ideas on how to lower your need for these popular but potentially deadly conveniences. 
 

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Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 1/16/2012 11:00 AM
Categories: Linda's For the Birds
Tags: reduce reuse Recycle grackles birds
 

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