Hello Everyone,
For years, I had the time to advocate for our raptor nests. In the past year, Don’s dementia has deteriorated, and with the arrival of Toby, my free time is minuscule. That said, my ‘inbox’ is full of the tragedy that is or could be brewing at the Texas Bald Eagle nest, along with the GHO having visited the Frenchman’s Osprey nest with its first egg of the season! In the past that GHO has taken an egg and a chick. So let me get on my bandwagon, albeit it a shorter one than in the past.
‘It is Just Nature!’ IF I hear that phrase one more time I am liable to blow up like a balloon. Nature. Ask my friend, ‘R’, what it was like in Florida in the 1950s when they would take their kayak out into the wilderness. Ask the deer in my neighbourhood or the ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay. Humans have destroyed nature. So don’t tell me you can’t help the little eaglet in the Texas nest, or remove the trash from the Brevard nest, or put up lights for the osprey at Frenchman’s Creek. That is just a start at my list – add Achieva to that, too.
Humans have drastically altered nature, leading to accelerated wildlife extinction through habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and overexploitation. The primary driver is land-use change—specifically deforestation for agriculture, urbanisation, and resource extraction—which eliminates habitat and food sources for species. Key, consistent impacts include habitat fragmentation, illegal poaching, and the introduction of invasive species.
I think Heidi and I had over 40 ways that humans had destroyed the homes of our wildlife, but let’s take a look at those broad categories.
- Habitat loss has to be one of the leading causes – urbanisation, farming, cows (yes, cows), industry, mining, etc continue to reduce the area and break up the spaces for the animals so they can survive.
- Toxic Air and Water – we have destroyed good water and air with chemicals from industry, pesticides used in agriculture, and contaminated entire food chains. Then there are the plastics in the ocean – more plastic than plankton now and if you want to know how horrible that is think of the albatross.
- Climate Change – We have accelerated this through our continued use of fossil fuels. We have disrupted the breeding cycles and the caused many animals not to have the time to adapt to change.
- Illegal Wildlife trade, Overfishing and over hunting. Poaching birds in Australia and mammals in Africa for luxury pet items or use in traditional medicines.
- Introduction of Invasive species that prey upon and destroy native wildlife.
- Deforestation. Cutting down trees around the world damages everything. It is more expensive but coffee grown in shade saves habitat for our beloved birds while providing a good income for the farmers and workers. Branded as ‘Birds and Beans’ it is accredited by the Smithsonian. So think about it. How much do you spend buying coffee at one of the local coffee shops? Then check out their pricing. Reduce your coffee consumption or do what Jane Goodall did and use the grinds twice – help wildlife.
So nature? Don’t tell me it is nature when our raptors are starving. It is us and it is time for humans to step up and take responsibility.
So here is some information to help you understand more fully so you can argue on behalf of our wildlife:
Knowledge Platform has an animation describing how we are destroying nature. https://youtu.be/900Qnh2uNgM?si=6p0b9Si6Rg1U4KjY
Window to Wildlife said they will continue to monitor the nest at Winter Park Florida and do “what they legally can”.
With great respect to Window to Wildlife, who have done incredible work and acted quickly within the legal limits when a ‘CLEARLY caused human issue’ threatened the eaglets, such as fishing line.
It is now time for agencies and groups and individuals to advocate for the wildlife – step in and put more fish on that nest in Florida. It has happened in South Australia and it happens all the time in Eastern Europe. Two good examples are Mlady Buky and the community feeding the storklets and parents when one adult was electrocuted. The other was the removal of the storklets, hand rearing them at a medical facility, and then fostering them in Estonia. There are many instances where humans reached out to help.
The Migratory Bird Laws of the 1940s are archaic. That was 85 years ago. If they can be changed with the snap of a finger to allow the killing of the raptors during migration, then equally, we need to step up and protect the birds in their nests!!!!!!!! It is time.
This is an AI Generated response when I ask how humans have destroyed nature:
Human activities have severely degraded the natural world, resulting in a sixth mass extinction event, with roughly 1 million species at risk. Key drivers include the destruction of over 80% of wild mammal populations, clearing of 70% of land for agriculture, and significant pollution of oceans. These actions have altered 75% of ice-free land, leading to widespread biodiversity loss, climate change, and ecosystem collapse.
Key Areas of Destruction:
- Biodiversity Loss & Extinction: Human activity has caused a 20% decline in biodiversity on average in land animal communities. Roughly 83% of all wild mammals and half of all plants have been lost.
- Land Use & Deforestation: Roughly 70% to 75% of the Earth’s ice-free land surface has been altered, with 40% of land degraded, largely for agriculture, mining, and logging. Between 2000 and 2013, 1.9 million square kilometers of undisturbed ecosystems were lost.
- Ocean & Marine Life: Nearly 90% of marine fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted. Around 66% of the ocean area is impacted by human activities like pollution and overfishing.
- Climate Change & Atmosphere: Burning fossil fuels and land-use changes (deforestation) are primary drivers of climate change, causing melting ice sheets, sea-level rise, and extreme weather, National Geographic Society and YouTube.
Primary Drivers:
- Overexploitation: Royal Society notes that overfishing and overhunting constitute 20% of biodiversity decline.
- Pollution: Plastic pollution and fertilizer runoff are significantly damaging marine environments.
- Economic Expansion: The demand for resources has led to the rapid destruction of ecosystems, with only 3% of the earth’s terrestrial surface remaining ecologically and faunally intact.
Please think about these matters and speak up. The osprey cannot do this for themselves nor can the little eaglet who is injured (is it superficial? or is it hot and the chick is becoming rapidly dehydrated?).
Thank you for listening. See you soon.
Thank you to those who took the time to write to me about issues at the nests and to the owners of the streaming cams that allow us into the lives of the raptors we love so much.
Update on Pearl | He whakahou mō Pearl
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Pearl hatched in 2002 (she will turn 24 years old in March). Her mother is Alice – one of the oldest kākāpō alive – and her father Waynebo died in 2011. Pearl was named for the successful kākāpō breeding season of 1999 on Pearl Island (which is near Rakiura/Stewart Island).
living offspring and could become a first-time grandma this season or next. They are:
There is every reason to remain hopeful for Pearl to have offspring this season too. As an ‚early bird’, she still has plenty of time to mate and nest again.
