Bird protection

“ Looking back at fifty years of struggle to legislate on behalf of wild birds we see some strange examples of the futility of human efforts and some curious and unexpected results upon our fauna. To no man, perhaps, does bird protection owe more than to the late Professor Newton. He was a rare type of philosophical ornithologist, and largely to his determination was due the first really unselfish legislation on behalf of wild birds—the Sea-Birds Protection Act of 1869. ”

“ It has done much to arouse and enlighten public opinion respecting the enormity of the destruction of birds for millinery purposes, and to guide legislation for the better protection of our birds. It early published two important 'bulletins' on the destruction of birds, and was the origin of the original Audubon Society, whose president, Dr. George Bird Grinnell, was long one of the most active members of this committee; through this society, with chapters throughout the country, the cause of bird protection was for several years immensely aided. ”

“ Protection is simple and may be limited to laws safeguarding birds from harm, to killing off as many as possible of the English sparrows, and to seeing that cats are not allowed any undue opportunity for harming them.
Fig. 1. Blue Bird Feeding Young.
The boy or girl who puts up boxes for the birds to nest in, supplies them with drinking and bathing places, and provides food for those species which remain in winter, is certain of an unfailing source of pleasure, which can [Pg 12] never be known to any one who pursues them with airgun and stones, or simply ignores their presence. ”

“ This national conservation of bird life, supplemented by vigorous State action protecting our home birds, will in time restore that balance nature provided for preserving food crops and fruits from insect ravages. It seems almost incomprehensible that we destroyed nature's remedy for protection to our crops. The unthinking will continue to destroy our birds if not prevented by the strong arm of the law. ”

“ Witmer Stone, I presented at this convention the text of a new law for the protection of birds and their nests and eggs, as drafted by our committee on Bird Protection. The convention agreed to submit the proposed law to each of their respective legislatures.
Great credit is due to the efficient work which has been done in our state by Warden H. W. Loveday and his deputies. Since the first of the year over one hundred prosecutions and convictions have been made, for the wanton killing and trapping of song and insectivorous birds by men and boys largely Italians and Bohemians. ”

“ Enough wooden boxes are discarded by grocers, druggists, and other merchants to stock the country every year with bird houses. If our fathers and mothers will encourage the making of these discards into bird houses, shelters, and feederies, it will mark a step forward in bird protection. ”

“ Birds of prey have but little to do with the question of bird protection for, with a few exceptions, they rarely feed upon other birds, and nearly all of them are of considerable economic value themselves. Jays, Crows, and Grackles, by devouring the eggs and young of our smaller birds, are a far greater menace than are the birds of prey, but even these have their work and should be left in the place that Nature intended for them ”

“ Give our game birds decent, sensible, actual protection, stop their being slaughtered far faster than they breed, and they will live anywhere in their own native haunts! But where is there one species of upland game bird in America that has been sensibly and adequately protected? ”

“ It is prohibited to engage in activities that endanger the survival or reproduction of waterbirds, such as fishing, digging and trapping benthic organisms, picking up bird eggs or destroying bird nests in protected areas or other important habitats for waterbird protection. Bird watching, relevant scientific research and science education activities shall be carried out at a safe distance to avoid affecting the normal foraging or breeding of birds. ”

“ Legislative bodies are not much given to appropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for the enforcement of a law which is purely sentimental in its nature. It is clear, therefore, that our law makers regard the wild bird life as {102} a great value to the country from the standpoint of dollars and cents.
Destructiveness of Insects.—If we go back a few years and examine certain widely read publications issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, we can understand more fully why our legislative bodies have regarded so seriously the subject of bird protection. ”

“ No one should ever shoot a bird. The birds are our natural protectors against the vast armies of insects, that, but for the birds, would soon destroy us by eating up our food plants.
What is that, May? You belong to an Audubon Society for the protection of the birds?
Yes, I know you do, and so do John and Ned and Mollie and little Nell.
I wish every child in the United States belonged to the Audubon Society. Then our birds would be safe. They would never be killed as they are now for foolish women to wear on their hats. ”

“ The Federal and State Governments are doing excellent work in protecting our beautiful birds, and are giving what seems to be a really efficient protection, so that some of our birds which possess the fatal gift of beauty in an extreme degree will probably survive for some time yet. ”

“ Though some of these associations are evidently fairly common and chosen deliberately by the birds—and one can easily visualize how the protection works—field observations as to the natural enemies against which they are effective, and how effective they are, are largely lacking. ”

“ Exhaustive observation in the field is what is now most needed. Most of this wonderful and harmless bird life should be protected by law; and the mammals should receive reasonable protection. The books now most needed are those dealing with the life-histories of wild creatures.
Near the ranch-house, walking familiarly among the cattle, we saw the big, deep-billed Ani blackbirds. They feed on the insects disturbed by the hoofs of the cattle, and often cling to them and pick off the ticks. ”

“ There are land-owners whose estates are bird preserves, not game preserves alone, and who are more than anyone responsible for the survival of the remnant of many a species. Where would the eagle, osprey, kite, harriers, bittern, and great skua be to-day were it not for benignant protection? We are too prone to blame game preservation and the sportsman for the destruction of rare birds; sometimes the men who blame most are the most guilty. ”

“ Furthermore, it has been found that the time the bird spends in destroying crops or in molesting other birds is extremely short compared with the endless hours it spends searching for insects or feeding on wild fruits. Nevertheless, no policy would be sound which would give the bird absolute protection and afford no relief to the farmer whose crops are threatened by a local overabundance of the species.... The individual farmer will be 83 well rewarded by allowing a reasonable number of Starlings to conduct their nesting operations on the farm. ”

“ I would like to see all harmless wild things, but especially all birds, protected in every way. I do not understand how any man or woman who really loves nature can fail to try to exert all influence in support of such objects as those of the Audubon Society.
Spring would not be spring without bird songs, any more than it would be spring without buds and flowers, and I only wish that besides protecting the songsters, the birds of the grove, the orchard, the garden and the meadow, we could also protect the birds of the sea shore and of the wilderness. ”

“ The Acts for the Preservation of Birds include several which are only rare visitors to this country, and only to be distinguished by experienced ornithologists, which might justly be termed "fancy birds," while some which are most useful to the agriculturist have no protection, and are in consequence in great danger of extermination. ”

“ The several important bird-protective measures adopted by State and Federal Governments, particularly those having as their objectives the conservation of the migratory song, insectivorous, and game species, can be effective only if they have intelligent public support. ”

“ Finally, I would say that the only way to preserve our birds is to present facts to the people showing them the true character of each bird. They can then distinguish how the birds should be treated, protecting their friends and destroying their enemies. ”

“ The officers of the government of the United States, who have carefully studied the matter and found out positively, without guesswork, what birds eat, have declared emphatically that every bird they have examined does more good by destroying pests, than harm to our crops, excepting only the bird we have imported,—the English or house sparrow. ”

“ It would be superfluous to adduce here the numerous and evident advantages that would arise from the protection of wild birds, as their value is now so universally recognized, and I therefore pass on to offer a few brief remarks on game preservation, or, to speak more exactly, of the preservation of those wild birds and harmless animals which are useful as food. ”

“ To provide a plentiful head of game it is essential to hedge the favoured bird or mammal with safeguards, to give it seclusion and security from its natural foes, to protect it from those circumstances which would normally reduce its numbers to the limit allowed by nature. An introduced species seldom if ever finds a groove exactly to fit; if food is plentiful and enemies scarce it flourishes abundantly, as witness the rabbit in Australia ”

“ How Can We Protect the Birds?—Nearly all states have fairly good game laws, which, if they could be enforced, would properly protect our birds from man, but they cannot be; if our boys and girls are educated to realize the economic value of the birds, and are encouraged to study their habits, the desire to shoot them or to rob them of their eggs will be very materially lessened. ”

“ This bill provides federal protection for all migratory birds, and embraces all save a very few of the species that are specially destructive to noxious insects. The bill provides national protection to the farmer's and fruit-grower's best friends. ”

“ In America we have neglected the subject of protecting our bird life, and as a result in many sections we are suffering to-day from scourges of insects. Too long the careless and thoughtless have been allowed to wander aimlessly afield and shoot the birds that caused the winds of prosperity to blow. ”

“ Some people still want to be convinced that birds are of practical value. I will say only that the damage to crops by insects in nineteen hundred and four, is estimated at nine hundred and seventy-five million dollars. Investigations by scientists in state and nation all go to prove that a vast percentage of this loss could have been saved by birds. I wish every child would be ambitious to increase the bird life on every farm, on every village block. ”

“ Until protective legislation is framed by scientific, unbiassed students of bird life, who ignore the plea of the sentimentalist and weigh with caution the enthusiasm of the economist, the depletion of bird life—that is, of the species we most wish to preserve—will continue. ”

“ Without discussing these general principles further let us see how they will apply to the birds as natural rights.
Has the bird a right to live? According to our first principle he has if he is more useful alive than dead. What, then, does he do that can be called really useful? If he is a diver, a gull, a tern, or any one of the really seafaring birds, he eats fish, water insects, offal and whatever small animals resort to the water, doing little or no harm and a great deal of good. ”

“ Build bird houses, report any violations of the bird laws, watch the cats, punish the blue jays and other harmful birds as the law punishes human beings that take life, never put out poison, arrange drinking and bathing places, girls should never wear birds in their hats, never aid in long imprisonment of wild birds. ”

“ It is stated that a Wild Birds’ Protection Act is much needed in several parts of our Indian possessions. The birds have been hunted down for the sake of their bright plumage, until in some districts certain species are almost exterminated. ”

“ The Migratory Bird Law recently passed by Congress is one of the most important things which we have ever done for the birds. This law protects the multitude of water birds as well as land birds, that migrate with the changing seasons. It is especially important that all such birds be protected in the regions where they nest. ”

“ Because, as the habits of the birds cause them to live in different places, and feed in various ways, so their homes must be suitable to their surroundings, and be built in the best way to protect the young birds from harm—to keep them safe from House People, cannibal birds, and bad weather. ”

“ Thus, the species most in need of stringent protection have really had the least. No useful birds which lay only three or four eggs should be retained on the list of game birds. The shorebirds should be relieved from persecution, and if we desire to save from extermination a majority of the species, action must be prompt. ”

“ OUR FRIENDS THE BIRDS It has been positively proven that birds will return annually in greater numbers to localities where assistance, in the form of nesting boxes, has been rendered by those interested in bird welfare, than to those places where no such provision has been made. ”