Protecting Migratory Birds

Joe Meche is vice president of the board of directors of the North Cascades Audubon Society and is in his ninth year as editor of the chapter newsletter. Joe is also a member of the board of directors of the Washington Brant Foundation. He has been photographing birds and landscapes for over 30 years and has been watching birds for more than 50 years.

Without drifting too far afield or revealing too much from behind the scenes, I can honestly report that working ideas for the Beaks and Bills columns emanate from a variety of sources. Some columns are the end result of cross-country trips (“National Wildlife Refuges”), our spring getaway trips (“Rediscovering Okanogan Birds” and “Malheur”), or the annual Christmas Bird Count. And, after 37 columns, I feel that I’ve barely scratched the surface of available material.

The genesis of last month’s column was the rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker—a species thought to be extinct for over 60 years. The news came from the bottomland swamps of Arkansas, and prompted deep-seated feelings about the annihilation of several species of birds at the hands of man. Confirmed sightings of the ivory-billed provide a glimmer of hope for conservationists everywhere, proving that the concept of habitat protection and restoration is essential to the survival of numerous wildlife species. Although great strides have been made to protect wildlife in many parts of the world, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

The roots of this month’s offering are frighteningly close to home with the news of a county resident shooting swallows, which is an egregious violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The incident occurred in early June in the Semiahmoo area.

Numerous laws are in place to protect birds that, historically, have been the literal targets for poachers and the inconsiderate few who kill for whatever misguided reasons they might have. At the time of this writing, law enforcement and wildlife agents have been alerted and plan to confront the individual in question. Stay tuned.

It goes without saying that migratory birds face a variety of natural perils as they move from place to place to procreate and maintain healthy populations. There are many documented examples of the numerous bird species that have been exploited and literally wiped out by greed. At the turn of the last century, the early conservation movement began to take a serious look at the status of the birds that were being decimated by merciless market hunting. In the true spirit of the squeaky wheel, conservationists made their objectives known and, through the United States Congress, set in motion a series of measures intended to reverse this sordid trend.

Initially, the Lacey Act of 1900 was enacted to put an end to the wholesale slaughter that was devastating large colonies of birds, both for the plume trade and for diners in stylish restaurants. The Lacey Act was not as effective as was hoped and was replaced, in 1913, by the Weeks-McLean Law. The shortcomings of both were addressed and they were eventually replaced by the more comprehensive Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in 1918. The authors of the MBTA were determined to put an end to the commercial trade in birds and bird parts, including nests, eggs and feathers.

The MBTA is a domestic law that remains in force today and affirms the commitment of the United States to four international conventions that have been established with Canada, Mexico, Japan and Russia to further the cause of protecting birds that occur in these countries at some point in their annual life cycles.

The more familiar Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted in 1973 and made considerable advances to protect individual species. While making progress in some areas, however, the ESA is constantly under attack with threats of crass revisions by the current administration, either in the form of de-listing certain species or opening large areas of essential nesting habitat that had previously been set aside as sanctuaries.

The ESA is another domestic law and further strengthens the commitment of the United States to two international treaties that contain specific provisions to protect migratory birds. These are the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) and the Pan American Convention—the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere.

In addition, other international treaties are in place, such as the Ramsar Convention, which is designed to protect vital habitat for waterfowl, and the Antarctic Treaty which protects birds, mammals and plants of the Antarctic.

Some domestic laws are designed for specific birds or groups of birds. The Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 provided protection for our national symbol, as well as for the golden eagle. The Waterfowl Depredations Act of 1956 made allowances to supply grain to wintering waterfowl and lessen their impact on crops.

A variety of federal laws have been enacted to protect bird habitats, including the Duck Stamp Act, the Wetlands Loan Act, the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act, the Migratory Bird Conservation Act and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. The Duck Stamp Act was passed in 1934 and has generated money for the acquisition and protection of critical waterfowl habitat.

The true meaning behind all these acts and treaties, rules and regulations, is to protect one of our most valuable natural resources—our migratory birds. The senseless slaughter at the end of the 1800s was halted, to a great extent, but there are still problems, worldwide. Locally, large numbers of swans are dying from lead poisoning and, in a truly senseless act right here in Whatcom County, a lone gunman is shooting swallows.

Supposedly, this individual is a known scofflaw and claims that the swallows are making a mess with their nest building and with their droppings. When dealing with problem wildlife, as with other situations in our lives, there are always alternatives to killing. If we consider a world without swallows and other insectivorous birds, and even bats, we would be plagued by mosquitoes and other insects.

Chances are that this one incident will not likely bring about a dramatic drop in the swallow population but, as stewards of the natural world, we must adopt a zero tolerance attitude with regard to harming wildlife. Should you encounter anyone harming birds or other animals in any way, immediately contact law enforcement, whether it’s the Washington State Patrol or the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

When you make the call, cite the laws you’ve read about in this article and act! We need to do everything we can to protect migratory birds. If we fail to do so, not only could we lose the wonder and beauty of birds, but we could possibly find ourselves knee-deep in all sorts of bugs! §