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Birds Rely on Nature's Refrigerator

nwf.org — Many birds cache durable foods such as conifer seeds. But gray jays like perishable goods: blueberries and moose flesh. They count on nature to turn down the thermostat and keep all that food fresh—nature’s refrigerator. In the last few decades, though, Ontario has seen a series of unusually warm autumns—rotten news for the birds.

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  • burkinaboy, on 01/28/2008, -0/+2And skeptics say that global warming isn't happening in our lifetimes... just ask the birds in Ontario!
  • stonebear, on 01/29/2008, -0/+2All-in-all, it's just another brick in the wall.
  • inactive, on 01/28/2008, -0/+2I had no idea these little guys ate moose flesh.
  • kristinsj, on 01/29/2008, -0/+1What's also interesting is how climate change is impacting the social fabric of bird populations. Check this part of the article out too:

    'Apart from population declines, there’s been another significant change in the Algonquin jays, says Waite—a tear in the social fabric. “In the 1980s, jays mated for life,” he says. “The probability a bird would be with the same mate from one year to the next was 90 to 100 percent. But since then, the re-mating rate has increased dramatically. Now it’s on the order of 50 percent.”

    'In the past, territories were in short supply, so young birds served a kind of apprenticeship. After fledging from the nest, they joined established pairs as helpers, learning the ropes of reproduction, so to speak. Now, with higher mortality, territories are open, and birds need mates. So more first-year birds are in relationships, but they are, well, inexperienced. “If a pair hasn’t been together very long, it hasn’t developed behavioral compatibility,” says Waite. “The first time they try to breed they do crazy things: They make two separate nests, they steal each other’s nesting material, and so on. It takes time to work that out. Age matters.”

    '“With autumn weather getting warmer, that also increases the likelihood of breeding failure,” Waite explains. “When your nest fails, you are more likely to get divorced, and then you are more likely to get re-mated, and then you are likely to get stuck with an inexperienced yearling again. It’s just total moral collapse for jay society!”'
  • Mattykitty, on 01/29/2008, -0/+1It's amazing how even a small change in the environment can have a huge impact on a species.

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