STORKS SURVIVING WINTER BY EATING JUNK INSTEAD OF MIGRATING

Jan 23 2016, 2:51am CST | by Sumayah Aamir

Storks have stopped their Annual Migrations due to Human Interventionism

Storks have stopped their annual migrations due to human interventionism. It seems mankind has a lot of expertise in producing tons of garbage.

Human meddling in the affairs of Nature is not something new. Since primitive man burned down whole areas of grassland, mankind has been pushing Nature to the edge with the many wasteful activities.

Destruction of wildlife via hunting and fishing causes many species to undergo a loss of habitat. The ensuing climate change due to the release of greenhouse gases has led to wildlife populations migrating to other areas or dwindling in their numbers.

The latest news suggests that we have the capacity to alter or even completely annihilate the migration patterns of animals. This would be a big mistake since it damages the ecological webs more than anything else.

Since many animal species are fast becoming extinct, they have been placed on the endangered species list. They happen to be our #1 priority right now as stewards of the planet. Animal migration patterns are firmly set in their ways and a part and parcel of the fabric of Nature. 

The migration trajectories followed by young white storks are common knowledge among biologists. These birds are being influenced by human communities that lie along the route of their journey.

Where the storks stop on the way to their destination and for how long is determined by mankind. This might surprise many, but it is true.

Continued ...

The island that Miami forgot: Historic Bird Key teems with pelicans, egrets, ibises — and trash

There’s an uninhabited island in Biscayne Bay where a dozen species of birds whoop loudly in the treetops, stingrays nudge the shore, manatees linger and dolphins are a common sight.

It’s called Bird Key. And it’s covered in garbage.

From the waterline deep into the mangroves, there are tires, deck chairs, wood planks, beer cans, plastic bottles, children’s toys, fishing line, shoes, crates, coolers, plastic drums and an endless array of urban debris that Biscayne Bay swallowed up and spat out.

Sitting 500 yards offshore, just south of the 79th Street Causeway, Bird Key is one of Biscayne Bay’s oldest and most ecologically important islands. It was surveyed by the British crown and fought over by early settlers. Investors acquired it, and preservationists covet it. Yet little has been written about the island. And litter has been accumulating there for decades.

Formed by the outflow of the Little River, Bird Key is one of only two natural islands in the bay north of the Rickenbacker Causeway. At least 20 other uninhabited islands were created from spoil material dredged from the bay bottom when navigation channels were dug in the early 1900s. Those manmade islands serve as habitats for plants and recreation areas for boaters, but have little permanent birdlife.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/14/3140746/the-island-that-miami-forgot-historic.html#storylink=cpy