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June 17th, 2004  Btk, Birds, and Budworms I never saw a wild thing Sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough Without ever having felt sorry for itself. - D. H. Lawrence I thought of this poem as I stepped onto the back porch early Monday morning and watched two airplanes spewing their noxious cargo across the tops of the trees on the other side of the creek. Friday I saw an article, in the most recent newspaper, informing all and sundry that an aerial spray campaign to combat spruce budworm would soon be undertaken. Those affected had already been notified. The article was on the second last page of the paper. Sensing something sinister in the air, or soon to be in the air, I was immediately concerned what effect the 'wonder potion' mentioned in the article, namely Btk, would have on nesting birds. At times like this, faced with the proposition of being front and centre to receive a load of love from above in the form of a chemical or poison, I was driven to do some rapid self-education and as usual I turned to the Internet. Articles featuring Btk (bascillus thuringiesis kurtstaki) effects and benefits are numerous on the Net. I began scanning pages of information, many put forth by those thoroughly convinced that Btk is next to sliced bread in making our lives better. Some articles seemed to find solace in the fact that Btk occurred naturally and proposed that it was therefore somehow benign. Anthrax occurs in nature too but I hope I never have to experience it first hand. Other articles I read roundly condemned Btk. My first concern was what is Btk and how does it work, in other words how does it kill? What I learned is that Btk is a biological weapon with many formulations which can be modified depending on the target 'pest'. Once Btk is ingested by the host creature, in this case the Spruce Budworm, it breaks down inside the host and paralyses a portion of the digestive system. Within several days the Budworm dies of starvation. Great scenario, I thought. Right in the middle of bird nesting season an agent is sprayed that effectively destroys the food supply of the birds in a sprayed area. I was keenly aware that many neo-tropical migrant birds were now, either sitting on eggs or feeding very young nestlings. Only this weekend I stood under the nest of just such a bird, a Warbling Vireo sitting on its suspended nest and singing. At this time, the hillside to be sprayed is also home to many evergreen nesters such as the Townsend's Warbler, Western Tanager, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Other year round resident birds such as the Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Creepers also live in this area. Besides the vision of parent birds unable to find food to feed their young in their chosen territory I could also picture young birds being fed copious quantities of infected budworms which, if the description of the killing ability of Btk were accurate, would take 3 days. A common thread of agreement runs through the majority of articles, whether for or against the use of Btk; insect and worms are greatly reduced once spraying is carried out. Some articles suggested that birds would simply move to unsprayed areas upon finding their section depleted of food. Great, I thought. This might work for adult birds but what about nest-bound young. They would slowly starve to death, the parent birds unable to find food in the chosen territory. There was also comment that there were fewer nesting attempts in sprayed areas in following years. One article stated that 82% of spruce budworm infestations ended without the use of any sprays. The irony of spraying Btk to combat the spruce budworm is the statement that the spraying will only be done until natural forces (those things that prey on budworms) can get the upper hand. Birds are one of the most important natural forces in combating spruce budworms! Neo-tropical migrant birds come north to nest for this exact reason. They count on the sudden hatching of thousands of insects and worms in our forests to feed their nests of voracious young. So, as well as suppressing budworms the spraying of Btk is suppressing the natural agents that would take care of the problem. Successive sprayings, year after year, would guarantee that spraying would never have to stop. Another ironic statement, concerning the spraying of the 99 Mile hill area just south of town, is that its being done for recreational concerns. I took this to mean that the area contains ski trails and having budworm-free evergreens to ski through would somehow improve or maintain recreation. I consider birding a recreational pursuit. Part of guaranteeing high quality birding requires securing and defending the wild bird habitats that make our area a great birding spot. I consider the spraying of nesting birds with Btk in prime nesting season to be a blow to recreational birding. Btk is not improving my recreational interests; rather they are being destroyed. The area behind the arena, another sprayed area, is a spot I hold dear, because if asked by visiting birders where to find a Townsend's Warbler or a Macgillivray's Warbler, I point to the sloping stand of trees which cloaks the northern slope. Here the Townsend's, a notoriously hard to find tree-top-dwelling bird makes its nest. Its strident calls tumble down from the high spruce canopy to the forest floor rewarding the observant birder with a glimpse of what I maintain is our most beautiful Warbler. As I stepped out the door on Monday at 6:30 AM the sight of the airplanes flying right down the valley spewing their mists of death in front of the house disgusted me. Later when I returned from town, after having noticed the gentle breeze would carry the spray in our direction, my head became incredibly congested. I sat on the couch in a stupor for 2 hours, my ears popping, my thoughts muddled. Psychosomatic reaction? I don't think so. Thankfully a heavy hail and rain fell in the afternoon, for me a symbol of a washing to earth, a rejecting of the wonderful chemical "gift" that we humans in our zeal to garden our world of 'resources' foisted on the unsuspecting, natural order of things. Perhaps birds do die never having felt sorry for themselves as the poem suggests, regardless of what misadventure brought them to their end. I, in their stead, will spend time feeling sorry for them. It doesn't help but its my way of saying I still have empathy for the things we cause pain. Without empathy, not just empathy for the human race, but for all dwelling on earth, we are not the intelligent beings we think we are, and we shouldn't be trusted to act in the best interest of all living things. To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
