[obol] Oyster Shells and Band-tailed Pigeons

[Norgren Family]

     Sometime in the past 24 hours
this tip of Pat Waldron's came back
to me. It was posted about half a year ago.
This practice(regularly putting out
crushed oyster shells for birds) has the
potential to make an enormous difference
in the future of the species in the PNW.
400 Band-tailed Pigeons in your yard!
That is indicative of how far they are
willing to travel to get calcium.
     The other part of the formula(for
milk production) is protein. Our Band-tails
solve that by eating elderberries, both
red(poisonous to humans) and blue. Unlike
other native fruits, those of Sambucus are
high in protein(about 16%), presumably due
to the seeds. Band-tailed Pigeons start
eating both species of elderberries long
before they are ripe. That is why they nest
late in the summer. When other birds are
fledging nestlings, the blue elderberry is
just starting to flower.
      In the mid-twentieth century, reforestation
in the PNW was highly passive. Tall Douglas-firs
were left standing on the downwind side of a
clearcut in the hopes that their seeds would
replant the unit just harvested. The resulting
decades long succession of brush and trees would not
win the head forester any awards nowadays, but
it was paradise for dozens of species of birds,
frugivorous or otherwise. Along with elderberries,
these naturally regenerating clearcuts grew cascara
(aka"chittim")and Pacific Dogwood, both important
foods for Band-tails.
     I suspect the conversion of large tracts of
old-growth forest into such mixed, second-growth
woods was highly beneficial to the pigeons. Now
clearcuts are promptly replanted with nursery
raised seedlings, and often sprayed with herbicide
to discourage non-commercial species of vegetation.
This is obviously good business from the timber
company's perspective. It is also mandated by the
tax code. I know that results won't come overnight,
but I dream of a legal system that would give
landowners an incentive to plant elderberries or
Douglas-fir; an ODF&W that manages for all species,
not just antlers and adipose fins; maybe even matching
funds to thin out oak woods and recreate savannahs.
These are all concepts that will take decades to
implement. Folks are welcome to call me an idealistic
fool, but I am confident there is grounds for hope.
     My father taught me that healthy cultures have
a very positive feature known as "generation gap".
One generation grows old. With luck, when they die
they take their dogmas with them and give a younger
wave of humans a chance to try something different.
There is also room for near-instant gratification.
I'm going to the feed store tomorrow to buy some
oyster shells.   Lars Norgren