Date: Fri 15-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SUZANN

Quick Words:

Audubon-exhibit

Full Text:

Exhibit Warns Of The Disappearance Of Nature's Nurseries

BY SUZANNA NYBERG

FAIRFIELD -- The Connecticut Audubon Birdcraft Museum's new exhibit, "Nature's

Nurseries: A Bird's Eye View of Life in the Nest," allows children and parents

to see firsthand the wonders of nature that exist in their own backyards while

emphasizing that nesting birds now suffer their greatest threat from man.

According to Birdcraft's director, Chris Nevins, it is fashionable but too

easy to blame industry, pollution, and rain forest destruction for songbird

decline. The biggest threat to birds in the Northeast is suburban development.

"Now that the suburbs are expanding in such dramatic ways, we need to remember

that we are moving into other creatures' homes," Mr Nevins said. "We will lose

our native bird population if we take away their habitat."

"Nature's Nurseries" explores the habitats of nesting birds. It moves from

building a nest to incubating eggs to hatching them and rearing the young.

The exhibit displays a wide variety of nests, including the oriole's hanging

pouch and the crow's large mass of twigs.

Birds do not sleep in their nests; they roost on branches. "A mechanism in the

tendon locks their claws into position," Mr Nevins said. Birds make nests for

the sole purpose of holding and incubating eggs. Nests can be as large as a

person or as small as a woman's hand; they can be intricately woven or roughly

hewn. "Nests are akin to a person's fingerprints," Mr Nevins said. "They are

distinctive to a species."

Some birds are parasites and take over their neighbor's nests; the cowbird

will lay her egg in the nests of other songbirds and her baby will push the

others out of the nest and eat their food. Cowbirds were originally creatures

of the plains that followed the bison, explained Mr Nevins. They adapted to a

nomadic existence and when they moved east, native songbirds were not able to

contend with them.

"We've created a Great Plains of the East," Mr Nevins said. "The more we

fragment the woods the more we give cowbirds the opportunity to move farther

into them. Every building lot, every roadway, every gas line allows cowbirds

right of way and threatens the songbirds."

All birds use a variety of materials to build their nests. A display chart at

the exhibit lists the many materials, including snakeskins, spider webs, and

feathers. Even human garbage can become material for a nest.

Nests ought never to be disturbed. "It is a good learning experience to watch

a nest respectfully and infrequently from afar," Mr Nevins said. "But it is

absolutely illegal to collect nests or eggs of any kind." Strict state and

federal laws against tampering with a nest have been designed with bird

behavior in mind. For example, if a predator attacks a nest, the parent bird

will choose flight over fight so that it may nest again elsewhere; the bird is

not able to distinguish between the careless hands of a human being and an

attacker.

Also, baby songbirds may leave the nest prematurely if their home is touched.

Disturbing the area around a nest may provide access for a predator and

loitering near a nest may prevent birds from returning, leaving the eggs and

babies chilled.

The exhibit also features many representations of eggs, ranging from antique

prints to handmade models to egg collections more than a 100 years old.

Birds and their eggs have always been threatened by man. In the 19th century,

egg collecting was a popular pastime. Cowboys, wealthy industrialists and

young boys all robbed nests in a frenzy to acquire tiny treasures. "The

problem with egg collectors was that they went for the rarity," Mr Nevins

said. "If a bird was endangered, such as the piping plover, the collector

wanted her eggs." Eventually, these excesses led to state and federal

regulations, and today these collections are used for educational purposes.

Birdcraft's exhibit features a wooden box filled with more than 20 varieties.

The exhibit, curated by Fairfield residents Jim and Rebecca Fletcher, shows

eggs in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. They may be round or oval, big

or tiny, bright or dull. "An egg's design is its strategy for reproductive

success," Mr Nevins said. Woodpeckers and owls, who lay their eggs in

cavities, have white, round eggs; they don't worry about them falling out of

the cavity. The eggs of the shorebird have patterns or speckles to provide

camouflage. Seabird eggs are tapered, causing them to roll in circles to avoid

falling off cliffs.

The exhibit has models of eggs for children to hold and feel. The egg of the

mallard duck is white and oval and fits nicely in the palm of one's hand

whereas the egg of the black-crowned night heron is surprisingly small for the

bird's adult size. The eastern bluebird lays tiny white eggs, and the eggs of

the barn swallow are small and brown speckled.

Hands-on and interactive, the exhibit has other handcrafted models of eggs

that ask the visitor to guess which kind of bird laid it, a black-capped

chickadee or a wood duck.

The exhibit also explores how different types of birds rear their babies.

Mother and father of most species care equally for their young. "These are

wonderful parents," Mr Nevins said. "Imagine risking everything to fly from

the tropics to have your children."

Songbirds, also called altricial birds, are born helpless. Bald and with eyes

closed, these tiny creatures are entirely dependent on their parents. Their

mothers and fathers often make 1,000 trips a day to the nest, bringing their

babies treats of insects, worms, and seeds. "These birds are full of energy,"

Mr Nevins said. "They know they have to stuff their babies full of food and

they know it's not forever."

Habitat Destruction

Mr Nevins noted that migratory birds are not reproducing as much as they used

to because of the destruction of their habitat. Neotropical migrants such as

warblers, wood thrushes, and tanagers depend on the deep woods to nest and

breed. Avian predators, the raccoon and possum, avoid the deep woods,

remaining on the forest edge. When these woods are fragmented, neotropical

migrants, who live on or close to the ground, become easy prey for them.

Our very own backyards can provide the space and materials for songbirds to

nest. "If we cut down the bird's habitat, then we need to make our yards

sanctuaries," said Jennifer Kittredge, Birdcraft's education director.

"Birdscaping the yard with winterberry, our native holly, provides good winter

food for birds. Native blueberries, if left natural, provide a nesting

habitat. The flowering dogwood is also ideal for nests."

The exhibit stresses that gardens ought to encourage wildlife to move in, not

dissuade them. A pesticide-free garden stocked with native plants that provide

food such as seeds and nuts will invite birds. These gardens are also a way of

restoring a habitat that has been damaged by commercial and residential

developments.

Still, they are not enough. Mr Nevins believes that legislation strictly

regulating land use must be passed in this state in order to stave off the

threat of future development. He would also like to see the state purchase as

much open space as possible before it is gone. "Economic development should be

steered to urban areas where it is really needed," he said. "We need to

sustain our natural world."

Connecticut Audubon Birdcraft Museum is located at 314 Unquowa Road in

Fairfield. It is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Saturday and

Sunday, 12 to 5. Requested donation is $2 per adult, $1 per child under 12.

Telephone number is 203/259-0416.