Endangered bird species and recovery

This Bald Eagle is resting with his prey, an unlucky duck.

Photo by Liam Hutcheson

During my 40+ years of bird watching, I have seen several amazing recoveries in populations of prominent bird species that were in danger of extinction. For the most part, this recovery is the result of governmental regulation of practices endangering them.

During and after World War II, there was a major push to use insecticides to control mosquitoes and other insect pests. Perhaps some of you older readers can remember when trucks with foggers would drive up and down alleys spraying insecticides. Post-war expansion of the agricultural industry also used greater quantities of pesticides.

Remember DDT?

Perhaps the most widely used of these pesticides was Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). Environmentalists became concerned with the harm these chemicals caused to animals that preyed on insects, particularly birds. The impact was not direct poisoning; it was much more insidious.

The chemical compounds of DDT are relatively long-lived and bioaccumulate. That means that animals that ate insects – fish for example – were absorbing more and more of the compound the insects had been sprayed with. Birds that preyed on those fish gained even more.

DDT, researchers eventually learned, inhibited calcium uptake in birds and resulted in eggshell thinning and nest failure.

Silent spring

In 1962 Rachel Carson published her book, Silent Spring. It presented the scientific evidence against DDT to general readers and helped generate a huge backlash against widespread use of pesticides without first testing their safety. In 1970 Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1972 DDT was banned for agricultural use in the United States. In 1973 Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act (ESA), recognizing public (i.e. governmental) responsibility for evaluating the health of species and, when appropriate, developing recovery plans for endangered populations.

Bald Eagles

When I first began working for the Nisqually Tribe in the late 1970’s, Bald Eagles were rarely seen. There was a single eagle nest in a remote location on the reservation and we would take visitors to that one location where they might spot an eagle. And the few times you might see a Bald Eagle fly overhead it was a rare good luck omen.

All that has changed over the past 40 years. Bald Eagles are common now in the Nisqually River watershed and other locations in Thurston County. If you pay attention, you are likely to see a Bald Eagle regularly when you are out and about. And some years, we have winter counts of 100 or more eagles on the river feeding on salmon that have died after spawning (the natural end of their life cycle).

Brown Pelicans

When I began serious bird watching in the late 1970s, Brown Pelicans were not seen on the Washington coast. Their breeding numbers and success in California had declined severely and they were ESA-listed. Now, each summer, we see hundreds of Brown Pelicans along the coast. They migrate north after breeding, feeding on summer concentrations of small fish. When you’re on the coast from August through October, you will undoubtedly see small flocks of pelicans arching over the waves.

Peregrine Falcons

A third success story is that of the Peregrine Falcon, a fast-flying bird that preys on other birds. These falcons also suffered from breeding failures and were rare in our area in the late 1970s and early 1980s. All that changed with the banning of DDT and, little by little, this species recovered. In fact, before they were removed several years ago, one of the cranes at the Port of Olympia hosted a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons. It seems they particularly liked to prey on Rock Doves.

In summary, the birds we enjoy now were endangered and uncommon in the past. Whenever you hear someone attack the EPA or the ESA or denigrate governmental regulations in general, I hope you will think about these success stories. Regulations and their enforcement have saved these birds and their critical habitats. They are vital to the natural world we all enjoy.

George Walter is the environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 40+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com

Photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, a 15-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.