ONE MORE REASON TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING: CHICKS

Notes and photos by listener

Well, I am home from the Outer Banks where birds, like this Oystercatcher, nest. When the seas rise due to global warming, the Outer Banks will become totally submerged. This could happen in our lifetime, folks.



Our wildlife biologist Son*in*NC took us into restricted areas to take the GPS coordinates of Oystercatcher nests, so they can be checked on. He records where the nests are, how many eggs are laid, how many chicks hatch and survive, and what causes them to not survive. When each chick is a week old, he swiftly affixes a tiny transmitter to its back. That way, if the chick disappears they can often find the transmitter and determine what happened. Sometimes it's predators like raccoons, or the stupid humans who run them over by driving their vehicles on the sand, and sometimes its the weather. This year, for example, a strong storm wiped out quite a few nests, and the parents had to start all over. When the chicks are three or four weeks old, he puts bands on their legs, so they can be identified in years to come, and their migratory patterns and habitat needs can be better determined. This has to be done before the chicks are five weeks old because that's when they fly!


We actually saw this freshly hatched Oystercatcher chick and its sibling in the process of hatching! See the little wing sticking out of the egg? We felt badly to have disrupted the nest during "delivery," but we also know this was to get the coordinates and protect the nest. Nesting areas are cordoned off as much as possible to keep the eggs and chicks from being run over. It was utterly amazing to be out there searching for the nest someone thought they'd spotted once, then to find it on the day they came from the egg!



But the most important chick of all to Son*in*NC is his own chick (who turns 10 months old on the first day of Summer and started walking last week!).


What will it take to save the Outer Banks? If Al Gore is our next President, then maybe the chicks can be saved for generations to come.

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