60+ year old thread.

Around monocrop agricultural areas there are a steep decline in insects and in areas adjoining it shows up too. Considering the amount of pesticides and the efficacy of the more recent ones it's not surprising. And as the insects go... so do the birds. And the way you are seeing some differences in populations and other populations seem fine... is exactly correct. Just like with birds, too. Some have declined drastically and others seem to be holding their ground.
Our crabapple tree normally has millions of honeybees at the peak bloom. You can go under it and the bees are so loud you have to raise your voice to hear. This year? Last year? Barely any bees at all.
I was watching an old movie a few months ago and there was a scene with a couple sitting by a pond at night. The noises of frogs and insects was amazing... but only because I remember those sounds by ponds when I was a kid and they are gone now. The screen door on a summer night was once a place for a kid to collect insects, but while there are still bugs, the big ones, the more common ones, are practically gone. I haven't seen a June bug in years, and they were always around the lights at night.
And before someone says they've seen them around their home... I'm hopeful there are islands of still plentiful insects. But I live close to agriculture and there are not a lot of bugs around. Even the grasshoppers are less populated and the survivors are different. They don't crunch. Their bodies are softer.
But there are a lot more wasps...

 

I tossed a bunch of stale bread out in the backyard this morning, no birds eating it, that's very unusual. Come to think of it I haven't seen any birds at all today, no blue Jay's, no cardinals, no sparrows , not even any grackles or starlings. That's just very strange.

 

That doesn't sound like fun

 

You know nothing of what I observe.
You quote stats without basis and when called out, you attack, again in ignorance.
That kind of baseless statics and then attacking when called out, holds zero credibility with me and most others.
Go troll elsewhere.
You have been called out.

 

LOL... My major was animal science with a specialty in beef production... at a well respected agricultural college that also had lots of environmental courses.
I didn't quote stats as much as I asked you to use your own experience and your own observations...
Apparently I must have hit a nerve.
It appears that it has been you that has been called out.

 

There is no mass bird die off in this region. Is there a good source/link for information on this?

 

Of course not....
He just wanted to pop-off about something, so he pulled numbers out of his ass and delivered it as credible.

 

i got birds errywhere, alas, none of em are eatin enuff of them flies, my backyard looks like an early fall...

 

Is this is one of those "intellectual" arguments where people throw links back and forth but can't speak to the reason and logic involved? Or that they have failed to observe the elements involved and have no basis to form a relevant opinion so they fall back on what they've been told to believe? Something where one person can speak to actual observation and the other speaks loudly and resolutely, and expects others to think that's the same thing as authority? Maybe even one of these conversations where people see the intellectually disabled as being bullied by good information, and flock to form a herd thinking numbers will create an alternate reality where ignorance becomes truth?

You've been called out and the only person pulling things out of their anal region is you.

If you want studies, look up the Cornell and Virginia Tech studies on avian population declines. Maybe you'll trust them if you find them yourself.

 

Well said Travir For the naysayers and ignorant I suggest that they begin their education by reading A Sand County Almanac. A classic. It would be only a start but ya gotta begin somewhere.

 

I find it hard to trust studies from colleges these days. For too many years, 'researchers' have doctored their data to suit the agenda they are pushing. The intellectual dishonesty is appalling. I will stop at that.

As for the birds and the bees: In WI, the AG people are claiming there was some mite that decimated the bee population for a few years. They seem to be coming back...slowly. I've seen more this year than I have in a few years. Oddly, mosquitoes were completely absent up until just the last few weeks. Interesting you mentioned June bugs. I have seen very few the last couple of years, those damned things hurt when you're on a motorcycle. I do see other bugs, but will agree, the numbers are down. I used to see swarms hovering over the roads...not so much the last 2 years.

I still see Robins, Starlings, Red Winged Blackbirds, Sparrows and others. Numbers are down, but some are bug eaters, so there's that. Turkey, Sandhill Cranes, Herons are plentiful and doing well.

There is something to say about the pesticides. WI has been trying something to try to get a handle on the Japanese Beetle problem. I haven't followed closely. There was some talk about another bug, which would attack the Japanese Beetle...I hope the dumb asses aren't thinking of introducing another non-native species. Some people don't learn.

 

@Red Archer and @Travlr . Please let this go. The thread is a place to post many subjects and yes different opinions will arise. You both have stated your opinions and unfortunately feelings about the subject. So for the sake of others on the thread, let it go or if you want to continue, do it in PMs. I as well as others appreciate your posts and hope you both continue posting here. Thanks.

 

Agree. We all could take one side or the other. And that gets us where exactly.

Protect nature as best you can, but don't follow Hollywood pop scare stuff. Be good to your land. That is it for me.

 

It is so hot here - and over night to boot (85ºF) - I took our little Ollie out for a requested (she can be persistent) potty break about 1:30 AM. There were no audible Coyote calls up and down the foothills where I live. This silence is unusual to say the least - I usually go out with her due to them being within a rocks throw of the back fence at any hour after sundown. I am pretty sure they have fled up the Sweetwater Reserve washes into the mountains of Saguaro N.P. trying to find cooler air. Our drought here is bad and getting worse - was 108º at supper time tonight.

I have noticed that we have a very large number of honey bees loading up at the two bird baths I keep filled in the yard. They are literally lined up along the edges of both at 5:30 - 6:00 AM when I refresh the baths and load the feeders every morning.

 

It's become accepted in society that all people have a right to an opinion... and I would agree. But the right to an opinion doesn't make an opinion right. All opinions are not equal. You can embrace a soldier mindset or a scout mindset. (look them up)
Popularity does not make ideas valid.
And if all you want is people talking about oil changes, what they are barbequing, lawnmower maintenance, and nothing that has any kind of intellectual connotations... I'll just take a nap as often as possible but I can't make any promises.
Considering, I think I kept my commentary pretty civil.

 

Thank you

 

BEAT LA!

 

I used to have swarms of hummingbirds at my two feeder’s. The last 2 years there has definitely been a decline.

It might just be the big green one has finally run the others off.

 

Good morning. Another Friday with a busy agenda. I need to pick up a Bagster for all the waste from a shed removal. After looking at all the tasks the cost of a bagster is the best way to go. Driveway will be sealed today, weather permitting. Still trying to figure out dinner tonight, I have 3 chicken thighs to use up.

 

What is a bagster?

Duh: https://thebagster.com/

Welp I learnt sumpin. Back to bed!