Exotics

[Steve Carr <stevecarr9 at msn dot com>]

Recent comments by Merrill and Bill are well taken regarding the Mandarin
Duck.  Besides, considering that the Wood Duck is a rare permanent
resident of the state, it seems that there are a lot more sighting reports
than would probably be explained by pure, rare, native wild birds. Some of
them, probably a lot, may have originally been escapees or purposely let
loose from propagation farms, etc.

Regarding Pink Floyd, the next question is - What are we to do with the
possibility of 25+ expatriate Chilean Flamingos joining him so he won't
"be lonely"?  There are many purists who decry the idea of purposeful
introduction of new species; there are many who think it a novel idea;
and there are several, who probably read the BirdTalk comments, who are
actually in the movement to bring these birds to the Great Salt Lake.
I'm acting as a neutral commentator here and just offering a few facts or
ideas.

The habitat of our Lake is very similar to the natural habitat of these
flamingos in the 13,000' high Altiplano of Bolivia, Peru and Chile.
These are not tropical birds, but thrive in the cold, high, salt lakes of
the Andes, along with two other species, Puna and James flamingos.  The
Chilean species is by far the most numerous.  They subsist on the algae
and other tiny organisms that live along the shores of those Andean lakes,
similar to the habitat along our Lake shores.  You may have noticed at
various times of the year, that there are thousands of acres of pinkish
scum on the lake surface, extending a mile or two from the shore.  This is
a combination of brine shrimp and various forms of algae on which many
flamingos could do very nicely, even if they propagated into much larger
numbers.  Lake Nakuru in Kenya, much smaller than the Great Salt Lake,
hosts well over a million Lesser Flamingos and thousands of Greater
Flamingos without any deleterious effects on the environment.  The only
downside that may be present here would be the effect on the brine shrimp
industry.  The shrimp farmers might have to do something to keep the birds
out of their ponds.

Besides being a tourist attraction, they are generally an interesting,
non-threatening bird, unlike the European Sky Rat (also known as European
Starling).  When I started birding in 1949, I enjoyed seeing many Lewis
Woodpeckers in the big cottonwood trees along Holladay Blvd.  in Salt Lake
County.  There were no starlings in Utah then, but when I returned from
the Army in 1958, the starlings had moved in, forced the woodpeckers out
and taken over their holes and trees.  I haven't seen a Lewis Woodpecker
in Holladay since.

Then, as far as purposeful introductions are concerned, consider the House
(English) Sparrow.  In the middle to latter 1800's, these birds were
brought from the British Isles and released in 5 or 6 different places in
the US, one of which was right here in Holladay, Utah.  The Walker
Brothers, who established Walker Bank, etc., originally from Great
Britain, settled in the Holladay area in the early 1850's, and got
homesick for their little spug friends, so they had some LDS missionaries
returning from England bring some home with them, which the Walkers then
released in their estates on Walker's Lane.  Of course, even if the
Walkers had not done that, Spuggis domesticus would have eventually
migrated in from San Francisco or Chicago, anyway.

It's possible that having a huge flock of flamingos around the Great Salt
Lake eating all the stinky dead brine flies, along with other detritus
there, might actually be beneficial.  I'm sure there would still be enough
for the phalaropes when they stop by for a few weeks twice a year.

So, make it a good day today.  As they say, A bad day birding is better
than a good day doing almost anything else.

--Steve

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