Date:
From:
Phil Buchanan <coolcherokee@comcast.net>
Subject: Don't give fish scrapes to the birds
Today, I once again rescued a bird choking on fish scrapes
thrown to them by people cleaning fish. This one was in St James City and was a
wood stork, an endangered species. His throat was punctured and his chances of survival is slim. I've been a volunteer for CROW
for some 18 years and I have seen this hundreds of times. That's why the
Yes, I know birds love fish and giving the scrapes to them
seems like an act of kindness. The difference is that the wading birds know how
to safely swallow a whole fish head first, but they don't know how to safely
swallow fish scrapes. If it gets sideways, the fish spine or fin can do serious
and often irreparable damage.
One solution to safely and conveniently disposing of fish
scrapes is to install a vertical PVC tube extending below the water at your
fish cleaning station. The scrapes will either sink or float inside the tube
until they do which also helps attract fish and crabs to your dock.
While I'm on this soapbox, I should add that an even much much bigger problem is discarded monofiliment,
which keeps on killing for years. Thousands of birds, including many endangered
species, get entangled and die of starvation or infection. If you get your
fishing line caught in the mangroves, etc - it is your responsibility to go in
there and get it, and that too is required by both
Phil
Buchanan
St James
Phone/fax: 239-283-4067
Email: coolcherokee@comcast.net