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<DIV>Illinois birders and bird conservationists. </DIV>
<DIV>BCN has been actively working with northeastern Illinois forest
preserve districts to solve the problem of birds getting trapped in fishing line
disposal tubes at district fishing lakes (Cook County has made good progress,
DuPage is fixing it now). But the messages below from the Wisconsin birding
listserv are an indicator that tree tubes and uncapped fence posts can also be
tempting and lethal traps for cavity nesters.</DIV>
<DIV>Sorry for the cross postings, but I thought
this information would be useful to the birding and bird
conservation community. </DIV>
<DIV>One thought occurred to me as I read these posts: Stuffing a plastic bag
into the top of tree tubes would be a quick way to prevent a bird from
getting down into the tubes. Presumably there are other, better
preventions?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">Regards<BR>Bob Fisher</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Downers Grove</DIV>
<DIV>DuPage County</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>From: "Tom Schultz" <trschultz@centurytel.net><BR>Subject: [wisb] A
word of warning - Tree tubes<BR>Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2012 11:24:17 -0500<BR><BR>I
just received a phone call from a friend who recently experienced a <BR>tragedy
with a plastic tree tube. (These translucent plastic tubes are <BR>frequently
used to protect young sapling trees from deer damage.) They were <BR>checking
their tubes to look for budding leaves and unfortunately discovered <BR>a couple
of dead bluebirds inside. Fortunately a third bluebird inside was <BR>still
alive, and it flew away when the tube was raised. All three birds <BR>appeared
to be females, due to duller plumages. The tube was apparently <BR>located not
far from a bluebird box, and they have often seen bluebirds <BR>using the tubes
as perches.<BR><BR>I had not heard previously of this potential danger to birds,
but I thought <BR>it might be a good idea to put a warning out. A good solution
would <BR>probably be to put netting or something similar over the tops of these
tubes <BR>to prevent birds from entering.<BR><BR>Tom Schultz<BR>Green Lake Co.
<BR><BR><BR>------------------------------<BR><BR>Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2012 12:54:58
-0500 (GMT-05:00)<BR>From: Sharon Reilly
<reillyhi@earthlink.net><BR>Subject: [wisb] Re: A word of warning - Tree
tubes<BR><BR>Unfortunately tubes have been a well documented hazard to the small
birds that are cavity nester. But obviously this threat is not well known to the
general public. Birds can get inside the tube but cannot get back out. Just
think of all those open-ended fence posts in your neighborhood (no cap on them).
Almost guaranteed to have a dead bird inside. <BR><BR>I have personal experience
with open-ended metal fence posts being death traps. And since learning about
this problem have tried over the years to educate even the conservation
organizations I worked for about capping all fence posts! Not only do they
attract birds but they can also be a suitable site for unwanted species like
bees and wasps. <BR><BR>Here's a story to show you the unfortunate SCALE of this
preventable loss - from the ABC on the mining stakes in Nevada.
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/111122.html<BR><BR>But every
citizen should be aware of similar TUBES like tree protectors, fence posts.
Anything with a small opening can be attractive to a cavity nester. If it is
smooth on the inside the bird cannot climb out and if it is too small the bird
cannot open its wings; it is a death trap and impossible for the bird to escape.
<BR><BR>You can save the lives of thousands of birds by passing this bit of
information on to your friends and neighbors. If you need to use a tube be sure
it is large enough in diameter for a bird to fly out, or put a mesh screening on
the inside. I know it's a lot of trouble for some people, but it is the only way
to make them safe for birds. <BR><BR>Sharon <BR>Baraboo, Sauk
County<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>