Phoenix bird real12/14/2023 ![]() There are estimated to have been about 2,000 bald eagles in Maine in 1820, the year we became a state, but fewer than 60 birds by the late 1960s.Įnough was enough. DDT expressed itself in the birds cruelly, including by thinning the shells of eagle eggs such that they could easily crack, killing the developing young inside.ĭDT wasn’t commercially available in the United States until 1945, but it didn’t take long to impact eagle populations. Birds would eat fish or other prey contaminated with small amounts of the toxin, which would accumulate in their bodies. ![]() Habitat loss and polluted water were factors, but the major culprit was a widely used pesticide known as DDT. The phoenix was said to resemble an eagle, so there’s that, but more importantly the bald eagle has undergone a rebirth of almost mythical proportions.īald eagle populations were way down in the middle of the 1900s, nearly two centuries after the bird had become an official symbol of the United States. The closest is surely the American bald eagle. Despite the general disunity of opinion, however, classical scholars do all agree that you’ll never see one flapping over greater Portland.īut that doesn’t mean that Maine doesn’t have phoenixes of our own. It was variously red and yellow, or brightly colored like a peacock, or the bright purple associated with Phoenician civilization, where the bird derived its name. It was often depicted as an eagle, but elsewhere as a rooster. There’s also disagreement about what the phoenix looked like. It’s said to have lived for 500 years before dying and being born again, though there’s disagreement about whether that rebirth occurs in an explosion of flames or after regular decomposition. The phoenix is a part of ancient Greek folklore, a giant bird associated with the sun. Profound.I’ll write about a lot of animals in this column about Maine wildlife, but I won’t write much about the phoenix. The beneficial effects of one burn last 3 to 5 years. ![]() Studies indicate that habitats kept open through burning result in greater populations of many different species over time. “Especially if the loss of the nest occurs early in the incubation cycle.” “While some turkey nests are lost in spring burns, evidence shows that most hens will re-nest,” says Kennamer. Long-term gains outweigh short-term losses These burns preserve and promote nut trees while reducing unwanted brush and fire-intolerant species such as maple, elm, and ash.Ī growing season burn conducted when the buds have started to break (April to very early May) provides the most effective control of unwanted trees and shrubs. A low-intensity burn, or so called “cool burn,” is achieved through higher humidity, shorter flame lengths, and longer residence time - the amount of time flames are present in one spot. Oaks, and to a lesser extent, hickories, are adapted to fire. ![]() Burning also removes dead plants and leaves, exposing nuts and soil to foraging wildlife.īurning benefits nut trees, a major nutritional source It controls taller, competing shrubs and trees, allowing more sunlight to reach growing flowers and attracting insects (a turkey poult’s diet is 90% insects). Burning forces plants to re-sprout, providing tender, nutritional shoots. Burning keeps the pantry stocked with varietyįor most wildlife, the nutritional value of habitat is determined by food availability within four feet of the ground, where the majority of critters forage. Here are three good reasons why you should consider burning your wildlife habitat. His research demonstrates nesting and brood habitat created by a growing season prescribed burn, despite the loss of a few nests, benefits the turkey population.Īnd it is not just wild turkeys that benefit many wildlife species depend on the fire-adapted plant communities of prairie, savannas, and oak woodlands. “A common misconception is that prescribed burns during the growing season are detrimental to wild turkey populations because they burn lots of nests,” said James Earl Kennamer, the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) Chief Conservation Officer (currently Development Advisor to the CEO). Photo courtesy of WI Department of Natural Resources And when they are, they offer habitat for important wildlife species such as the wild turkey, which once vied to become our nation’s symbol (sorry Ben Franklin, you tried). It’s a tale for sure, but in truth many of our nation’s landscapes are renewed and reborn through fire. The Phoenix, a bird of Greek mythology, was destroyed and reborn in fire: a symbol of rejuvenation and long life. ![]()
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