You can still enjoy a beautiful sunset on Guam, but the tropicl island is almost devoid of birds. — Wikipedia photo
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adapable to change.” — Charles Darwin.
What Do You Think?
As a hiker, I’ve seen many a snake, from 27 canyon rattlers in one day in the Grand Canyon to a small coral snake at Texas’ Santa Ana State National Wildlife Refuge that a stupid birder picked up — and of course was bitten.
The brown tree snake that has killed of the birds on Guam.
I’ve always left snakes alone, appreciating their contributions to the ecosystem, especially that of keeping rodent populations in check.
The only exception was a poisonous copperhead that I discovered in my Gulf Coast backyard. That one got chopped into a dozen pieces by the nearby hoe I grabbed because a vision of one of my young children being bitten flashed through my head.
So why would I now rejoice after reading this morning that brown tree snakes, which are not poisonous, are going to be killed by the thousands on Guam?
It’s because since World War II, when these snakes hitched a ride on U.S.planes and ships to Guam, these nasty critters have killed off almost all of the tropical island’s birds. As a passionate birdwatcher, I was infected with a personal vendetta against these slithery critters after visiting Guam a few years back. The silence of the trees, from which a symphony of bird song did not ring,was deafening with the significance of the horror.
The bird sanctuary on Rota where I got to watch birds, including the magnificent red-footed boobies, to my heart’s content.
Thankfully, my daughter, who was living on Guam at the time, treated me to a few days’ stay on the nearby island of Rota. Never had bird song sounded so sweet when it greeted us as we stepped off the plane. It made, however, the lack of birdsong on Guam seem even more tragic.
You can read all about the plans to poison the brown tree snakes with a simple human headache remedy at: http://tinyurl.com/bj3dbhh
I suspect, however, that Guam’s bird population will never recover. But hopefully other tropical islands will be spared the loss of their birds.
What do you think?
The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Bean’s Pat: A discussion for the writers among us http://tinyurl.com/af8mulh And once again I ask: What do you think?
Pat Bean's blog 
Snakes like for example say buffalo must be managed and that is where our brain power is tested.
While I generally prefer to let Nature take her course, even when it involves death, when it comes to interference with Nature by humans and the introduction of invasive species, I figure humans need to take responsiibility for remedying the problems they’ve caused. The snakes should go, but I still feel sorry for the snakes that have to die, since they’re just being and doing what they were created to be and do. We surely do royally screw things up sometimes, don’t we? :>(
Yup. Sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad.
Write and Smile Pat Beanhttps://patbean.wordpress.com > Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:18:32 +0000 > To: patbean@msn.com >
Pat…I’ve publicly stated before “next to tornados, I like snakes best”! I too respect the native species in the ecosystem, but I’m not gonna lose any sleep whatsoever over this extermination attempt of a non-native invasive reeking havoc on the local bird population. Dang! Hope their efforts prove effective (and I doubt if their is any chance of tornados helping out over there)
I am with you I love the birdlife and stay far away from snakes, stinging insects and spiders. It is a fine balance in ecosystems and sometimes something must be given up in order to gain and tipped that balance back to normal levels again. Great Post – Happy Monday!
Buhhh. *shudder* Being from Florida and an avid hiker/creek stomper/ kayaker, the idea of an infestation of snakes SO bad that it kills all the birds is nightmarish beyond belief!! That would be rattlers, copperheads, and moccasins striking at my heels and oars all over the place. Please, gods, get rid of the things!
Perhaps some bird will come along, like the Secretary bird that eats snakes, and help get the balance back in line. Wouldn’t that be great.
On one hand the introduction of non-indigenous species can, without question, spell ‘disastrous’ results for native wildlife and Eco-systems. We can look to Australia for evidence of this; cane toads, rabbits, hooved grazers, myna birds, Europeans…
On the other hand these introductions, intentionally or otherwise, are also prefect examples of ‘nature taking its course’. Once a balance is disturbed, a new balance is created. There is no going back. Total eradication of brown tree snakes is an ambitious undertaking, an undertaking which will undeniably disturb the current balance, and, if successful, who knows the outcome….
You are so right Alex. I became aware of just how little it takes when I was doing a story on Timpanogas Cave. And old wooden water pipe line was replaced with a more modern one that didn’t leak, and all the small animals, including snakes, had to move to the other side of the canyon to get water. Change is inevitable. But I prefer birds and think the brown tree snake is an ugly snake in the grass.