Over the weekend, the Audubon
Society conducted its annual
Christmas bird count in Fort Worth
and reported fewer birds and fewer
varieties.
The count was made at various
locations in the city, including
the 3400 acre Fort Worth Nature
Center.
A naturalist at the center, Tom
Wood, said there may be several
reasons for the reduced population.
I believe probably the mild winter
that we've had a lot of our winter
birds are just not down here yet.
I had a large part to do with it.
This has been a poor year as far as
the plants go.
The wildlife food crop is very low
and there may be some birds that
didn't come here just for that
reason. There's not many not much
food out there.
Why should just an ordinary citizen
wouldn't know a sparrow from a crow
care about the bird population
one way or another?
Well, for one thing, there are kind
of an indicator of the quality of
our environment. If the birds begin
dying, maybe from pesticides,
maybe from the pollution
in the air or water,
they would be an indicator to us
that something is wrong.
And also they add to the quality
of life. It's nice to have birds
around to watch whether you're an
ardent bird watcher or you just
enjoy seeing him at your feet.
The count, by the way, did not
reveal a reduction in the number of
blue build bombers or witling
tankers, which nest at nearby
Carswell Air Force Base.
Jack Brown, The Texas News.