Have you noticed any change in the types of wildlife seen in your area in the last 5-10 years? Specify please.

Question

Have you noticed any change in the types of wildlife seen in your area in the last 5-10 years? Specify please.

Answer 1

Central California Coast:  More crows and ravens, fewer songbirds, especially migratory birds.  Western bluebirds have become rare.  Fewer butterfly species.  Larger numbers of Eastern fox squirrels.  Black bears and mountain lions slowly increasing numbers and range.  In the ocean, Orcas becoming more common, as are blue whales.  Warm water species seen in growing numbers, such as Humboldt squid.  Sea otter numbers fluctuating rapidly.  Rare birds (for this area), such as puffins, seen more often, possibly indicating distress in their normal ranges.  Bees disappearing.

Answer 2

Well, the mountain lion used to roam freely in my area, but is now extirpated from major portions of its former range due to development.  So--called "planned communities" failed to incorporate adequate wildlife corridors and did not protect enough open space to allow this creature to exist where it would have been able to do so.  This results in a phenomenon known as "mesopredator release," where the absence of a top predator leads to an increase in the population of mesopredators such as raccoons,skunks, foxes, snakes and feral cats, which prey upon smaller, more vulnerable prey species that the top predator probably would not feed on.  In my area, biologists are concerned about populations of threatened or endangered songbirds like the California gnatcatcher and the coastal cactus wren, as predatory species may prey upon not only the birds themselves but their eggs.

Lyme Connecticut became infamous for its association with Lyme's Disease, which became prevalent there after the removal of the mountain lion, which feeds on deer, whose population proliferated without predation, hence an increase in the problematic tick population.

There have been other population shifts as well, but this one is the most significant.

Edit:  One of the few "cool" facts about Lyme's Disease is the lack of prevalence of the disease in our area due to the fact  that the blood of western fence and alligator lizards has a component that seems to neutralize the infecting agent.  Haven't checked in lately to see how the studies are doing, but they are hoping that by studying this relationship, a cure can be found.

Answer 3

Manitoba:  there's more squirrels, rabbits, raccoons in this town than 20 years ago because of two reasons: one -  the racoons seem north of where they should be ; two -  the rabbits and squrrels are here because people are richer and not eating them anymore.

Answer 4

i have noticed that there is less noise in the woods than there used to be. you used to be able to hear alot of small animals such as birds chirping,and squirrels running around. now you hear less and less of them.

Answer 5

We bought a smallholding nine years ago. The area is an agricultural one in the North East of England. When we arrived they land had been very heavily compacted and subjected to liberal use of agricultural chemicals.

We redesigned the smallholding using Permaculture principles, (see What is Permaculture below)  including digging an acre pond, planting 2800 trees in a mixed native woodland. The change in variety and amount of wildlife is incredible, even our 'agricultural' neighbours are impressed. We have loads of different butterflies, bees, wasps, dragonflies, water voles, foxes, deer, pheasants, grass snakes, ducks, woodpeckers, kingfishers, barn owls, tawny owls, short tailed voles, hedgehogs, moor hens, weasels, frogs, toads, newts, moles, herons, kestrels, mice, rats, robins, starlings, tench, squirrels etc etc.

The flora and fauna are getting richer year on year. As the smallholding matures, the fruit and nut trees, the perennial food cropping plants, the pond are more and more 'productive' and more and more wildlife migrates into the area.

What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is to live ethically and sustainably so we have to understand eco systems and how the natural world works. The key is to understand that we are a single system; not separate. Whatever we do locally affects other people and the environment globally. Local solutions provide the best answers, we have different climates, soils, flora and fauna. Different needs, wants, tradition and cultures. But by acting locally we must keep an eye on the Horizon by limiting the damage on the environment and people globally. For example Global Warming affects us all.

Permaculture seeks to design ways of meeting man's needs by creating permanent high-yielding agricultural ecosystems. It is a solution aimed at how people can live on the smallest amount of land possible. The natural landscape (the rest, the wilderness is then not used by man) it is then left alone to heal and so it functions holistically.

Local responsibility ensures that people become as auto sufficient as possible both individually and as trading communities. Man is responsible for meeting his own needs for fuel, food and dealing with his own outputs and wastes.

Timber is grown on site in mixed native woodlands. This enriches the local ecosystem but its basis is the opposition of meeting man's needs by deforestation of the remaining natural and ancient forests/woodlands. Permaculture is a system of observation and least possible intervention both in terms of the home and the wilderness. It's leading principle is that eco-systems will naturally re-balance if left alone.

Hence the desire to create high yielding 'homesteads' to meet man's needs as efficiently as possible. By creating our own mini high yielding systems for our own use we use the least amount of everything possible. The Ethics of Permaculture are: Earth Care this is simply working with nature not against it. Limiting consumption and self limiting family size so there is less demand on natural systems/finite resources/finite land.

People Care

By being as self reliant as possible we do not exploit others, nor the land. Permaculture seeks to provide Permanent Agriculture. For example trees that are planted today on the 'homestead' will be inheritance for your grandchildren's' generation. Mixed woodlands of native trees on the homestead are managed so they provide food and fuel but the key principle is PERMANENT culture. You are investing in the future but having your needs met as ethically as possible whilst providing a legacy for future generations.

Fair Shares

One earth it is socially just to share with everyone, all other living things and with future generations. By limiting our consumption of everything including family size it supports the needs of everyone throughout the world to have access to clean water, clean air, food, shelter, fair and living wage, community etc.

Answer 6

I used to be able to find a blandings turtle every few weeks in the summertime. I haven't seen one in years. We also have lost other kinds of turtles, reptiles, birds. Foxes have disappeared while coyotes are a problem. More and more of our wildlife is becoming road art. This past summer someone plowed into a mom deer, leaving her twins to starve. We couldn't find anyone in the area that could take them in, and we honestly don't know if they made it.

Answer 7

A lot of trees have been cut so far in the 8 years I have been living here. I have seen that squirrels, are now living inside roofs, and where ever there are holes in the exterior part of the apartment complex. They have no place to live, a lot of trees are cut down.

Answer 8

I'm actually from the Lyme Connecticut area... I've never heard of the Mountain lion theory... We defiantly have been mountain lion free for... I'm guessing 200 years. We do have major deer population problems though.

But in the Connecticut area: LOTS more turkeys. More beaver. More manatee (thats right, we had a stray manatee wander up the coast). Less raccoon (because or rabies). More coyote. Fewer cats (thanks coyotes!)

Answer 9

North central U.S.  No significant changes here, all is well.

Answer 10

I live in a suburb near a medium size city.  We have seen fox and also have coyotes  around.  We also get rats every time a new housing or shopping area is developed. We have possum and raccoons too.  There is so much less countryside for the animals now, so they have no choice but to go to the suburbs with us. We always try live trap  the rats and move them to a nice country place. It's not their fault, it's people who want to develop everything in sight.

Answer 11

5 years ago, Birds were commonly seen in our local town streets. 5 years later, they can now only be found in the church in a very small group.