Forward the ‘new' Bermuda

May 20, 2004

Dear Sir,

Here's something you've heard before: don't file for permission: knock it down and pay the fine. Burn her bird, burn her; she ain't got no Mama. Forward the new Bermuda: the party is out of control and the laws have no teeth. If you are rich, you can invent your prerogatives. If you are poor, well you better send your kids to that public school and hope for the best.

JOHN ZUILL

Pembroke

Pollution is the culprit

May 24, 2004

Dear Sir,

I believe those wishing to promote themselves to the public as experts in any field should be properly qualified in the chosen area and have as much experience as possible, and presumably as a result of their training, be in a position to observe and make valid conclusions.

The native North American Bluebird, which at some time in the past found its way to Bermuda, appears to have attracted a political following of all manner of “experts” seeking to explain the dwindling numbers by any other means except the politically unpalatable reality: over development (habitat destruction), pollution of food source (pesticides in the food chain), removal and pollution of water supply (rigorous anti-mosquito campaign), noise and air pollution (vehicle emissions).

Avian mites, are universal and probably one of the most successful and oldest of all obligate parasites. They are not insects, but rather arthropods, related to their free-living cousins the spiders. As eight-legged pre-historic relatives of their cousins the ticks, they are also members of the acarid family …and cannot jump. Yes some can run fast, some can only climb with the help of barbs or suckers on the end of their legs, some can burrow beneath the outer layers of skin but all have one thing in common: they are not constructed to jump.

Any free living bird has mites. They evolved together. There are feather mites feeding on feathers, body mites that are able to suck blood from their host at night, mites that feed on sloughing keratinised skin (leg mites) and so on. (Even humans have their own kind of mites, usually living in eyebrows!)

Healthy, robust birds are able to keep the numbers down by grooming removing them with their beaks and swallowing them. This is mainly true of the meat-eating birds. Sparrows have a clever way of reducing mite numbers, by bathing in the hot sand. Mites are attracted to heat, moving up the temperature gradient to places of greater warmth, which is how they find their host, since they do not have eyes.

Body mites cannot cross significant distances without their host, preferring to linger in nests awaiting their return and indeed feather mites require very intimate contact, with transmission taking place vertically from parents to their young.

Other than that, different bird species would need to share the same habitat/food source very closely indeed for lateral transmission to occur. Sparrows are most certainly the reservoir for some of the mites affecting poultry, as you will always find them together in a farm setting.

Starlings are probably closer to chickens in a feral setting, as they both chickens and starlings will comb the ground for worms and bugs in the early mornings and late evenings. I have never seen a bluebird strutting up close to a chicken, nor can chickens fly up to the height of any bluebird's nest, much less push itself through the little man-made bluebird hole into the nest.

The burden of mites increases with corresponding immune stress. Nothing is more of a stress to the fragile bluebird than pesticides in the food chain affecting diet. Mites are extremely adaptable, and have developed a remarkable resistance to pesticides. There are, however, very useful oral and topical biological preparations available from your licensed veterinarian, if you have the desire to try to save an individual clutch of bluebirds from the ultimate future demise of their clan.

If you want to save the clan, ban all organophosphate insecticides, limit vehicle emissions, ban loud noise, ban any more housing development, ban swimming pools and all their attendant chemicals, do something about the incinerator and Belco emissions.

BERMUDA BLUES

Pembroke

Where's the law and order?

May 27, 2004

Dear Sir,

Why weren't the Police more vigilant from “jump street”? Here we were, families enjoying the events taking place on May 24 one minute and the next minute being “blown away” by what we were witnessing.

I'm sure I wasn't the only Bermudian who felt embarrassed and dismayed by the raucous that had taken place at the National Sports Centre ...of all days, Bermuda Day.

Honestly, it had been (and still is) mind boggling ; witnessing a group of youths display such disrespect towards the public who had been there (NSC) relishing in the cultural event(s)... but, to add insult to injury was that Police presence was not as visible as I feel it should've been to be a deterrent.

This was one of those things where-by “closing the gate after the horses runs away” In this case they just WALKED away ... Someone tell me how are we allowing this?

Unfortunately many decent youngsters become stigmatise by the behaviours of disorderly boys and girls... The vast amount of people can't distinguish who are good and who are the bad ones at face value; but we ALL know when we witness a scene as at NSC the other day you knew something was about to hit the fan

The fella “Lance Hayward” could have seen what was happening.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

St. George's