These three birds [the American woodcock, the ruffed grouse and the
whip-poor-will]...are "coal mine canaries" telling us by their absence
that young forest habitats are quickly disappearing. Are we listening?
Do we hear the emptiness? Will we listen?'

...Rachel Carson’s classic book Silent Spring sounded the alarm over the long-term effects of the misuse of pesticides, especially those that persist for decades in the environment. Carson described how the misuse of pesticides, in particular DDT, unintentionally led to raptor eggshell thinning and negatively impacted populations of non-target songbirds either by direct poisoning or indirectly through their food sources. The premise of her historic book was if corrective actions were not taken soon, eventually the sounds of spring would disappear. Carson was dismissed by some as an alarmist and her credibility was attacked by the chemical industry. Over time the truth of her warnings became quite evident in field studies and led to a new awareness in
the use of pesticides.

Although not as insidious as pesticides, a similar decline is occurring with populations of birds and other wildlife that utilize grasslands, prairies, and young dense forest habitats. The vitality of these habitats is measured not only by their existence, but also by the time since the last major vegetative disturbance. Historically, these habitats followed natural, catastrophic destructive events such as firestorms, tornadoes, and massive insect infestations.Young, regenerating forests lay scattered across the predominantly forested landscape where patches of old forests eventually died and had fallen in on themselves. The process of constant, destructive change and death in the natural environment is the youthful renovation of habitats which result in a rich diversity of wildlife. Every species’existence is in a constant flow of temporarily disappearing and recolonizing in a diverse, ever-changing environment.

To read the full story download the free pdf file provided by the Ruffed Grouse Society

This is a reprint of the Summer 2009 Ruffed Grouse Society magazine article,
which appeared on pages 40-42,by Steven Backs, Wildlife Research Biologist, Indiana Fish and Wildlife Department of Natural Resources.