I have sent a letter to Jenny Dickson of the DEEP requesting specific information with which I could reply to Mr Sheehan or that preferably she could reply to the letter since she has the credentials & all the pertinent information to inform the writer.  Either way, I think it's important to address the individual 's concerns.  Thanks again to all who replied.
Bev propen.

We have asimilar problem in Doñana National Park, in southern Spain. There we havedocumented roosting and nesting colonies of different species (herons, eggrets,spoonbills) in big cork trees since the XVIII century. Only recently (last 50years) the nitrates and phosphates from the bird droppings are contributing tothe death of these trees.

We haveseveral factors playing together here; less photosynthesis, less efficient useof water from the tree due to the salts, reduced numbers of big trees (in theXVIII century the cork trees covered aprox 20% of the area with severalthousands of centenary trees; today only a hundred of century-old trees remain,some estimated to be 500 years old), increasing numbers of birds due toprotection and reduced predation, lower phreatic level (up to 20 mts in someareas) due to water extraction for agriculture (legal and illegal), increased temperatures and drought, and a fungalinfection (Phytophthora).

So, indifferent areas we see different causes, and depending on the subject toprotect (could be the birds, could be the trees, etc), there is a differentaction. I think that Winie has made a wonderful resume of the situation inCharles Island, and I fully support her conclusion, this is an opportunity toengage citizens about something that they see as “weird”. Knowledge is neverbad..

 Best

Félix

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I received some more information about the situation at Charles Island:

The birds are not killing the trees. There is a soil fungus (Armillaria) that has weakened the trees and caused wood rot. Additionally, there are invasive vines (bittersweet) that have both strangled the trees and weighed down the crowns. The deer population, which in 2010 it exceeded 1500 deer/sq mile(!!) eliminated any natural regeneration and the mid-canopy which was not only nesting habitat for Snowy Egret and Glossy Ibis, but a wind-break of sorts for the tree trunks. This created conditions where the trees were very vulnerable to storm damage by the time Irene and Sandy came along and blew down the weak, top-heavy trees. Current efforts by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection include habitat restoration (removal of downed debris, control of invasives, planting of fungus resistant and salt tolerant trees the birds will use) and protection of the reduced nesting habitat that still exists.  This is one of less than a handful of islands in Connecticut that supports nesting by the state threatened Snowy and Great Egrets and as such the Natural Area Preserve and State Park are recognized by Audubon as an Important Bird Area.

Patrick

Patrick M. Comins, Director of Bird Conservation, Audubon Connecticut
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