Reasons not to use plastic bags

[lulubelle]

Plastic grocery bags are seemingly a standard in our lives. I have been trying not to use them at all if I can help it. I was at the beds this morning (showed up at work only to find I work tomorrow, not today, so off to the beds I went!!) As I was heading down the front eastern road, I was scanning bed 12 and immediately noticed 3 Common Moorhens and a Green Heron. They were staring intently at what appeared to be a black & white bird, flapping around haplessly in the water, in the reeds. I couldn't figure out what it was, so I grabbed my bins for a closer look and much to my absolute dismay, I was looking at a Coot that seemd to be covered in a wet white plastic grocery bag. I couldn't tell if it was around the neck, but could tell it seemd to be draped across the birds back and wings. The Green Heron flew, but the 3 Moorhens hovered around the poor bird as it struggled to move. It finally was able to move 5-6 inches and seemd to just collapse, exhausted. It was looking around as I was trying to figure out what I could do. Not knowing exactly how deep the pond was (just shy of mid pond in location) or if the bird would survive the time it would take me to run home and get my NEOS overboots, I sat there feeling as helpless I as I knew the bird to be. I drove to the end and turned around, stopping to assess the bird, only to discover that I couldn't find it. I can't imagine that it was able to move far, but I couldn't see that it was still in the same spot either. The 3 Moorhens were still in the same area, but feeding. I would like to think that it was able to move into the reeds & was able to pull the bag off off, but don't know. I have driven by the Arlington landfill many times and been disgusted to see the grocery bags plastered against the fence by the wind and been troubled by the fact that so many of people don't recycle them and that the city of Arlington obviously doesn't sort through it's trash for recyclables. Please recycle your plastic bags - many grocery stores have bins for them.

[Charley]

Laura, in the event you do feel compelled to wade into the sludge be ready to sink up to your armpits in muck. Also, if it were I, I'd go directly to the clinic for a tetanus shot. One other thing. Be careful because birds are not always so grateful when you rescue them. I do agree that we should stop using plastic bags.

Charley

[lulubelle]

Charley, I was leery of stepping into the pond for many reasons - the possibility of being up to my arm pits in muck was just one of them. Have to say that I wouldn't have thought about the Tetanus shot - a most unpleasant experience in my recent memory. I did consider that the bird may not react pleasantly even if I could get to it - it was just really heart rending to watch the bird struggle.

On the brighter side of my morning, I did spot 2 Yellow Warblers on the drive in and they were actually singing!

[Charley]

It is a bit heart breaking to watch one in distress. I've seen two female teal trapped by snapping turtles. In both instances the duck finally got free. The last one with the help of a compassionate Greg Cook, who Gail Morris and I persuaded to wade out to the rescue. No, he didn't go get a shot. Greg is tough... ;-)

Charley

[lulubelle]

Actually, I was thinking of Greg as I watched the bird and the fact that I had heard that he had waded out to help a bird was what gave me the fleeting thought of doing it myself. I just couldn't do it and I want to know how he got the smell out of his car after he rode home with the muck on him!

[gail]

Our bird wasn't very far from the shore and although Greg edged out into the muck, he was able to use a long stick to dissuade the turtle. It did take a while but Greg is always up for a challenge.

And, there are so many choices of cloth bags that birders and nature lovers should DEFINITELY have them in their back seat ready for all kinds of uses.

Which brings me to my other pet peeve - 6 packs of cokes with plastic rings connecting them. If you use these 6 packs PLEASE cut them up thoroughly before putting them in your recycle or trash can. I've seen a horrible example of waterfowl dying because they got one ring caught on their bill and could not eat. Starvation is a tough way to die.

[camcar]

What is the deal with the turtle? Was he going for food or did he get trigger happy? If he was trying to eat the teal, wouldn't you be breaking the cardinal rule of watching wildlife? The probability of the turtle successfully eating the teal is probably slim, but still.
As for plastic bags- I am as big a conservationist as the next, but as a pet owner I love plastic bags. Plastic bags from the store are great for picking up after a dog, something cloth bags are... not quite as good at.

Cameron

[gail]

As I'm not a turtle, I won't venture to guess what it was doing.

Cameron, this gets into a long drawn out war of words. And, I don't want to go there. There are times when I step in and change the course of life - whether it's mine (i.e., chemo to battle cancer) or another living creature (i.e., medications for our pets).

You just have to make the call depending on the situation or choose to walk away. Since no one was there besides Charley, Greg and I, no one else could speak as to the decision we made because they wouldn't have all the facts.

[camcar]

I respect that choice/answer and I tend to agree. I was just looking out for the turtle. Reptiles seem to always be misrepresented and not treated like our furred and feathered friends. Too often bias seems to lead to... poor choices. But that doesn't seem to be the case and I wasn't trying to get into any arguments on wildlife observation ethics, just a little explanation.

Thanks,
Cameron

[Charley]

Cameron, I think this is a thread that deserves a bit of attention. Short circuiting nature is not a good thing to do. Could the turtle have actually eaten the Teal? Most certainly it could. Did it deserve a meal? Certainly it did. However, we were standing a mere 8-10 feet away watching this poor Teal literally fighting for her life. Our human nature kicked in and we let "compassion" win out over walking away. I do remember that we all three struggled with the decision at the time and we did feel bad for the Snapping Turtle. Now, about the smell in Greg's car...Why do you think he bought that new Xterra???