News Release
Eagle Nature Foundation, Ltd.
300 East Hickory Street, Apple River, IL 61001
Phone: 815-594-2306 Fax: 815-594-2305 Web Site: eaglenature.com
e-mail: eaglenature.tni@juno.com Tax Exempt No. 36-4015400
| For Immediate Release | August 20, 2015 |
Fall Bird Count Announced
Apple River, IL) On Sept. 12 this year, Terrence N. Ingram, President of the Eagle Nature Foundation, invites the public to join him as he will be counting all the birds that he can find in the Apple Creek Prairie and Apple Creek Woods from dawn to dusk. He will be taking the first step to document the loss of birds that has occurred due to aerial spraying of the commercial agricultural fields over one half mile from Apple Creek property that took place during the last week of July and the first week in August. During a period of two weeks these planes were turning around right over Apple Creek Farm when they were spraying the corn fields nearby.
Some of the fields were sprayed twice during that one two-week period, first by a yellow plane and then by a white plane. By the time they had finished most of the birds within one half mile of the fields had disappeared. If this poison they were spraying is killing birds that are living over one half mile from the target fields, just think of what damage this same poison must be doing to other wildlife, including you and me; many of whom are living less than one half mile from these same fields being sprayed.
Apple Creek has lost most of its common birds as well as the many insects upon which these birds were feeding. Apple Creek lost all of the red-winged blackbirds, cowbirds, house wrens, chickadees, chimney swifts, robins, brown thrashers, woodpeckers and many others. The few birds that are left, mainly house sparrows, are not even eating a half gallon of bird seed a day from Mr. Ingram’s feeders, whereas, three weeks ago they were going through 2 gallons of seed every day. Even if you cannot join Mr. Ingram on the 12th you are urged you to help the Eagle Nature Foundation with a $ pledge for each species and/or bird that he is able to see or hear on that day. Normally 30 to 40 species in one day, are seen at Apple Creek, but because of these sprays, it is questionable whether Mr. Ingram will find even 20 species on Sept. 12 and definitely not hundreds of birds.
During his Big Bird Day on May 9th of this year, he recorded 65 different bird species in this same area. Join Mr. Ingram on Sept. 12, or at least send in a $ pledge to help ENF document the damage these sprays are doing to our bird life and to the environment in which we are all living. If the birds are now dying because of the sprays, will you and I be next?
For more information contact: Terrence N. Ingram, Exec. Director, Eagle Nature Foundation, 300 East Hickory St., Apple River, IL 61001 Phone 815-594-2306