Category Geography

Are bird feeders all that good?

Some people argue that feeding wild birds will affect the bird population, and will cause a whole host of problems for wild birds and the environment. They say that wild birds will stop looking for food in their own habitats, and instead go for the easy access to grains in the feeders. While doing so, they may pose a threat to smaller birds they hunt as food. Still, setting up feeder points and creating a natural system around it is great service to the birds. In snowy winters they won’t starve, in hot summer days they won’t go thirsty.

Making our backyards as bird-friendly as possible seems, on the surface, a smart ecological decision, and one of the easiest things we can do to set right some of the damage we bumbling humans have done to this planet.

When we bring back native plants and encourage the proliferation of natural systems, at least on our little plot of land birds benefit. We benefit by getting to witness many common songbirds, and nature as a whole benefits.

So let’s be good residents of the natural world.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What are steps to control disease transmission at the feeders?

Scientists have reported that bird feeders sometimes spread diseases among birds. This, of course, is rare. But it is a good enough reason to stop feeding birds, asks the author. Any place where animals congregate presents the potential for disease to spread. Birds spread their wings across the ecosystem and so have fewer opportunities for contact with each other. However, these steps will help prevent/control disease transmission at the feeders.

(a) Clean the feeders once in two weeks with 10% non-chlorinated bleach solution. If you see a lot of bird seed waste or bird droppings, change this to weekly cleaning.
(b) Once a week, rake and clean the ground area below the feeder. This is where seed-hulls fall attracting mice. Rodents are usually credited with spreading diseases.
(c) Store the seeds in a dry, secure place. Take care to see that they do not grow mould and do not become food for rodents. Use solid containers, rather than leave them in sacks that can be accessed by mice and squirrels.
(d) See that feeders and the surrounding areas do not have sharp-edged materials. Fences with prickly wires or poles are likely to harm the birds.
(e) If you find the feeders over-crowded, think of a few more such arrangements. You are lucky, birds like what you offer and are bringing friends, so give them more space and food!
(f) Make sure the bird feeder is stocked regularly when you go on vacation, and the bird visitors are safeguarded from predators.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Why we should have bird feeders?

If you have bird feeders, you can watch Nature in your compound, in your neighbourhood. You can enjoy the sight and sounds of birds closely. Otherwise these birds stay on tree-tops.

(a) You can go on a step ahead and set up several types of feeders for different birds. Then you can plant native plants around it. You can have a pond dug up. With all these, you can transform your backyard into a natural habitat, and create a mini ecosystem, a bird sanctuary. People who have a well-planted backyard report seeing a variety of birds.
(b) Once the feeders get going, you will find squirrels and other small animals coming in to “steal” the grain or forage for it on the ground. Your feeders will benefit a sizeable number of animals. Of course, cats will make visits too, looking for easy prey, but you are calling a natural world, right?

So, making a backyard as bird-friendly as possible seems like a smart ecological decision. It is an easy way to compensate for all the million methods by which we are trying to destroy the planet.

The benefits for ourselves include the sight of a variety of birds, the chance to watch their behaviour and food habits up close and listen to their songs and chatter.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What weather conditions are there at mountains?

Weather up high

The main differences in climate of mountains are temperature and moisture. The temperature on mountains becomes colder the higher the altitude gets. Mountains tend to have much wetter climates than the surrounding flat land. Mountain weather conditions can change dramatically from one hour to the next. Mountains can be found in hot and cold countries. But if you go for a walk in the mountains, be prepared for any type of weather. Mountains can be sunny one moment, and cold and windy the next.

There can be snow on mountain peaks in hot weather.

The highest part of a mountain is also the coldest. High up, the air is very thin and cannot hold much heat. Mountains are so tall that they make their own weather. They act as a barrier, forcing air to rise up and over them. The air cools when it passes over     the mountain and this creates more rain and snow.

Mountains can be wet on one side, but dry and sunny on the other!

The side of a mountain facing the wind is the wettest. This is because the wind carries warm, damp air that falls as rain when it reaches the cold mountain. By the time the air has passed over the mountain peak, it is drier and there is no rain left to fall on the other side! The dry side is said to be in a ‘rain shadow’.

The mountains are getting warmer.

The chemicals and fuels that we use each day release harmful gases. This pollution traps hot air around the Earth causing temperatures to rise. As the glaciers melt, plants and animals move up the mountain, taking over from wildlife that used to live in colder part. The land below may also flood.

Picture Credit : Google

 

How mountain ranges get their shape?

Shaping mountains

Most mountains are very old. But mountains like the Himalayas and the Rockies are young (only about 70 million years old!) These mountains have jagged peaks. Old mountains are smoother because their edges have been worn away.

Over thousands of years, rain, wind and ice wear away the hard rock.

The effect of wind, rain and ice on the rock is called erosion. Rainwater seeps inside the rock and freezes. As it does so, the water expands and eventually cracks and breaks the rock. Fierce winds also blow sand and tiny pieces of rock onto the mountain, slowly wearing it away.

Some mountain rivers are always frozen.

Rivers flow down mountains, carrying rocks and pebbles that cut into the rock. Up high, the rivers are frozen. These massive ice blocks are called glaciers. When glaciers move they crack the rock, and stones tear the mountain-sides.

Water carves out valleys as it flows down mountains to the sea.

Valleys are deep areas of land running between mountains. They are formed by the action of rivers and glaciers. Block mountains also create rift valleys (such as the Great Rift Valley in Africa) when the Earth’s plates move apart. Valleys are very fertile because minerals in the river water are deposited on the flat land.

Picture Credit : Google

 

Where we can find mountains?

Mountains everywhere

We see Land Mountains in many parts of the world. But mountains can also be found under the sea and even on other planets in space. Scientists and explorers use special equipment to study mountains everywhere.

Mountain ranges can be found in the ocean.

Some ocean mountains are so huge that their tops form islands where people can live — Iceland is one example. Mauna Kea, in Hawaii, rises 10,200 metres from the bottom of the sea. It is the Earth’s largest mountain, even though Mount Everest rises 8,850 metres above land. Sometimes, gaps in the ocean rocks cause gas to escape and the water to boil.

 

This mountain is found on Mars.

Space scientists have been studying the surface of other planets. They have found enormous volcanic mountains on Mars, like Olympus Mons, its highest mountain. It is 22,860 metres tall — three times higher than Mount Everest.

Special robots and cameras are used to study sea and space mountains.

Remote-controlled machines fitted with cameras travel millions of kilometres to Mars. They take pictures of the planet’s mountainous surface. Underwater robots, called submersibles, look at the ocean floor and find out more about underwater mountains.

Picture Credit : Google