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| Indian Nations Audubon Society Eastern Oklahoma Muskogee, Tahlequah, Wagoner Fort Gibson & Tenkiller Lakes |
| Martha the Passenger Pigeon |
| Martha the Passenger Pigeon National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.) |
| Passenger Pigeon Former Historical Distribution |
| Once Was Martha by Berlin A. Heck Broken Bow, OK Have you ever seen a Passenger Pigeon? I’ll give you a hint; the last one, Martha, died September 1, 1914 in her cage at the Cincinnati Zoo. The last large flock of these remarkable birds seen in Oklahoma was in 1886, just a few years before the last one disappeared from the wild. Why did I bring up such a subject? I guess because September always reminds me of Passenger Pigeons, a subject that saddens me because I have never seen one nor will I ever see one. In the early 1800's, the Passenger Pigeon population in this Country was estimated to be more than 9 billion birds. Nesting and roosting colonies in the vast virgin forests sometimes covered hundreds of square miles where every limb in every tree was dense with pigeons. In the mid 1800's, various newspapers reported “hunts” in which as many as 1,200 pigeons would be killed by one person in a day. A report from Michigan in 1879 said that one netter captured 24,000 pigeons in 10 days. In 1851, the local newspaper reported that 1.8 million pigeons were sent to market that spring from Plattsburg, New York. There are many other similar reports from all over the eastern U.S. So now they are all gone and what difference does it make? I guess it does not mean anything unless we learn something about ourselves from this huge loss. We might ask ourselves which species is next on the human hit list. Which animals can we afford to give up this year? And next year? Which ones should we decide are unworthy of being seen alive by our grandchildren? Who is qualified, or even sanctified, to make such an enormous decision? Why did we destroy the Passenger Pigeon? I think it was in much part due to our tremendously competitive spirit which drives us to overcome all obstacles in our desire to better ourselves economically. It is the “conquer the wilderness” mentality that pervaded our country at that time and is still alive today in most of us. You can see it in the ads for “survival” gear for when you get lost in the wilderness. You can see this same compulsion in our efforts to destroy the remnants of the ancient forests, drain the remaining wetlands, and extract the last gallon of oil from our last reserve. Today, this urge no longer is based on survival in the wilderness, but is driven by a personal desire for economic gain. Today, we are better informed, more educated, and more civilized. Today, we can anticipate and weigh the consequences of exploitation in terms of our own environment. Today, it is your duty to moderate and control the destructive efforts of the environmental exploiters. If it requires that the last stand of virgin forest be cut, the last wetland be plowed, and the last tankful of oil be squeezed from the ground in order to support the current population of this Country, then what on earth will our children do in 10 years when our Country’s population has increased by another 25 million citizens? We must always remember that private greed and public indifference can destroy our planet, as it did Martha. Thou’rt gone, The abyss of Heaven hath swallowed up thy form. Yet on my heart deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hath given, An shall not soon depart. (William Cullen Bryant) |
| About Berlin Heck Berlin Heck is the retired manager of several National Wildlife Refuges in eastern & midwestern states. Mr. Heck started the Little River National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oklahoma. Berlin is a member of the Indian Nations Audubon Society and Oklahoma Ornithological Society. Mr. Heck is well-known for his avian expertise and knowledge of other wildlife and ecosystems in general. Berlin has been noted in a variety of magazines, including "Living Bird", the magazine of Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology. |
| Passenger Pigeon |
| "For God, of his most gracious friendliness, Hath wrought that every soul, this loving morn Into all things may be new- corporate born, And each live whole in all: I sail with thee, Thy Pelican's self is mine..." Sidney Lanier |