Viruses
So I threw open the door this fine warm morning and bounded outdoors, coffee in hand, immediately inhaled about 3 “midges” put my hand over my coffee mug really quick and came back inside. There is a bumper crop of those little mosquito looking insects this year. I went back out sans the coffee, kept my mouth shut and tried not to rustle into any bushes. In the recesses of my memory, midges mean fish will be biting but with that VHS disease in the fish it might not matter. I saw in the news recently, that it was a consideration to limit fishing this year if the disease keeps spreading.
And now those cute little Chickadees (small black and white birds) are threatened by the West Nile virus along with beautiful Bluebirds. No one thought much of it when it was only affecting crows but it’s stretched to other species of birds now. My bird feeders have been in place at least ten years and I get a lot of bird traffic, even escaped parakeets and canaries, and I saw exactly one Chickadee this spring. They are usually around all winter and are pretty friendly and sweet. I’ve actually had one peck at our glass door and stare in on us. Not long ago Michigan considered changing the state bird from Robins, which didn’t hang around all winter, to the Chickadee, which was plentiful. Now whole populations are being wiped out by West Nile. I wondered why I haven’t seen a lot of Chickadees for a couple of years. I miss them.
We’re getting all these viruses that start out as not so significant because masses of people aren’t dying from any of them or they only affect a certain species, so we don’t care much. Well ecosystems are important. Everyone’s read somewhere about the honeybee and how it affects our food supply. Take pause to notice all the species of things that are in trouble: fish, birds, bees, and just try to remember we are part of the animal chain. There might come a virus that affects humans in the future so have a little empathy for even the smallest things. To me it’s a warning sign.