- Occasionally I rerun an older post because many current viewers have never seen it. This one was published on December 5, 2013. For this version I’ve added new information, cleaned up the formatting and edited the text. Apologies to Feathered Photography old-timers who have seen much (though not all) of this before.
As most everyone knows, the Passenger Pigeon is extinct. So is my great (x 8) grandfather Governor Thomas Dudley of Massachusetts but I recently found a link between those two old birds and as an aficionado of both family history and birds I was thrilled by the discovery.
Thomas Dudley was my direct (lineal) paternal ancestor. He was second in command of the Winthrop Fleet, 11 ships and about 700 Puritans who came to the New World from England to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. He was a man of many traits and accomplishments, not all of them admirable. A partial list includes:
- chief founder (along with Simon Bradstreet) of Cambridge, Massachusetts (called Newtowne at the time) and he built the town’s first home
- four times governor and deputy-governor many times
- instrumental in the formation of Harvard College and as governor he signed its charter in 1650
- a devout and inflexible Puritan who was a “thrifty man who was somewhat prone to usury”. He “often won approval but never affection”.
- had 8 children, including Anne Dudley Bradstreet (she married Simon Bradstreet). Anne was North America’s first published poet. Joseph Dudley who became Royal Governor of Massachusetts (Joseph was born when the old man was 70 years old). Reverend Samuel Dudley from whom I am directly descended.
The first winter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was horrific and 200 of the original 700 Puritans died from disease and starvation. In March of the following spring (1631) Thomas Dudley wrote a letter to his friend Lady Bridget, Countess of Lincoln back in England, in which he detailed the trials and tribulations of the colony up to that point.
That letter is a long one and I had read many parts of it previously but recently I perused it once again and something jumped out at me. The letter included a paragraph near the end that described an experience the colonists had with a great flock of Passenger Pigeons! This must be among the first (or perhaps even the very first) written accounts of European settlers regarding this now extinct bird. I include that paragraph below (redacted by the Winthrop Society for explanation, in parentheses, to make it a little easier to understand).
- “Upon the 8th of March, from after it was fair day light until about 8 of the clock in the forenoon, there flew over all the towns in our plantations so many flocks of doves (passenger pigeons, a species now extinct), each flock containing many thousands, and some so many that they obscured the light, that passeth credit, if but the truth should be written. And the thing was the more strange, because I scarce remember to have seen ten doves since I came into this country. They were all turtle doves, as appeared by diverse of them we killed flying, somewhat bigger than those of Europe, and they flew from the north east to the south west; but what it portends I know not.”
As you can imagine I was overjoyed to stumble upon this 382 year old written connection between my ancestor and the ill-fated Passenger Pigeon!
Live Passenger Pigeon in 1896 kept by C.O. Whitman (image in the public domain)
For those who may be unfamiliar with the tragic history of the Passenger Pigeon, here’s a few “gee whiz” facts and figures about the species and its demise:
- at one time it may have been the most numerous bird species on the planet with estimates of numbers as high as 5 billion individuals
- the historic population of this species is roughly equivalent to the total number of birds (of all species) that overwinter every year in the U.S.
- in 1866 one southern Ontario migrating flock was described as being 300 miles long and 1 mile wide. It took 14 hours for the flock to pass overhead.
- communal nesting areas (known as “cities”) were huge – one in central Wisconsin in 1871 covered 850 square miles and included an estimated 136 million nesting birds
- early colonists believed large flocks of pigeons brought ill fortune – perhaps an explanation for the last line in Governor Dudley’s account of the bird
- commercial hunting took a huge toll on the Passenger Pigeon with a variety of methods used. One type of net could capture up to 3500 birds at a time.
- at a Petoskey, Michigan nesting site in 1878, 50,000 birds were “harvested” every day for 5 months
The two primary causes of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon were commercial hunting and habitat loss. The species was genetically programmed to breed only in huge colonies and when their numbers were sufficiently reduced they simply stopped breeding.
The last reliable record of a wild bird was in Pike County, Ohio in March of 1900 when the bird was killed by a boy with a BB gun, though there were undocumented reports of a few more birds for several years after that. Attempts were made to breed some of the remaining birds in captivity but they failed, largely because of the lack of a communal breeding opportunity
“Martha” – the last Passenger Pigeon (image in the public domain)
Martha, the last known Passenger Pigeon, died on September 1, 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo. After her body was frozen into a block of ice she was sent to the Smithsonian Institution where she was “skinned, dissected, photographed and mounted”. Today she sits in the museum’s archived collection and is not on display. There’s a memorial statue of her on the grounds of the Cincinnati Zoo.
You’d think we’d have learned some lessons from this tragic example but at the rate of extinction today we obviously haven’t learned nearly enough of them. If a species as numerous as the Passenger Pigeon can be wiped out so easily in such a short period of time it surely doesn’t bode well for the countless others already on the brink, especially considering the abysmal conservation record of our current administration.
Grieve, for them and for us.
Ron
Notes:
- I’ve taken much of the information presented here about the Passenger Pigeon from Wikipedia. If you have the interest (and the stomach for it) I suggest you at least read the “hunting” portion of the article. Humans can be truly ingenious in dreaming up ways to kill.
- If you think wanton mass killing of wildlife is behind us in the USA think again. Just this week (March, 2018) a California man was charged with killing 135 raptors on his 80 acre property.
- Joel Greenberg’s “A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction” is an excellent book on the plight of the Passenger Pigeon. I have a hard copy in my own library (I much prefer “real” books).
- I apologize for including so much of my family history here. That portion of this post is likely to be of interest to only a select few but I simply had to include it.
- Given my strongly held views regarding religion I’ve taken an immense amount of good-natured teasing from friends about my rigid, straight-laced and ultra-religious Puritan ancestors. That interaction has actually been fun for all involved, including me.
Your personal history is fascinating, but then again, I’m a history geek. I’m beginning to trace my ancestry now. I’m expecting a large number of ne’re-do-wells and miscreants 🙂
The tale of the passenger pigeon literally shocked me that so many birds could have been hunted/killed in so short a time. I’m a hunter…well, I hang out with a serial killer and try to make his life easier. I’m always very aware of how many rabbits we harvest and where–especially here in the desert. I can’t imagine killing just for the numbers game. Yes if your bird is killing regularly, he’s a happy raptor/predator, but in MY world, it’s absolutely necessary to be aware of what you’re doing to the resource. For example, it’s now legal to hunt rabbits all year long in Arizona. Personally, I won’t do that. First, the resource MUST have time to rebound and make more for next year. Secondly, any good field contains a wild nesting pair of wild raptors who will soon have kids to feed. I don’t want to interfere with that. I don’t need the residents to tell me I must leave for their survival. I get out of there without being asked. There’s also the molt to consider and the heat that brings out the snakes, but those are ancillary issues to letting the land regenerate.
The very sad thing about the guy who did the mass killing of birds in California is that the consequences for his actions are insignificant. He might get a stern finger wagging and a small fine, but that’s about it. This government administration doesn’t give one whit about the environment and its inhabitants! And that makes me furious, but to no avail. There are so few humans I can deal with on a regular basis. As a species, we’re pretty darn stupid. We cannot project the consequences of our actions!! I just don’t get it.
Laura, I’ve got my share of ne’re-do-wells and miscreants in my family history too – one of them was charged with murder in the 1870’s. Actually they’re a big part of the fun in finding this stuff out!
Fascinating. And tragic.
So very tragic.
I so often despair of our species.
So do I, EC. So do I…
Love reading about your history, Ron. It must feel pretty cool to be able to trace back to such significant times. Unfortunately, a lot of damage has been and continues to be done in the name of “religion.” 🙁
I hope that guy in CA gets the Library of Congress thrown at him, but even the maximum sentences for animal cruelty aren’t enough.
Yup, the family history stuff fascinates me. Thank you, Marty.
I screwed up and you may get several replies. FYI, there are two of my favorite birds – Magpies – building a huge nest in the front-yard tree of my across-the-street neighbor. I can’t shoot them like you do, but it sure is fun to watch. Eggs????? And thanks for the family background. . . .
Thanks, Bill. Only got one…
No words…..
Me either.
Ron – Very interesting account of both your ancestors and the carrier pigeons. My Sanborn ancestors arrived in New England from England in 1632 and settled in Hampton Falls New Hampshire. Interesting too reading others reports of Eurasian and Mourning Doves. We have beautiful Eurasian Doves in the backyard using the bird baths quite often, and here in Prescott Mourning Doves along with Gambel’s Quail must be our most common birds with the possible exception of House Finches.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Everett, Many of my colonial ancestors lived for many years in and around Exeter, NH.
An interesting story Ron – thanks for sharing. I didn’t know that much about the Passenger Pigeon, but now I know a little more. Thanks!
You’re very welcome, Zaph.
One of the definitions of “harvest” is to reap what one has SOWN, and for that reason I’ve always revolted at the use of that word to mean the killing of wild creatures, for whom humans
have never borne any responsibility of nurture…..sadly enough, we now are “reaping ” –in widespread destruction of species—what we have “sown” in the concept of “dominion” over
all of the earth…….I’m gratified that so many are presently working to redefine that concept to mean something more like “nurture” than the previous assumption to the right of unlimited exploitation.
I doubt the Puritans would have believed that those untold millions of Passenger pigeons could disappear from the earth………
Interesting point, Kris. And that’s why I put “harvest” in quotes.
Nope, from my experience in rehab, the bulk of humans either don’t care or have short memories. Currently kids are so far removed from nature and wildlife I fear for even more species including man.
I have the same fear about youngsters as you do, April – for the same reason. That’s why I think education along those lines is so very important.
The Eurasian Collared Dove, an introduced species, is doing very well, exploiting the ecological niche left open by the extirpation of the Passenger Pigeon. It is worth noting that the two species are more or less the same size. I don’t know if they will darken the skies, but the European Starling is ceratainly doing better in North America than it is in Europe currently.
Around here the Eurasian Collared Dove has gone from almost never seen to extremely common in less than 10 years, Thomas. And I’m seeing fewer native Mourning Doves (anecdotally but it seems obvious to me). I’m worried that they’re out-competing Mourning Doves.
Ron there’s an easy solution..outlaw shooting mourning doves .. or set a larger bag limit for collared doves .. bogs my mind that there’s even a hunting season for doves?????
Truly interesting Ron, for several reasons. My ancestor came over in 1636 and ended up in Plymouth marrying into the Mayflower descendants.
Unfortunately, all relatives since that time were either laborers, in business or in government. Since I’m the only scientist in my line, haven’t a clue where that gene came from! VBG!
At any rate found the info on Passenger Pigeon very interesting and SAD!
Dick, between Reverend Samuel Dudley and 1850 when my Dudley ancestors came to Utah they were all poor and pretty nondescript as far as I can tell. From 1850 things got interesting (even a little notorious) again. Thank you.
This is a really interesting post, Ron. Despite our large brains, we are not a species which examines the potential results of our actions. My husband and I are exploring the issues surrounding the decline of the Red Knots, especially along the Eastern seaboard. Spurred by Deborah Kramer’s book, The Narrow Edge, we’ve begun to look for a project that highlights threatened bird species.
Best, Chris Brockmeyer
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Christine. Good luck with your potential Red Knot project!
Thx for the history – both personal and on the passenger pigeon. We humans are a “piece of work” at times. 🙁 Mass shooting of raptors is appalling tho I can understand the anger/frustration when one has “raptor food” a.k.a. chickens etc.
Thanks, Judy. Yes, he’s a piece of… something.
Makes me sad such a sweet looking bird .. and that guy in California !!!!! I ask Why ????? Why are you shooting Hawks Why????? And people just continue poisoning the planet .. all the plastic !!!!! And pesticides .. just makes me sad ….well it’s something to know your ancestors that far back … and the history that comes with them ..
I hope that ass gets the book (hell, the entire library) thrown at him, Marina. He can rot in prison for years as far as I’m concerned.
Very interesting! Enjoyed reading it!
Good. Thank you, LS.