Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!ohstpy!miavx1!miamiu!jahayes From: JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Confused migrant? Message-ID: <90277.102951JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET> Date: 4 Oct 90 15:29:51 GMT References: Distribution: rec Organization: Miami University - Academic Computer Service Lines: 26 WARNING: THIS FOLLOWUP HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BIRDS. BUT IT'S A NEAT STORY, ANYWAY....AND TURTLES ARE AT LEAST VERTEBRATES.... It turns out that one of the really large sources of mortality for hatchling sea turtles is baseball parks in the baseball-crazy central american countries. There are at least two known turtle beaches that had ballparks built up top of the dunes, now when there's a hatch and a night game at the same time, the turtles head for the brightest spot on the horizon, which is (natch) the ballpark. Archie Carr tells a wonderful story (told, I mean; he's gone now) about such an occurrence in Guatemala, where in the middle of the game this torrent of little green floppy guys came in from the right field fence....all the campesinos grabbed them and ran off to the ocean with them. It's a nice story. So the point is, bright lights can certainly disorient animals trying to get oriented....well, I'm done now... P.S. I actually got a lifer warbler in this fall's migration! A well-colored male Canada. Also a "second-time-in-my-lifer", a cooperative male black-throated green. Whee. Josh Hayes, Zoology Department, Miami University, Oxford OH 45056 voice: 513-529-1679 fax: 513-529-6900 jahayes@miamiu.bitnet, or jahayes@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu Now look inside; what do you see? That's easy: that's a pickle.