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Bird colony on Charles Island at risk, but there is hope
Jill Dion
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An invasive plant called mile-a-minute, which has been rearing its green vine around the state for a number of years, has proven to be the latest in what one environmentalist called “a perfect storm” of factors causing problems for the birds on Charles Island.
“Charles Island was once densely vegetated with tall trees and mid-canopy trees and shrubs,” said Jenny Dickson, supervising wildlife biologist with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). “Several hundred long-legged wading birds made use of every available spot for nesting. Now, scattered Norway maples and a few tree-of-heaven jut out from a largely open shrubland comprised mostly of invasive plants nettles, mile-a-minute, bittersweet, barberry and herbaceous vegetation all too short to provide nesting habitat for the rare birds that nest there.”