Plumhill, I agree with your basic premise, but I don't think a comparison of Cu vs. Sevin is a very good example to make your point. Sevin is more dangerous than Cu. I am certainly not a syntheti-phobe and many times grow weary of the public perception of organic vs. synthetic pesticides. Namely, the unfortunate public opinion that organic is always better than synthetic. Certainly the LD50 value is dependent upon the particular formulation of Copper and the particular formulation of Sevin. I have both Copper and Sevin in my lockers and their LD50 values are as follows: Kocide 3000 has an LD50 of 1847 mg/kg and Sevin 4F has an LD50 of 590 mg/kg. A little bit more Kocide is required for a full dilute spray vs. a full dilute of Sevin but even in full dilute, Sevin is more acutely toxic. There are other health considerations besides acute toxicity as well. This in my opinion is where Sevin loses the race. It is a cholinesterase inhibitor and listed as a carcinogen and developmental/reproductive toxin for mammals. Cholinesterase inhibition is the big deal here. I've read some applicators who routinely spray carbamates (i.e. Sevin) or organophosphates periodically have their cholinesterase levels checked because of the risk associated with these compounds. Again these risks are for applicators who are spraying these compounds all the time, not for a homeowner occasionally spraying their fruit trees, or applying a little Sevin dust to their vegetables. I'm not trying to make anyone paranoid about Sevin or copper. I'm not afraid to use either one, but from a health standpoint, I'd rather have repeated exposure of Cu vs. Sevin. From an environmental standpoint, I'd rather spray Sevin because, as you point out, it breaks down quickly. There are plenty examples of synthetics out there that are safer than Cu. Many of them have LD50 values of greater than 5000 mg/kg. Scott mentioned MFF. I see it has an ld50 of 4340 mg/kg. That means the concentrate of MFF is less acutely toxic than table salt. Quite safe.

We have 2 pairs of brown thrashers in our yard this year. I love them. They have the most hilarious song, it is like they are going through a big list of song clips from other birds, rapid-fire, one after another. Some mornings and evenings they just don't shut up. :D I think they are good birds..they eat lots of bugs. Haven't had any swoop at us yet and I'm sure we walk fairly close to their nest at times!

It might be possible to formulate some kind of list of "local" species that habitually (?) perch on vertical surfaces, i.e.: martins, swifts and so on. The list might be able to be used to narrow down the types, sizes, and names of possible subjects.

This really has become the year of the thrashers. Per Donna's suggestion, I've been putting out C&S Peanut suet nuggets. I don't know if the thrashers eat it - I haven't seen it - but it's disappearing. There's plenty of other food around and insects too. My yard/garden is getting more and more overgrown so there are lots of hiding places for birds in shrubs and small trees. I'll walk by a shrub not noticing any birds and be startled by flight all around me. Good for the birds, not so good for the idea of a tidy garden. An adult has been seen brazenly foraging around most days, and yesterday I saw what I think are two juveniles calmly preening on the winterberry (the photos were taken from the kitchen window). So much for the "secretive" Brown Thrasher. Claire