Picture credit P. W. Sykes, USFWS

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From an article by Robert J. Waller, entitled My Name is Orange Band , prefaced and excerpted on the Orange Band website - http://www.annsweeten.com/orangeband.html

Duskies were common once in the marshes of Merritt Island, Florida and also along the St. John's River. Someone thought Merritt Island should be flooded to deal with the mosquito problem at the Kennedy Space Center. The water rose and took their nests. Ultimately the St. John's River marshes were drained for the construction of highways. Pollution and pesticides did the rest. By 1979, only six duskies remained. Five were captured with no female to recover the species; the last sighted in 1975. The five duskies were brought to Disney World's Discovery Island to live out their remaining days. By March 31, 1986, only one little male, called Orange Band, was left. From the article:

"The last member of the rarest species known to us. He became blind in one eye, became old for a sparrow, and yet he persisted as if he knew his sole task was to sustain the bloodline as long as possible., I wondered if he felt sorrow or excruciating panic at the thought of his oneness. On June 18, 1987, a Washington Post headline said "Goodby Dusky Seaside Sparrow." Orange Band, blind in one eye, old and alone, was gone.

But the day Orange Band died there was a faint sound out there in the universe, hardly noticeable unless you were expecting it and listening. It was a small cry, the last one, that arched upward from a cage in Florida. If you were listening closely though, you could hear it.. "I am zero". Extinct. The sound of the word is like the single blow of a hammer on cold steel. And, each day, the hammer falls again as another species becomes extinct due to human activity."

The Loss of a Species

From: Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge http://www.nbbd.com/godo/minwr/BlackPoint/index.html

The natural salt marshes of Merritt Island and the St. Johns River west of Titusville, once were home to a non-migratory songbird known as the dusky seaside sparrow. The dusky was not discovered until 1872, and this was the only place in the world they have ever been observed. The dusky seaside sparrow was declared extinct in December, 1990.

The dusky's demise began in the 1940's when man began spraying the marshes with DDT for mosquito control. The pesticide entered the birds' food chain, and the dusky population plummeted from 2,000 to 600 breeding pairs. From the mid-1950's to 1963, dikes were constructed to impound the marsh. The ground–feeding dusky could not tolerate prolonged periods of flooding, and their population dwindled to 70 pairs. In 1963, the refuge began managing a small portion of NASA's lands including the joint management of the marshes with the mosquito control district. During this era, America was caught up in a "race for space" and any movement to curtail mosquito control was met with resistance.

Despite support of the local mosquito control director to do something for the dusky, little was accomplished by the refuge and the downward spiral continued. In 1969, with only 35 pairs reported, the refuge began a joint management program with the mosquito control district, which allowed for the removal of three dikes to restore the marsh. The marsh was restored, but the dusky could not recover from the previous habitat disturbance. In 1977, biologists observed what was believed to be the last dusky on Merritt Island in the marsh to your left. A separate population on the St. Johns River west of Titusville also succumbed to encroaching civilization.

The voice of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow.
From: Florida Bird Songs