Are animals vanishing where you live? Look around. Is the sun to blame?

From a meditation by George Paxinos, Dec. 11, 2008:

"Around here, the Earthworms seem to have vanished. The trend was began around three years ago. And now, when it rains, instead of seeing hundreds of them on sidewalks and roads, they are nowhere to be found....

Then I heard that in Britain, something like 85% or Sparrows seem to have died off or moved to other climes. So I started looking for the swarms of sparrows around here that used to be so ubiquitous in their loveable rowdiness -- and almost all were gone.

I feed wild birds in winter, and our Blackbirds, who fly around warbling and begging, even landing on balconies in search of food when snow-cover is heavy, had also mostly gone. Even the many Magpies, at least some of which would hang around most of the winter, have now either departed, or died off. They are simply GONE."

http://www.rense.com/general84/dieoff.htm

In my own local scene I have noticed the disappearance of salamanders. Ten years ago, salamanders used to appear in the garden in large numbers with the advent of the rainy season every winter. We still get winter rain, but no more salamanders. And yes, I do miss the cute critters, and I worry.

What are your own observations, fellow patriots?