365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Monday, February 6, 2023
Damn Nuisance
Day 116: You know I love birds. Most birds, that is. There are Exceptions: pigeons, starlings, eagles (just big pigeons with white heads and a larger appetite for garbage). I even enjoy seeing Canada Geese as long as they stay over there when I'm over here, and I have never had any specific personal issues with the notorious English Sparrow. However, then there are Red-Winged Blackbirds. If they'd just remained in their bogs! But no, they stopped by one afternoon several years back and discovered that black-oil sunflower seeds are somewhat tastier than cattail seeds, and now I can't get rid of them. I bang on the window. I clap my hands loudly. I run through the yard waving my arms screaming invective strong enough to curdle milk, but they only move across the street, returning as soon as I turn my back. The other birds seem to understand the dilemma, hardly pausing when they see me raving about "*$&%ing blackbirds!!!" It's as if they know that I'm defending the feeders, something they daren't try against this highly aggressive species. No other bird scares them away: not jays, not crows, not even the ravens. Talk about a sense of entitlement! I'll stand a blackbird up against a welfare recipient any day.
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