Pie Minus 19

Day 25: We used to refer to them as "story problems" when I was in elementary school: If you have forty pounds of black-oil sunflower seed and (pie minus 19 Red-winged Blackbirds) who subtract one three-pound coffee can from it every two hours, calculate how much each Blackbird consumes every thirty minutes and then calculate how long the supply will last, given that there is no change in the rate of consumption or number of blackbirds. Now expand your view to include the whole pie, add twenty Steller's Jays, a dozen Chickadees, one Nuthatch, one Evening Grosbeak, assorted sparrows and juncos, nine Mourning Doves, the occasional Crow, and calculate how much money you'll have by the end of the month given that black-oil seed costs roughly $17/bag. The aforementioned pie would not fit in my refrigerator even though a) it is currently empty and b) I am not inclined to cook Blackbirds. Keeping with the mathematical theme of this exercise, tell me why the Blackbirds sheared off at a tangent and instead of going to Mineral where they usually dine on cattails, came here instead. Sharpen your pencils and get to work. You have fifteen minutes before the feeder needs refilling.