Birdwatching Is Dangerous. For The Birds

I love watching the birds.  And living down here by the river, we get tons of them.  Just sitting out here the last couple of hours listening to the radio I have seen, Mourning Doves, Eurasian Collard Doves, House Finches in several colors, Gold Finches, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Sparrows, and the occasional Northern Flicker will come by.  Even though they don't come to the feeders on the patio, Ducks and Geese are regular fly overs.

In the winter we see Owls (I'm sure they live here all the time, we just don't see them) and the last few years, up until this mild winter, we had a Bald Eagle living somewhere on the Parkway.  Watch your small dogs when you let them out in February.

The Red-Winged Blackbirds are so awesome.  They make SO much noise when they are in the mood to sing.  I guess what they are really doing, according to the bird book I have is defending their territory by singing from the highest point they can find.

I spend too much money on bird feed, but I enjoy it.

But having a couple of bird feeders on the patio is dangerous.  For the birds.

You have to, after a few years of this, come to the conclusion that if you are feeding birds?  You are giving some of them their last meal.  You WILL find dead birds in your yard, on your patio, sometimes on your front porch when you go out to get the paper in the morning.

The causes are many.  I'm sure some of them just get old or sick, and die.  Some get startled, and crash into the widows or sliding door on the back of the house.  The Doves leave a beautiful, dusty, outline of themselves on the sliding door when they do this, and they never die.  Only the little birds can't take the collision.

But some of them meet a more grizzly death.  They get torn to pieces, and few pieces are left, by the pair of Sharp Shinned Hawks that live in my neighbors back yard.  The circle of life.

Last week my son was mowing the yard and stopped right in front of the back gate.  He found a red headed House Finch with it's head lying right next to his body.  I have NO idea how that happened.  The hawks would have taken him off to be dinner.

So, bird fans, be prepared.  You feed em'?  Sometimes you have to clean em up, too.