Spring has arrived

[Darcy's Mom]

Well, Spring is officially here now. I know that because Darcy and Molly have made it their duty to guard the back yard and deck to make sure both are baby bird free. If they find one, Molly seems to think she needs to eat the baby bird. My DH told me yesterday when I got home from work that the baby birds were learning to fly and were hopping from a large tree (next to our deck) to the deck railing and then losing their balance and hitting the deck. Well, that was too much temptation for Darcy and Molly, although he thinks Molly was the actual culprit as to who was actually consuming the babies (2 at last count). I think if Darcy got a hold of one, she would just bring it to us but Molly seems to be out for the kill. (sigh) My DH said he also saw several neighborhood cats hanging around, so these babies don't stand a chance. We are now on guard ourselves when we put the dogs out back and if one or the other looks like they are overly interested in something on the ground or deck, we investigate immediately. I just hate the fact that these baby birds are such fair game, but I guess that's Mother Nature at work.

[tena]

I was once yelled at by a man for letting my cats outside (years ago, they are indoor only now) because they would kill birds...he had a terrier that was a menace to the little things. Seemed odd to me.

Yes, nature is a bit harsh.

[Teri9672]

Teona is on the hunt too. We've had 4 sets of baby doves so far this year. I noticed 1 baby bird was missing from it's nest this morning. I'm going to have to keep an eye on Teona in the next few days. Last year she killed 2 babies learning to fly.

[TheScotts]

Sadly, elsa has eaten two or three fledglings oooh well

[Eliz222]

I know our dogs are hunters, but I always feel sorry for the little birds.

[kayharley]

A subject close to my heart...

We have a classic New England stone wall in our backyard that was home to a family of chipmunks. One of them became extremely friendly and would hop up beside me on our outside bench and I'd hand feed him nuts. It was love!

I named him Chipper. Every morning he'd be sitting on the largest stone in the wall chirping away until I came out to feed him.

Last summer poor Chipper met his demise because of a Cairn terrier named Elliott. I felt so bad/sad/upset seeing poor Chipper in the clutches of Elliott but that's what his breed is meant to do so I could do nothing except cry in private.

Elliott was NOT invited to Chipper's funeral.

Now it's the same scenerio with the birds. I have several houses full of wrens, feeders with Cardinals, Chickadees and the famous Tufted Titmouse who is known to swoop down and pluck fur out of unsuspecting dogs/cats lounging in the sun. (what comes around, goes around ) I adore the Mourning Doves and their soft cooing but I can see the spark in my crew's eyes when they spot them scratching at the ground beneath the feeder.

Nature is definately cruel in our eyes but but I've come to accept it's purpose.

[mrskti]

I just noticed today that there is a bird nest in the fake fern (i kill everything) that's hanging on the porch....right over where the girls play....I see a disaster in the making.

[wags]

Wes yanked a baby bunny out of a burrow a few years ago. I was horrified and brought it inside to try to save it. But it died during the night. Ever since that day, Wes keeps his distance. He looks but doesn't touch.

the only downside is that he's very gentle with crickets. He brings them inside and hides them under the couch. A couple of years ago, our house was cricketing and jumping. We must have had a hundred noisemakers.

Now when he brings em in I try to step on them. I'm the killer now.

[ParNone]

I've got a bird's nest in one of my honeysuckle plants. I've been wanting to get a picture of the lil' one, but everytime I venture too close to the nest, the momma bird swoops down and stares at me from the nearby fence. I quickly retreat so as not to relive a scene from "The Birds" with her pecking me on the head.

I'm a lil' worried about the one Collie around the wee one when he starts to learn to fly. He's very movement oriented. But I'm not worried about my Cairn at all. Murph's got a zen like relationship with birds. When he was younger and liked to stay outside longer, there's many a time, I'd glance out the window to find him laying about 3 to 4 ft from his water bowl, with a bird perched on it getting a drink. Cutest thing ever. Wish I had a picture of it. I never saw him try to get the bird and the birds never seemed afraid of him at all. Guess they sensed he was harmless.

Les...