The Stakeout!

As I was filling the bird feeders yesterday morning, I made a morbid discovery. There scattered on the ground were feathers. At first, I thought perhaps the birds were moulting in the same manner that chickens do. This was sure a lot of feathers and all appeared to be from the same bird, a dove. Then the most disturbing find..a beak and a few bones. Ms Put! I was just recently noticing how she would pick a spot under the feeders to take a nap! A sleeping cat would not appear to be a threat to birds coming in for a meal. Still, this had happened sometime during the night..doubtful..or very early in the morning..most likely. Ms Put had spent the night inside and was still sound asleep on my daughter's bed. I hung the feeders and mulled over the possibilities of the culprit. A murder had been committed and I had almost falsely accused my kitty! A murder had been committed and I, by filling the feeders, had unwittingly lured a bird to its death. I grieved for my little friend.

I watched the feeders as I worked in the yard but nothing disturbed the birds. Of course, Ezzy, the dog kept a vigilant eye on the feeders as well. She does love her birds! All sorts of birds visited the feeders and the water dish. All seemed well in the avian world. Not one of them noticed that one of their own was missing. Or at least, it did not seem to upset any of the birds to the point that they lost their appetites. They cleaned the feeders! I thought to myself..perhaps (hopefully!) this was a one-time incident and the birds would not have to fear a serial killer. Darkness fell and I figured the birds would be safe enough during the night as none would be feeding.

This morning, I arose before daybreak to find a spot to position myself so I could view the feeders without being noticed by the marauding killer. I hoped that nothing would occur and I would not witness any disturbing scenes. I waited. The sky started to lighten in the East giving fair warning that a new day was about to debut. I waited. The songbirds were greeting the day with their usual happy songs. No sign of any trouble. I waited. One by one, birds flew to the feeding station. All seemed to be well, it was just another ordinary morning on the Bayou.

Then in the Hickory tree, I noticed a slight movement. The shape of a small hawk could be seen against the palely lit sky. Ahh, not Ms Put..but a much more dangerous villain. I could not make out enough detail to identify the raptor but I could tell that it was definitely watching for its breakfast. I sat still and waited. Should I watch as another bird falls prey to this hunter? Should I chase it away? The hawk is a natural predator to all birds but I do feel a tad guilty that I am fattening up doves just to have them slaughtered. I realize that the hawk must eat and later it must feed its brood, still..

In reality, the yet unidentified hawk is rather smart. Obviously, it positions itself in the Hickory tree above the feeders late in the evening so it will be on the ready to catch its breakfast. There, it could sit motionless, unseen, as the birds gathered below. I will leave it be for now, until I can get a positive ID on the bird. It is a smallish hawk and I can tell it has markings on it undersides from the picture, but until I can see it in the light of day, identification is difficult. If any readers have suggestions of how to effectively protect the songbirds while not harming the hawk, I would love to hear them! Perhaps I should build a feeder with a large roof??? Until then, I suppose I will have to deal with an occasional mound of feathers and other body parts.

Now..onto the day's find in the sewing room! The picture just shows a small part of a massive quantity of ....rug yarn! Nice little bundles of three inch snippets of yarn in assorted colors. This would be a boon to find if I knew how to do latchhook but for someone that crochets, I view it as a waste of good thread! This is one of those.."just where did this come from" items that was stashed in a plastic storage box and forgotten. This is one of those."now what do I do with it" items that takes up a lot of space but is never used. Too good to discard..too "un-useful" to keep! Hmmmmm..