I have recently hung out a bird feeder. It’s filled with black oil sunflower seed — the most widely-appreciated seed, I’m told — and has, indeed, proven popular with my avian neighbors. To date, almost all of the visitors to the feeder have been House Finches, though I believe I once saw a Black-Capped Chickadee. A Scrub Jay will occasionally alight, but seems disinterested in the seed, and a squirrel — damn those beasts — has twice managed to spill great volumes of seed on the deck in his reckless enthusiasm.
Somehow the presence of the happily-fed House Finches seems to be an attraction for other, non-seed-eating species, as I’m seeing more Jays, Robins and Starlings than in previous years. I am also seeing a bit more mortality as well. Heretofore the cats have limited themselves to bringing home the occasional mouse (Butch) or earthworm (Bongo), but Butch has been on a roll the past few days. Saturday saw her proudly slipping in the house with feathers stuck to her coat and a corpse deposited on the back doorstep. Yesterday, she brought one in that was still alive and kicking — I managed to separate them and shoo the bird back outside, though its fate remains unknown.
In both cases, the victims were Starlings, fortunately. European Starlings are a nasty, squawking, invasive species, and the reduction of their numbers in North America is devoutly to be wished. I am worried that Butchie is developing a taste for birding, however. Starlings I can live without, but if she starts bringing home indigenous species, we’ll have a problem. Fortunately, she seems inclined to display her trophies, so I’m hopeful that I can monitor her “successes.” A few more bells on the collar may be in order.
