Click post title to go to the story, about how feral cats were killed on an island reserve south of Australia, to save seabirds, only to have the same birds threatened as a result of a rabbit population explosion.
Reminds me somewhat of cat hating bird lovers in this area. Not only did the local bird lovers/cat haters want everybody to keep their own cats indoors, but they also wanted all outside cats then killed.
However, a huge salmonella outbreak subsequently killed thousands upon thousands of Oregon songbirds. The source of the salmonella? Bird feeders and rotting seed. Bird lovers killed birds by the score.
Bird feeding is extremely unhealthy for birds. They never learn proper forage methods, share and spread diseases and parasites, and all sorts of predators, including predatory birds, are attracted to the bird feeders. But many bird lovers like to blame most world woes on the cat.
Forget that cars kills scores of birds. Forget that in one night, around one radio tower in Wisconsin, the carcasses of hundreds upon hundreds of migrating birds were found, who had hit the wires in flight. Forget that skyscrapers and windows and planes kill scores of birds. Forget that almost every homeowner in America sprays their yard dead of insects and weeds, so there is nothing healthy for urban birds to eat.
Forget all that and blame the cat. It's so much easier than to blame ourselves.
I love birds. The work I do helps birds immensely. A lot of bird lovers love the work I do, too. The sane bird lovers, I call them, the nice ones, not the lunatics.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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I put out one of those flat tray bird feeders with ab out 2 inch high sides and a screen in the bottom so the inside cats could watch them from the window. Wouldn't you know it, Molly thinks it's a fun place to sleep so it's very cute to see her curled up in the bird feeder...waiting for breakfast in bed I suppose.
ReplyDeleteDoes she think that makes it easier to catch the birds, if she camps out right in the feeder? That would make a cute video!
ReplyDeletePlenty of cat hatred from bird lovers in the UK too. They cite cats as responsible for the decline in common wild bird species. It's been proved that the craze for covering gardens in concret, decking and tarmac to provide trendy patios and parking spaces have contributed massively to the bird decline - their useable habitat is shrinking. On TV there's a bird "expert" Bill Oddie (a former comedy performer and writer) who hosts wildlife, live-watch programmes on the BBC who is frequently joking about his hatred for cats and hints that he's killed several in his lifetime.
ReplyDeleteIf only we could train them to catch those nasty starlings. I thought that one of the newer strays in the area was getting the goldfinches because I kept seeing masses of feathers in the yard, but I just happened to be standing in the kitchen window on day when a hawk dove down and grabbed one and took off. That's why there were feathers, but no bodies.
ReplyDeleteHey EVerycat, I tell bird lovers to go smash glass, if they want to protect birds. I tell them to get themselves a baseball bat and go smash all the glass they can find--windows, windsheilds, stuff like that, or to go take out radio transmission towers. Now that might really help birds. Just kidding. Hahahaha.
ReplyDeleteSome bird "lovers" want to do away with every squirrel that comes into their yard too because they begrudge the squirrels the food they take from the bird feeders. Even though black oil sunnies seeds have doubled in price in a year, they still aren't THAT expensive. I can't understand such people.
ReplyDelete