Sparrows

[den]

Today I did my weekly sparrow eviction. I have a pair of indian ring-necked parrots in the large aviary up the back. Somehow the sparrows get into the cage but can't get out. Over the course of the week the cage gradually fills until the two parrots are crowded into a corner trying to avoid the dozen little maniacs frantically searching for a way out. I went in with a net and a canary cage, and caught all the sparrows, shoving them into the canary cage as I netted them.

The dogs love this. They stare at the cage on the floor as it fills with small brown things, and as everyone knows small brown things are mice. Polly barks and Scruffy bites at the aviary. Eventually I had all the sparrows and took them outside. This is the bit the dogs really love. I open the door and the sparrows fly off, with Polly and Scruffy leaping and snapping at the birds and wondering how the mice get into the tree. Technically, because sparrows are feral noxious vermin, I should euthanase them. But... well, come on...

Today I opened the door and the birds flew off as usual. Polly snapped at one, then froze. She gave me a look of such surprise I almost laughed, and gave me a muffled bark: "Muffff!" Then I saw what surprised her. Poking out of her mouth was a little tail and a pair of feet. The tips of a pair of wings protruded from the sides of her mouth. She dropped her head and went "Blagh!" A damp bundle of feathers rolled out and lay twitching on the grass. Oh great, now I have a pest to take care of.

Scruffy watched this with interest, until somewhere in his stupid little head the ancient Wolf ancestors pushed their way past the tennis balls and tins of doggy-dins and gave him a kick. "You're a TERRIER!" they howled at him "That is wounded PREY! Skitch 'em!" He darted under Polly's chin, snatched up the sparrow and shook the poor little thing the way a real dog would kill a rat. When he was done he stared up at me all wide-eyed and waggy tailed, while a light rain of fine feathers settled onto his head. The limp body of the sparrow dangled from his jaws.

I told the dogs they were GOODDOGs and felt guilty as I disposed of the poor little body.

It was only a sparrow, but I still feel bad. Polly and Scruffy don't.

Comments

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. What are you feeding the parrots?

It might be a clear case of feed attraction vs large open wire fence spaces. Such is life for a sparrow. Maybe after witnessing the "terrier terror" the sparrows will think twice about robbing seeds, but I doubt it. They are everywhere around here. They rival the chickadee hoarde! They have to be pretty dumb to get caught like that, and not be able to get out the same way they got in.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

THe parrots are getting "parrot mix" from the store, but there is some millet in there. I think the hole is near the ground so they can hop in low, but get spooked upwards later and can't find it.

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Millet will do it;). Even if it's the low grade stuff that birders who buy mix call "garbage seeds". The more sparows in there the more the parakeets have to compete. I'm suprised that if the sparrows could get in the parakeets wouldn't try and get out the same way, but birds are strange. I'm just glad they all don't jam into your fireplace (if you have one!) My folks just had their chimney recapped a while back. There was eventual lose mortar and a squirrel fell in there.

[kayshapero]

One morning I heard a strange scratching behind a curtain, and when I opened it found a sparrow had been methodically dismantling the originally slightly ratty window screen, presumably for nest materials. It had made such a big hole that it was inside the window, and when I moved the curtain it spooked and flew INSIDE. I removed the screen and attempted to chase the sparrow out of it. So naturally it flew further into the house instead. Despite two wide open windows with screens removed, it took hours to get the critter to a) notice and b) fly through one.

[copperwolf.livejournal.com]

"...the way a real dog would kill a rat."
I guess Scruffy is only pretending to be a dog, then?   :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I wonder.

[jenny_evergreen]

:(
*gives you human being award for the not-euthanizing*

[ursulav.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had a Pomeranian as a kid that was about as dog-like as an inner-tube, but one day, she figured out that she was a DOG, damnit! and started attacking moles.

The problem is that when you top out at ten pounds, a mole is a pretty big foe, and while she could hurt the mole very badly, she couldn't finish the job. My stepfather sent a lot of badly injured moles on their way with the shovel.

But you have to tell 'em what a GOODDOG they are, no matter how traumatic it is, damnit!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

You're a really good writer, and I hope you're saving all of this somewhere safe.

deyo just came out of the bathroom to me cracking up, laughing as I rocked in my chair, saying, "That is so, so sad."

He stared at me for a moment. "Yes?"

I read it aloud.

He giggled as he walked down the hall.

The dogs didn't hear, they're rolling around on the bed chewing on each other's faces.

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
-- Matt 10:29-31

Usually, that's an encouragement about the worth of the human, not the sparrow. But don't worry about the Sparrow, either.

Have teh best

-=TK