Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Bluebird watch/Attack crow

Bluebird watch
The female bluebird is now spending most of her time in the birdhouse, with the male standing guard nearby. He frequently brings her bits of food and sometimes goes inside the box to sit with her for a few minutes. It's getting down to the wire; if all goes well, there'll be little bluebirds soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Attack crow

As I stood at the front door watching the bluebirds, a huge, glossy black crow swooped down and landed in the yard. It strutted around, poking in the grass from time to time as it leisurely circled the garden. It wandered down alongside the driveway, still searching the grass when suddenly, it hopped straight up into the air. I wondered if it had been startled by an insect. The crow then began stabbing at something on the ground. But the something wasn't an insect--it was a mouse!

Grabbing the binoculars, I stared with a mixture of horror and fascination as the crow continued to attack the mouse. By now, the mouse was on its back, kicking its legs helplessly in the air. After a few seconds of this, the crow grabbed up the mouse in its beak and flew away into the pine thicket where it would, thankfully, devour its dinner out of my sight.

I know this is all part of the circle of life and that Nature isn't always kind. But I also know that sometimes my heart is too tender and my stomach too weak for this!

4 comments:

Frank Baron said...

That would certainly be an unpleasant thing to witness. Some birds (okay, chickens) creep me out. Ever REALLY looked at a chicken? I can see the reptilian roots in those expressionless eyes....

Anonymous said...

Oh, that poor mouse! I don't know that I'd have been able to keep from shooing the bird away. I know the circle of life and everything, but just seeing an animal struggling like that would break my heart.

Miss you!

Anne C. Watkins said...

Hiya Frank!

Chickens do have weird eyes, don't they? You can't really read any expression in there. Not at all like parrots--when you seen one flashing its pupils at you, you know you're going to lose a chunk of flesh. Lol

Anne C. Watkins said...

Hi Julia!

Seeing the crow attack the mouse just about did me in. *shudder* I mean, I grew up in the country and had never seen that before! But once it started, it was like I just couldn't look away. ick....

Miss you, too! :)