The birdies izz dying

‘SPRING is sprung, the grass is rizz, I wonder where the birdies izz?’ 

Yes, it’s that time of year once again, when the birds do their thing – laying eggs and bringing up babies.  It is a dangerous time for the fledglings.  The big killer is our over population of domestic cats.

After cats, the worst enemies for fledglings are do-gooding humans who will pluck up every fluttering baby bird they find on the ground, assuming the little bundle of squawking feathers has been abandoned.  No, they are not abandoned and the fact that you may have watched the baby continually all day and not seen its mother, doesn’t mean it’s been abandoned and not been fed. 

Believe me, the little critter wouldn’t be still alive after all that time without some grub.

“But it can’t fly...”, you may plead.  Oh, well spotted.  When fledglings leave the nest they can’t usually fly.  But they can flutter and climb.  Mamma bird scatters her babies around the garden on purpose, so if Mr Tom Cat find one of them, he won’t get all the rest at the same time.  Cunning little blighters, these birds.  Sneaky and cunning.

“But it’s on the ground and a cat will get it,” you may cry. 

Okay.  Let’s look at it this way:  If you leave the bird in your garden a cat might kill it.  But it might not.  Instead, mama or papa bird may get it to safety and feed it so it grows up to be a nice big bird that will eventually fly and fend for itself.

But if you pick it up and try to look after it, it will probably die.  If you give to someone who has experience with wild birds it will still probably die but with them instead of you.  Why?  We humans are rubbish at raising baby birds but their mamas and papas are brilliant at it.  Leave the job to the real experts – they can do it a whole lot better than us.

So, this is your Springtime lesson, folks: If you find a baby bird, leave it alone!  Let nature take its course one way or another.   You get on with your life and let the birds get on with theirs.

But if you really want to give our baby feathered friends a leg up, keep your cats indoors.  Better still don’t get a cat in the first place because if you want to know “where the birdies izz” you can bet your bottom dollar the answer will probably be: “Inside the cat.”