Finally, Some Good News!

[gwpriester]

Finally, Some Good News!

In case you haven't noticed, the world is a mess. I don't think I need to go into the details. It just seems to be in a tailspin from which it is becoming harder and harder to pull out.

So when something good happens in the world, albeit our small world, it's time to share the good news.

Every spring, dozens of Sparrow and Scarlet Finch couples along with the odd Crested Titmouse assemble on our decks and begin the annual ritual called making more Sparrows and Scarlet Finches and Titmouses (Titmice? Titsmouse?). Those who get their act together early, get possession of the wood birdhouses. The late bloomers have to build their nests under the metal roof of the portal. It's always such a hopeful beginning. But in spite of being prolific breeders, not that many new birds survive the predators.

The Scrub Jays seem to know when the eggs have been laid or the nests contain tiny hatchlings, and they move in for a quick meal. The bull snakes slither up the posts and dine on fresh eggs. And the Curved Bill Thrashers, with their bright orange eyes are never far behind. They have a beautiful if not sinister song when they show up for supper.

The small birds make quite a racket when their nests are being pillaged, but the concept of strength in numbers seems to have eluded their minuscule brains.

You may be wondering, where's the good news here? Good news for the predators maybe, but not such good news for the small birds.

Well for whatever reason, this year a Curved Bill Thrasher, a Mr. and Mrs. Thrasher actually, decided to set up housekeeping under the portal, alongside the small feathered residents. And the to everyone's surprise all has been peaceful. The presence of the Thrashers has acted as a deterrent to the Scrub Jays. The Thrashers like to perch on the rail and their warden like presence is enough to deter the other predatory birds.

Just the other day when we investigated an odd knocking on hollow wood-like bird call coming from one of the Thrashers, we discovered this brave bird was facing down a three foot bull snake (the snake did not have three feet, you know better than that), who showed up with a linen napkin around its skinny neck, licking its thin snake lips, looking for a savory omelette. It was something right out of Wild Kingdom. The Thrasher was dancing around the snake and pecking the snake's head as the confused snake coiled tighter and tighter. The snake struck out several times but each time the snake struck out, the Thrasher pulled back or jumped to a new position. Finally defeated, the demoralized snake slithered off and calm returned. If you can call the constant, insistent chirping of small birds calming. And the even better news is this summer there have been numerous successful fledges. The balance of predator to prey has tilted towards the prey for once.

So, maybe there may be hope after all. But we don't want to get over confident.

[wizard509]

Neat Gary, I enjoyed that story.

[iamtheblues]

Lovely job, Gary. I can't wait to hear the story of the bankers who want to pay for their past mistakes and Assad to burst into tears for being such a bastard. Add these to the dickie-bird story and we might have a trend. Bob.

[pauland]

Thanks for an interesting post.

My wife would go nuts with all those snakes running around. You won't find us moving in as neighbours anytime soon!

[gwpriester]

When we first moved here, I expected to see rattlesnakes all over the place when I went for my morning walks. In 12 years we've seen one rattlesnake. Now I know if you don't like snakes, one every 12 years is TOO often. We do see some bull snakes but again not that many. They may be all over the place but they hide themselves well and are not aggressive towards humans. They are more afraid of us than we are of them.

[pauland]

I've only ever seen one snake "in the wild" in my life, and that was in Orlando, Florida on an adventure (crazy) golf course. I remember talking to a guy that worked in the hotel and he told me he never walked around in sandals and always took care when opening the front door. He said he once went to pick up a shoelace on the kitchen floor then realised it was a small snake.

We once rented a bungalow in Orlando and there were always small lizards hiding around the front door frame. I hated going into the garage because it was clear that anything could get into that area and it had a heating boiler as well as the washing machine. I always kept a good eye out for snakes in there.

That said, I have had a boa-constrictor wrapped over my shoulders and held it in my arms and wasn't too bothered.

I think the real problem is that if I encountered a wild snake I'd never be sure if it was known to be aggressive or venomous.

Our ex-window cleaner once stepped on an adder here in the UK (UK's only native venemous snake - not venomous enough to normally kill a fit human ) and that caused him a lot of problems.

I used to play bridge with a guy that had retired from India. He said it was common to find snakes - sometimes cobras - on the golf courses. They would often move them out of the way using a golf club. He did it one day, but as he lifted the club to flick the snake away it wrapped itself around the club and headed towards his arm!