The Birds and Side Affects

I have filled the bird feeders. The birds are having a good time. We have had visits from Chickadees, House finches, Goldfinches ( they are brown this time of year) Oregon Junko's, Robins, Red Breasted Flickers, a Pine Gross Beak, Stellers Jay, English and Brown Sparrows, Starlings, a Varied Thrush on it's way south and the squirrels.

My mom has always fed the birds. I remember a time in Michigan when we had so many birds that we a attracted a Shrike. A Shrike is predatory bird that likes small song birds. They catch them and impale them on a thorn or a shortened branch and eat them alive. We knew when he was around because all the birds would become very very quiet. He was an unfortunate SIDE AFFECT of feeding the birds.

Michigan is full of beautiful winter birds. Gold finches, Red Cardnals, Bright Blue Jays. Pinkish Gross Beaks and the brilliant yellow Pine Gross Beak. They have beaks like a parrots and can empty a sunflower seed feeder in less than an hour. They can just sit and eat. The Black Capped Chickadee takes a seed and goes somewhere and pounds the seed open and then comes back for another. Mom always wanted every one to have what they needed but she did grumble a bit about the Gross Beaks. Now with my mother it was never an issue of wanting to hoard the seeds or not allow them to eat until they were full, it was a matter of having to fill up the feeder in the dead of winter with lots of snow on the ground. Once a day is okay, twice or three times is a problem. She often can not find her shoes and was forced to go out barefoot.

The winter morning would be full of colors and quick flights and activity. Then the Shrike would come. It would dive in and try to get it's breakfast. We would all be horrified as we saw a small ball of fluff trying to get away. Everything would go silent and we would wait. The birds knew something was on the hunt. We hated the Shrike but then we had provided a place for the Shrike to hunt. We had concentrated the small bird population by being a feeding station. The Shrike was a nasty SIDE AFFECT.

We did a little research and realized that we had to find a small projectile and start to harass the Shrike each time he came to feed. We put a bucket of fallen apples on the deck and began the harassment. It took a couple of weeks but it finally worked.

Well we are in the middle of winter of Mary-Elizabeth's treatment. We have administered lots drugs to M-E. Each has the ability to attract a Shrike. I have been doing much more research on the long term results of things like Spinal/Cranial Radiation and Methotrexate. I read about things like bone loss, secondary cancers, memory loss, inability to do high functioning math concepts, loss of ability to concentrate, problems with peers do to loss of social skills, the list goes on and on. Each drug that we have introduced has long and nasty potential for a flock of Shrikes.

But then what do you do? I don't see any options other than to continue to sign the consents and pray. Maybe we will be able to find a way to toss a few apples at all the Shrikes. We do have apples and we would never decide to not feed the birds. How could we not keep the feeders full. The joy, beauty and amusement they bring to our lives is priceless.