By Linda Hunt
As a bird lover, it has been an exciting week. I watched a pair of robins make about 100 trips to their nest delivering food to baby chicks. Now, the four baby robins in our backyard have launched out of the nest! I watch them as they navigate life. The parents are still working hard to ensure the chicks’ survival. They supervise these chicks over several properties.
During spring and summer when chicks are vulnerable, consider that if you have a cat, please keep the cat inside. Cats can kill 10 birds a day. They kill not for food, but for enjoyment. Read the book, “Cat Wars” for all the data. Life is hard on our bird populations.
Birds lose habitat due to fires and development of subdivisions and commercial properties. We lose birds from pesticides. In the fall, birds are migrating through our neighborhoods. Let’s not lose more from these birds being cat prey.
Finally, did you know that birds improve our quality of life? Here is how from the National Audubon Society:
Pest Control: Birds eat trillions of insects around homes, gardens and farms. Hawks, owls and eagles eat billions of mice and other rodents.
Birds Support Health: Watching and listening to birds decreases stress, helping people live happier and longer. Birdsong is where music likely originated. They are beautiful.
Free Shipping: Birds spread seeds and pollinate trees, flowers and plants. They are the original farmers.
Bird Alert: Their sensitivity to the environment can tell us when an animal dies (like when ravens squawk), when the weather is changing (sudden quiet), or if there is danger near (alert calls). They are extraordinarily sensitive to environmental changes such as pollution, poisoning and showing problems that need attention.
Bird Cleanup Crew: When an animal dies anywhere, birds are the first to start the cleanup process, allowing all the other creatures and bugs to recycle carcasses and enrich the soil. Let’s save these treasures by keeping birds safe from cats.
I love cats, too. Adopted cats have been companions inside my home. We can enjoy cats while protecting birds. If dogs are not allowed to roam free, then why are cats? In some cities they are not. When outside, cats face dangers such as being hit by a car, being harmed by another animal or person, contracting certain diseases and being infected with parasites. Let’s have a movement to keep cats inside and save birds and cats.
Linda Hunt lives in Whitefish. Reprinted with permission from Daily Inter Lake, August 20, 2024.