[ SECRET POST #4201 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4201 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



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02.
[Sophie Turner, from Game of Thrones]


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03.
(Hindustan Times)


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04.


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05.
[Philip Quast in "Ultraviolet"]


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06.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 07 secrets from Secret Submission Post #601.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

So I think hawks and eagles and falcons are really cool, but there’s a teenage gang of (I think) young red-tailed hawks hanging out in my neighborhood and for the last couple weeks I’ve been woken up most mornings by the sound of songbirds frantically trying and failing to escape being eaten, and it’s really bumming me out. :-(

They kind of lurk on my fence and eye my chickens, but luckily haven’t eaten any. I wish they’d eat mice instead of little birds, though. There’s six hawks so they’ve really put a dent in the dawn chorus. Even though it’s really hot and dry out I’ve stopped filling the birdbath because I don’t want my yard to be a hawk buffet any more.

Re: Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

I don't mean to be rude. But I really don't see why it's any better or worse for them to be eating sparrows instead of mice.

Obviously, the chickens, that's a different story. But the sparrows - that's nature, isn't it?

Re: Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

I agree, why is it less sad for mice? Rodents are cute, too!

Except in that I suppose the crying isn't as loud when they get caught. Though rabbits really shriek... :(

I'm bad with nature in general. I love animals, but I also can't stand to see one animal kill another.

Re: Birds of prey

[greghousesgf]

you stop thinking they're cute if you have them in your house.

Re: Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

OP—Mice are cute but most mice and rats aren’t native here and also they generally only get one squeak in before they’re toast. The birds loudly flip out until they’re eviscerated and it’s awful. Also I’ve had rats live inside my oven once and it was definitely no fun. I had a pet rat (named Templeton, who got so big an old lady at the vet’s office cooed over what a cute kitten I had) and pet mice as a kid, but also at one point had 17 birds (a mix of cockatiels, lovebirds, parakeets, and one green parrot.) I’ve been a vegetarian for 25 years because I hate thinking of animals dying.

Re: Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

It’s not rude and objectively it’s not that much worse, but the mice (and rats) are non-native, unlike most of the birds they’ve been eating. And I like hearing the songbirds sing in the morning, but hate hearing them die.

Maybe the mice die quicker or something but I usually only hear them squeak once, the songbirds keep freaking out until they’re ripped open and I usually start crying. I’ve been a vegetarian for decades and once cried for an hour when my dog caught a rat and didn’t instantly kill it so it kept squeaking. I hate hearing animals suffer.

Re: Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

Because songbirds generally don't invade your house, chew holes in everything and shit and piss everywhere?

Re: Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sorry, anon. Thank-you for not taking action against the red-tails. With luck they'll disperse soon and find their own territories, and maybe progress to bigger prey? (Also, think what it would be like if all the songbirds matured - they'd have no food to eat and would starve.)

Re: Birds of prey

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT—I would never hurt one, the worst I’ve ever done is throw a lemon—and miss—at one that was eating a hummer. They’re not scared of me, if I whistle at them they make their long drawn out screaming call that sounds kind of whistley back, and will hang out less than five feet from me and give zero fucks. And like I said I’m pretty sure they’re a teen gang—after they leave their nests and parents but before they’ve got territories of their own they hang out together.

There’s really not enough prey for them to live so close together for long, maybe not even if they start eating rats too. They really are destroying the local songbird population for a couple blocks in every direction, including rarer birds than house sparrows, because the biggest raptor group I ever saw previously was three birds and I’m not sure they all made it. I think their parents must’ve fed them a rodent-heavy diet for them to all make it past fledging.

There’s a barn owl family three blocks away that mostly eats rodents, and I don’t set out a bird feeder for fear of it becoming a cat feeder, only water because I live in the land of drought.