A Lovely Day
"Society proscribes certain means
of competition detriment to its own survival. Thou shalt not kill has
been a social proscription written not just into the Judeo-Christian
commitments but into the commandments of virtually every human community
on earth. Unwritten but understood is a comparable clause in the
social contracts of monkeys and wolves, of gulls and hyenas; it was
understood by the armies of Joshua: 'Thou shalt not kill, - except
members of other societies".
Robert Ardrey, The Social Contract. 1970.
We finally had a nice day after all our cold weather. I enjoyed feeding
the birds while walking around in the cool, dry sunlight, I don't do
well in the winter and almost felt joyous. It sure is good to be alive,
um hmm. I stubbed out a cigarette and threw cold herring into the
pelican pen.
One group of birds that I don't have much to do with are the raptors. I'll occasionally walk Rocky the one eyed hawk but I never feed any of them. Right now we have 3 hawks, two are recent intakes who are not ready to survive on their own. They are in separate large flight cages, which look like the interior of ghost town churches. This afternoon I walked by the building we have the Cooper's Hawk in, he's a young adult that doesn't know how to hunt. Two of our guys were looking through gaps in the boards and shushed me when I greeted them. Odd, everyone here is very polite to each other. Then I looked in through the nearest opening and realized what was happening.
Two chicks were chirping and pecking seed on the floor. The hawk was on a fan mount about 12 feet above them and not noticing them at all. So, this is how to teach a hawk to hunt. I went home and sat on the porch thinking about the rats that killed the two Whistler ducklings I was raising, and what I did to that colony. Everything has to eat, and evil is a matter of perspective.
But I feel bad thinking of the two baby birds gulping down their seed.
Photo property of Kalmbach Feeds.
One group of birds that I don't have much to do with are the raptors. I'll occasionally walk Rocky the one eyed hawk but I never feed any of them. Right now we have 3 hawks, two are recent intakes who are not ready to survive on their own. They are in separate large flight cages, which look like the interior of ghost town churches. This afternoon I walked by the building we have the Cooper's Hawk in, he's a young adult that doesn't know how to hunt. Two of our guys were looking through gaps in the boards and shushed me when I greeted them. Odd, everyone here is very polite to each other. Then I looked in through the nearest opening and realized what was happening.
Two chicks were chirping and pecking seed on the floor. The hawk was on a fan mount about 12 feet above them and not noticing them at all. So, this is how to teach a hawk to hunt. I went home and sat on the porch thinking about the rats that killed the two Whistler ducklings I was raising, and what I did to that colony. Everything has to eat, and evil is a matter of perspective.
But I feel bad thinking of the two baby birds gulping down their seed.
Photo property of Kalmbach Feeds.
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