Saturday 15 June 2013

Wildlife Delivery...

Yesterday, I noticed that both cats were staring intently at the bottom of my bookcase. I guess that a mouse must have escaped their clutches. Both Miaowrini and Furretti have lost interest in it now, so either the mouse has died or it has escaped somewhere else.

This afternoon I was chatting on the phone to a friend of mine when an awful racket was heard in my kitchen. Both of us knew exactly what the cry was: Miaowrini was dragging a bird in through the catflap.

The bird succeeded in getting away, but the cat managed to catch it again. I approached, towel in hand, in order to effect a rescue, and Miaowrini, unwilling to relinquish her prize, promptly left through the catflap, the bird still firmly clamped between her jaws.

Two minutes later, she was back - the bird still in her mouth. It was raining outside, and Miaowrini doesn't like to get wet. The bird got away again, but got caught up in the net curtains in the kitchen, and I was able to use a towel to calm it down. I carried the bird to my bedroom window and let it fly out. It flew off quite strongly, and I saw it alight at the top of a tree across the street.

I didn't have time to take a picture, and the bird didn't have a yellow beak, but, having looked at a few pictures I suspect that this latest capture was a young blackbird.

My mother advised me to shout at the cats to discourage them from bringing wildlife home, but that would be mean - they're only doing what is natural... added to which, there is a part of me which is actually rather proud of their hunting skills...

Now, if only I could train them to bring me a steak...

6 comments:

ACC92 said...

If it's the same as the bird to the right then it's a starling :)

Mulier Fortis said...

That photo was on a bird page and labelled blackbird... though it isn't a perfect match. Starlings have speckled breasts, I think, though I'm no expert...

ACC92 said...

Starlings only develop the speckled breast as they age. The long beak gives it away as a starling :)Bird nerd here....

Zephyrinus said...

Gosh.

Your Blog's better than EastEnders !!!

Genty said...

Possibly a female blackbird - they are dark brown, inc. beak. You might just have saved a nest full of little 'uns. Oh, the pathos.

Lady Catcliffe said...

The kitty kill count at Catcliffe so far this year is mouse: 4 and chipmunk: 1. Two mice and the chipmunk are attributable to the male, one mouse to the female, and the last mouse unattributable (found deceased on the walk; I saw the other victims as they were being attacked by the cat). No birds or baby bunnies yet, at least that I've seen . . .

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