At 01:08 PM Monday 5/1/2006, Deborah Harrell wrote:
> Ronn!Blankenship <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
<snip>
>... Now, ... it seems
> that the same pair of mockingbirds has built a nest
> in the bush at my
> mailbox, and in the spirit of protecting their nest,
> one of them
> attacks me every time I go to or near the mailbox.
> Does anyone have
> any suggestions of how to solve the problem which
> does not involve
> destroying the nest and any eggs/babies which may be
> in it...
Stake out a large dog by the nest, and they'll move?
There are several medium-to-large dogs which at times wander up and
down the street. So far I have not noticed them either being
attacked by or paying any attention to the birds.
I don't think staking out a cat would work, since
you'd likely end up with either dead baby birds, or a
cowed cat, with tufts of cat fur in that nest,
cushioning baby birds...
I don't know how long mockingbirds live, so it may indeed not have
been this pair but their parents, grandparents, etc, who used to
attack Andy (and other cats) when he was just walking up or down the
street, nowhere near any bushes or trees where a nest could be
located. And if I haven't mentioned it (or it has been so long you
have forgotten it) more than one person asked the first time they saw
Andy if he was a bobcat or at least half-bobcat because he was so
big. (He looked a lot like a Maine Coon, although his heritage was
totally non-descript, he having just been one of the kittens born to
one of the cats on the farm belonging at the time to one of my
stepmother's kids.)
Them mockerbirds ain't
a'scairt o' *nuthin'!*
You are the first person so far who has recognized this [major] part
of the problem. Perhaps it is because I chose an appropriate subject
line. I have had to point out on other lists where I requested help
and received advice such as "Wear a big hat!" that the problem is not
simply being bombarded with poop when I go to the mailbox . . .
Seriously, if there are no eggs/babies yet (what else
are telescopes for?),
Telescopes cannot see through clouds. Or through thick foliage. In
fact, the only reason I suspect that they have built or are building
a nest in this bush is that they attack me for coming near it: as of
yet, I have not seen a nest in the bush. (FWIW, that was also the
first clue I had that there was a nest in the other bush: they kept
attacking me for coming near that bush, even though it was still
winter and the nest was not in active use.) A related problem is
that the bush in question grows quite quickly, especially during the
warm months of the year, and is already close to the point where it
will need to be cut back or I will start getting nastygrams from the
postal service that the bush needs to be cut back so it doesn't block
the letter carrier's access to the mailbox. I don't even want to
think about what kind of correspondence I may receive if one of the
birds figures out how to get into the Jeep s/he drives and attacks
him/her (we have different letter carriers on different days). Also,
the weeds which have invaded the space at the foot of the mailbox
pole need cutting (I pulled up one big one the other day, and was
attacked while doing so) and I need to get around to
repairing/replacing the light on the top of the pole. (One day
awhile back, the glass shattered for no apparent reason when the
letter carrier shut the mailbox. I presume it was already old and
cracked somehow and was just waiting the right vibration to fall
apart.) IOW, all that work was awaiting its turn in the list of
"things to do when the weather, etc., permits," and some of them such
as pruning the bush probably cannot be put off until late summer/fall
when the nest is no longer harboring little ones.
your best bet is to take down
the nest.
And if (when I can find it) it turns out to be already in use? Any
suggestions from anyone on how to "transplant" it and have the
parents accept the new location rather than abandoning the younguns?
Just put on your battle gear - and goggles!
- when you brave the winged furies.
(OK, that was sort of serious. <grin>)
Debbi
whose Bashir was highly annoyed when his stalk of six
turkeys was interrupted by his human's arrival (yes,
6: 2 hens and 4 toms; he was within ~ 6ft of the
closest 2)
Were the toms big/old enough to have spurs? If so, that could have
gotten "interesting" . . .
--Ronn! :)
"Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country
and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER
GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that
would be eliminated from schools too?"
-- Red Skelton
(Someone asked me to change my .sig quote back, so I did.)
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