Yachats Oregon Writer Rick Schultze

This time of year with the winds blowing wildly the bird population in my neighborhood is buffeting about while flying around taking care of various daily duties and flocking together. I’ve written about these birds before, mentioning the Blue Jays who ferret out where the Crows have hidden food and sneak off with it for themselves and the one Jay who is physically impaired but has managed to earn enough respect from fellow birds that when it swoops down to snag a well placed peanut or two the other birds step aside and allow it to take as much as it wants.

Well, they are still operating much to my viewing pleasure and the other day I got a call from a gentleman who lives high on the side of a forested hill south of Yachats near Cape Perpetua telling me about his particular bird watching pleasure. “After reading your article about the way the birds acted I wanted to tell you about an interesting thing I saw some humming birds do. I have a security light on my house that is motion sensitive and depending on what time a year it is goes on and off frequently at night for short periods of time. Normally it’s the raccoons or deer or bear wandering around that trigger it, but last late June it started going on and off all night but when I’d look out I’d see no trace of any of the regular animals. After a couple nights I decided to investigate further and to my surprise I saw some humming birds perched on the top of the light. I watched the as the light would dim but one bird would swoop down in front of the sensor and the light would came back on for about three minutes. Well, I watched in amazement for sometime until I figured out what was happening. It was cool at night, just below 50 degrees, and the light emits heat when it is on so the birds had figured out that by triggering the light they had a nice warm perch to hang out on for a while! They would go shopping for a snack then come back and get warm. I felt like I should hang a fuchsia basket to totally accommodate the little feathered genius’, giving them their own 24 hour quick stop!”

While I laughed at the thought of the humming birds regularly visiting a 24 hour store, I was also aware that it is the fifth Annual National Bird Day on January 5^th and of the message offered by the Animal Protection Institute and Avian Welfare Coalition. They are calling on activists around the U. S. to take action on behalf of captive birds by drawing attention to the exploitation of other countries’ native birds by the U.S. pet industry. What saddened me was the statement that “even when bred in captivity, exotic birds are not considered domesticated animals, and all their inherent behavior and physical needs remain in tact. Sadly, when it comes to birds, deprivation of their natural behaviors (to fly and flock, for example) is an inescapable component of their captivity.”

The song “White Bird” by the band “It’s a Beautiful Day” epitomizes the plight of pet birds. It tells of a caged birds’ life or death desire to fly and be free.

While many birds here are fortunately protected by American laws and can use their natural intellect like the humming birds to sweeten life and mention it to other birds when they flock, birds from other countries being marketed here don’t have it so good. Like the bird in the song they don’t have natural lives.

I’m sure many birds would agree with, and encourage you to check out www.natioalbirdday.org/ . It’s a very informative site and if you enjoy birds you’ll enjoy it. Happy Bird Watching!!

Contact Rick Schultze at yarick@pioneer.net