Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Tuesday, June 5. 2007

Man-caused bird mortality in the US

From the National Research Council (h/t Insty):

Domestic cats: 100s of millions a year
. Striking high-tension lines: 130 million - 1 billion a year
Striking buildings: 97 million to 976 million a year
 Cars: 80 million a year
Toxic chemicals: 72 million
 Striking communications towers: 4 to 50 million a year
* Wind turbines: 20,000 to 37,000

If one must have an outdoor cat, the least you can do is to put a bell on the animal.

Posted by Bird Dog in Natural History and Conservation at 06:27 | Comments (9) | Trackbacks (0)

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Lies, lies, and damned statistics! Better watch out or Sissy Willis will get you.....We cat lovers (and yes, I think dogs have better characters but love is blind, and a creature doesn't have to be virtuous or love us for us to adore them) are numerous...You love women, and you like the saying I've sent you in the past about cats and women will do as they please and dogs and men had better get used to it...So stop chortling cat-hating "news".

My adorable teenager cat would melt your heart of stone. And yes, she wears a bell...
#1 retriever on 2007-06-05 07:01 (Reply)
What if we put a bell on our wind turbine?
#2 John on 2007-06-05 07:12 (Reply)
Actually, I love birds, but God gave them a spectacular advantage in the form of wings. My cat, like human hunters I love [how many birds did you bag last year?], is God's agent in the development of greater avian intelligence. Perhaps that is what should truly be feared! My cats are lovable family critters, generous therapists to troubled humanoids,clean, sensual, move gracefully, awesome spider. fly and waspkillers, and incredible hunters. I can love a man like that!

And people who don't let their cats indoors probably try to stop their wives shopping!
#3 retriever on 2007-06-05 07:36 (Reply)
Wouldn't the bell warn the mice?
#4 Patina on 2007-06-05 07:40 (Reply)
Sorry about the mice crack BD. Just yanking your chain. You are right about belling cats. There are way too many of the beasties in my neighborhood and they kill innumerable birds. The only time I had cats was when I owned an old farm house that was impossible to seal up. The mice would overrun the place in the fall. My tom cat was useless at hunting though. I saw a mouse run right over him and he was so lazy he did not even stand up. The female however was deadly and she would eat the whole mouse except its "butt" which she would then proudly deposit at my feet. Yech.
#5 Patina on 2007-06-05 11:59 (Reply)
Sigh. I'm running on about four hours of sleep today since our cat jumped on the bed at 3:30 and began pawing us to get up.

Hey - in half an hour there's gonna be birds out there!
#6 Skookumchuk on 2007-06-05 12:16 (Reply)
I had a stunningly beautiful black feline named Lydia. She was feral and would tolerate only me and only on her conditions. I have a large bird sanctuary in my back yard with about six feeder poles - several with double feeders. I happened to look outside one day and saw her crouched like a statue in the sanctuary. I looked again and caught her six to seven feet mid-air snatching a flying bird. I was so horrified. (She was my first cat.) I thought.... yuk, I'm providing her fresh chow.

One evening I was searching for a dog toy under my bed. I was feeling blind and felt something and pulled it out. It was a rodent carcass all eaten except the head and butt. I did that dance you do when you're so grossed-out you shudder and froth for half an hour. Alas, that was just the beginning of the gifts of rodent butts. Sometimes she'd bring them in alive and squeaking. ......... that's enough.... I'm getting squiggley.
.
#7 Phoenix on 2007-06-05 14:37 (Reply)
Lenny & Squiggy --the two comic louts who lived near what two gal roomies on tv?
#8 buddy larsen on 2007-06-05 18:40 (Reply)
Nice association, Bud. ha ha.......... :)

I have no idea of the answer. I'm useless at trivia.


Marquis de Tag - The sadist who invented the sharp-edged and scratchy clothing tags.

Hashishkebab - to put a lit match back in the packet.

(I made one of those up. I snitched the other.)
.
#9 Phoenix on 2007-06-05 22:18 (Reply)

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