Bird watching is far different than watching birds. I learned this when we got a new kitten. Having had indoor-outdoor cats for more than 40 years, my wife now wants only indoor cats. Cats are willing to adapt to this with experience, but raising an indoor kitten includes the Zoomies, which were driving our 13-year-old indoor cat nuts. I happened to notice the bird feeders in Walmart one day, so I bought one, thinking that by hanging it in front of a window the cats could see, it might entertain them and cut down on the Zoomies. It did, in spades.
But the resident Homo sapiens also took up watching birds. Watching birds is not what bird watchers do. Bird watching is a mental problem where people stand out in the cold and rain peering at trees through binoculars in hopes of catching a glimpse of a scarlet pimpernel so they can check off a box on their list of “look how many different birds I have seen.” No thanks. That’s even more boring than fishing.
On the other hand, watching birds is entertainment, just outside the window. As a side effect, our yard is now full of musical bird songs all day long, replacing years of obnoxious magpie screeches.
As the neighborhood cat population changed from 100% indoor/outdoor to only one indoor/outdoor, the quail population exploded from 4 to 35, and watching 35 quail hop across our driveway beats anything on TV.
Basic bird feed only costs 50 cents per pound, and a pound of bird seed feeds a lot of birds. You don’t even need a bird feeder, although it helps. Just put the feed on the ground, the natural home for seed eating birds.
Since 1970, the bird population in North America has lost three billion birds, mainly due to pollution and global warming, but the polluters blame cats. Cats are now deservedly the most popular pet, with the pet cat population surpassing dogs. But outdoor cats, even well-fed cats, kill birds. Mother Nature programmed them to do that. They also kill rattlesnakes. Scared the crap out of my wife when one of our indoor-outdoor cats brought her a dead rattlesnake the cat had killed – showing off to Mom.
If you have pet cats, keep them indoors. Your cat will live longer and be there to cuddle 24/7. It helps the birds. And get a bird feeder to help your cats.
Keith Baker, Heber City
