Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Bird Kill

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Bird Kill

    So, the Friday before the storm hit, I put out a lots of hay, at our farm in northern Wise County. I was pretty sure it was enough to hold the cows, until the storm broke.

    Today, I went back up there, to put out more hay. My estimate for needed hay was spot on. Just a few scrap hay piles, that the cows were still working.

    All the cows were okay, and one calf was born in the middle of this storm.

    What surprised me was the number of dead, frozen birds that I saw. There were at least three in the corral, where I park the tractor. Don't know what kind, as they had been eaten.

    On the way to the pasture, I see three more dead birds. Looked like some kind of field larks. Pretty good sized, with some yellow feathers.

    I found two dead dove, in the stack of hay bales, on my trailer. They had borrowed down between the bales, together, and they still froze.

    I wonder how much carnage I would have found, if I had given the place a thorough inspection.

    #2
    They froze to death because they couldn't find enough food. That and hawks had a field day with them. The songbirds fly slower when it's this cold and they couldn't find any shelter in the trees.
    My songbirds tripled their consumption of food this week.

    Comment


      #3
      I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.

      D. H. Lawrence

      Comment


        #4
        Been feeding the birds around the house all week. Dogs found several frozen in the backyard and made short work of them. The few I found in the trees/bushes next to the house, once warmed up they took off. My brush burning pile out front, I dumped birdseed and some rabbit feed on top to fall thru to the bottom. So far no more dead birds or rabbits.

        Comment


          #5
          I saw 12 smashed on the road all clustered together. This crazy cold is hard on little birds. I haven't seen any mockingbirds.

          Comment


            #6
            I saw several robins in the back yard during the freeze that could hardly move.

            Comment


              #7
              i put out almost 40 lbs of sunflower seeds this past week they were eating them as fast as i put them out

              Comment


                #8
                I found a couple of dead ones around the house

                I put some hen scratch out for the birds and there were flocks of birds coming to it

                Comment


                  #9
                  I found several dead, yellow-feathered 'Larks' and a couple of doves.
                  Quite a few little birds were smart enough to shelter with my chickens and share their food/water.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I stuck about 10 bowls of dry multi-flavor cat food, which fed the birds that need protein as well as the cats and stray dogs who managed to find it. Neighbors kept bird feed and warm water out around the clock, and the swarms of birds there was unreal. Each day, a few would pile up dead from the shock.

                    I had several finches seeking refuge under my patios - so I fed them water and food under every protected zone of my outside home.

                    Had a couple of heated blankets out in an outdoor closet with several feral cats piled up in there. The birds were just outside - not one of the two species cared about the other during the worst of this storm

                    Made covered shelters, tossed a bunch of thick blankets in layers over the top, electric blankets inside using multi-blanket layered, snap together cat/dog shelters on front and back porches as well with electric heating pads inside. Each had animals in them - hidden and protected. I left them alone so they wouldn't run out into the mess and die in a panic
                    Last edited by AtTheWall; 02-21-2021, 11:53 AM.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I am not seeing many birds..............

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I saw some Canadian geese standing out in a field the day after it got -30 at night. I bet they were thinking they were back home. They're probably thinking about flying to Florida for the Winter next year.

                        Comment


                          #13



                          If you were looking for the dove they are all at my deer feeder.


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Found one chi-chi bird dead under a tarp I had covering one of my wifes plants. Guess he was the weak link hanging around the yard.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              The weak ones die but the vast majority do fine.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X