There was a war in our backyard this morning. One of the cats was intent on something on the ground, probably eating it, but I couldn’t tell. About ten barn swallows were attacking her. They took turns swooping down and yelling at her, while others raised a terrible commotion as backup. The birds risked their lives with every swoop, as they skimmed the top of the cat’s head. Meanwhile, the cat walked off with a full stomach and dignity intact.
The meal was likely a baby bird that had fallen from the nest; the other day I called Ruby off of one that she was inspecting closely. I don’t know if dogs eat birds, but we should have called her Mikey—she will eat anything. I urged the youngster under the lilac bush and hoped for the best.
A lot of folks hate barn swallows but they keep the mosquito population down, and I like to watch the graceful way they fly around on the hunt. They are naughty birds though. We have a total of 17 nests under the eaves of the house, and many are above a window, so the leavings make a mess. When I sit on the deck in the evenings, several complain because I’m too close to their nests but, taking a lesson from the cat, I ignore them, and pretty soon they go about their business.
There were always barn swallow nests in our barn and, as a kid, I often climbed up on the stall dividers and peeked in to see if the babies had hatched. Dad cautioned me not to touch the eggs, or baby birds, saying that the parents would abandon them if there was human smell. I don’t know if that is true but, being the naughty kid I was, I sometimes disobeyed, holding a tiny, barely feathered critter with a gaping mouth, in my hand. I was always surprised at how warm they were. Guilt is a powerful motivator though, and it wasn’t long before I let the nests alone.
I have thought a lot about the not so peaceful bird protest in our yard because it reminds me of the violence and mayhem we’ve seen on the news. In spite of weapons, blood, fire, and mass destruction, such gatherings have been spun as peaceful protests by those in authority, and the news media. The attacks are often motivated by unfair treatment of a bystander, but sometimes the victim is where they should not have been, doing things they shouldn’t, and when the people whose job it is to stop that from happening intervene, they are punished.
Dad never caught me messing with the nests, but if he had the consequences would have been unpleasant and well deserved. And I wouldn’t have dared protest, peacefully, or otherwise.
There are various points of view about the unrest in our society and I won’t pontificate on that. But the thing I did notice about the bird episode is that the protectors did their job fearlessly and backed one another up. Would that humans were as willing to close ranks behind those who are in charge of doing what’s necessary and right, to keep us safe.