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I am so sick of the feral cat colonies that infest so many locations that I like to bird. And while I am sick of the cat colonies I am even more sick of the deluded people who believe that by feeding feral cats they are somehow helping them. Outdoor cats live short, ugly, violent [...]

As anyone who follows this blog knows, outdoor cats are a veritable holocaust for wild birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and even insects.  Almost every single outdoor pet cat, feral cat, or stray kills other animals, no matter how well fed the cat is through other sources.  Trap-neuter-release programs sound nice and let folks think [...]

This is one diabolical Hooded Crow!  If you are a person who is averse to seeing cats get the short end of the stick you might not want to watch. Hat-tips to Julie and Dawn.

Shorter Steve Dale: Hey, birders, agree with me that feral cats should be left in the wild where they will kill birds.  Oh, and could you volunteer to help maintain feral cat colonies?  See, we can get along! Trap-Neuter-Release is a failure and leads to misery for cats and death for birds and other wild [...]

My friend Lorraine is awesome.  Her nickname is Fabulous Lorraine.  She’s not really a birder, but having been friends with me she knows that they are there, watches some (Red-bellied Woodpeckers are her favorite) and will even drink shade-grown coffee because she knows it’s good for migratory birds. Photo courtesy Kimm Schroeder She also has [...]

Cats should not be allowed outdoors.  Period.  Especially when the domesticated feline is an extra from The Matrix. Yes, there will be those who will think that the mockingbird had it coming but what the mockingbird was doing was defending its territory, which likely included a nest with young, from what it judged (obviously correctly) was a [...]

Here in Minnesota, we’ve had some freezing weather causing some of our winter birds like Dark-eyed Juncos to come out in full force.  Most of them feed on the ground, scrounging for white millet, sunflower chips and Nyjer thistle. When I see birds on the ground, I think about cats. I recently posted a video [...]

As a followup to yesterday’s post on making outdoor cats indoor cats here is a link to Ted Williams thoughtful and well-written explanation of why trap-neuter-return cat colonies are not a good option…disease, predation, and a false feeling of doing good: why would anyone support such an ecologically devastating practice?

In a rapid and rather disturbing decision, the Federal Aviation Administration has decided to immediately implement new anti-bird measures on all airplanes in the wake of the recent near-tragedy in New York City.  The bold decision, derided by anti-government right-wingers as “big government run amok” will be fully implemented within two months.  Exactly what is [...]

The other day when I woke up it was to the jumbled song of a Canada Warbler. At first I thought that it was a weird dream, the product of too much birding and not enough sleep during the month of May’s migration but then I looked out my window and wow! In rapid succession [...]

When I got home from work today I realized that I needed to brush my cats, especially B.B., the long-haired one.  The male Northern Cardinal who has been ruling my balcony was not pleased with the disruption to his feeding schedule and let me know it by perching in the budding maple tree that has [...]