Stopped at the parks in Manchester again. Lotsa Indigos and some Veeries and
other usual stuff. Female Woodie with one (1) lonesome chick. Sorta sad but
I guess Snapping turtles have to eat something. Wish they would pick some
prey that isn't as cute.

    We tend to like things that are cute and cuddly. Explains why Warblers
are wow birds and Cowbirds, well, I once said they look like they stuck
their head in the wrong end of the cow. Yech. We aren't supposed to pick
favorites based on beauty, but the "butterflies of the bird world" just have
a lot more charm than that stupid thing that can't even raise its own brood.

    Behavior has an evolution just like the physical stuff. Popular theory
says that Cowbirds decided to start dumping their eggs off on other
grassland species because they followed the roaming buffalo herds around the
plains. Ok. So now that the buffalo have been wiped out and cows don't
migrate any further than the barn, maybe its time they evolved back to
nesting again.
    All I know is the next time I see a female Hooded Warbler feeding one of
their oversized brats, me and a pellet gun just might ignore their protected
status as "American Songbirds". We oughta put a bounty on the dumb things.
Up in Kirtland Country they trap 'em out. What's wrong with doing it in the
rest of America?

    Jerry Tarbell
    Grumbling again in Carroll County