Let Nature take its course

Feathers by Earl Plato

The souvenir pewter drinking mug on my duck decoys shelf holds a variety of bird feathers. They are large specimens such as the tail feather of a Cooper’s hawk. I have no small songbird feathers though I have found many over the years. Nature writer Ed Teale shares this little excerpt. “The feather first catches our eye. No more than three-quarters of an inch long it is tipped with scarlet. Like a tiny perfect jewel resting on the rich green velvet of a jewellery case, it lies on a cushion of moss beside the trail - the body feather dropped by a molting Scarlet tanager.” Get a another cup only smaller and collect some small but colourful songbird feathers? Why not?
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Hey, I am an animal lover but I agree with Gerry Riesing of the Buffalo News when he says that he disagrees with the animal rights folks who insist we simply “let nature take its course.” Few of us would want a black bear in our back yards as occurred in Hamilton recently. More of us would be willing to see the problems created by deer, Canada geese, and purple loosestrife addressed by our town and region. Bears and wild cats in urban areas should be caught and humanely removed to their more natural habitats.
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To the bird lover, eye catching colours of certain songbirds are so appealing. I’ve said many times that I miss the family farm setting for many reasons - one main one was the colourful songbirds. Here in town I miss the myriad of coloured plumages. Wait! Last month we had a male Rose-breasted grosbeak at our feeders. A flood of colour images came to my mind’s eye after that viewing. Deep in Marcy’s Woods Ernie Giles and I took photos of a male Scarlet Tanager. Look it up in your bird guide. What a vivid recall of those deep black and powerful red colours captured in that slide. Ever think of a nature photography hobby?