I
should have known better. A certain area
of the front yard was ice-covered and extremely dangerous to navigate. Having taken a horrendously bad fall late
last September, and two this winter, I was terrified of going down (for the
count) another time. Rationing that my
birdies had plenty of other opportunities I decided to let the metal
hopper feeder that hangs high in the evergreens wait until the weather warmed
and the ice disappeared.
Perhaps three
or four days had passed since I had refilled it so there wasn’t much left
inside.
By chance I happened to pause at
my office window the other day, and, luckily, the light was right so I could
see the image clearly. Movement—what
looked like fluttering—caught my eye and sent up a distress signal. A feeling of dread came over me as I raced
from the house and onto the skating rink otherwise known as my lawn.
 |
| Offending feeder sans captive Chickadee |
Creeping
along in my moon boots I prayed to make it to the feeder safely. Once at my destination, I looked up and my
worst fears were confirmed. Somehow, a
Chickadee had become trapped inside the feeder and was frantically struggling
to free herself.
Without further thought
for my safety, I raced (skated) to the garage to get my ladder. Perched precariously on a high rung I reached
up and lifted the lid up then carefully titled the feeder. In one great whoosh of wings my prisoner was
emancipated from her cage.
I
can only surmise how this unfortunate avian ended up trapped inside a feeder
with a fairly secure top. My best guess
involves, of course, gray squirrel activity.
Perhaps the pests jumped on top, dislodging the lid. ??? Makes sense.
What I can’t understand is how a bird weighing ounces then caused the
weight-activated top to lock back in place.
??? I will never know for sure
what happened but I can say with certainty that it is a very bad idea to leave
bird feeders unchecked for even a few days.
Strange things, indeed, can happen.
