"Trash" Birds

Grackles - Bird Feeder February 2021

As humans, we often put labels on things like birds. We tend to love those that are colorful and demure while admonishing those that are drab and aggressive. At my new home, I feed everyone including those that are often considered to be "trash" birds. I have to admit that when a large group of grackles - both common and boat-tailed, descend on my feeder, I pause for a moment and do my best to remember that such labels are unwarranted.  Our labels are anthropocentric. Life is deserving of our empathy no matter how it is manifested. The grackles, fish crows and red-winged blackbirds that consume so much of my feed each day are every bit as entitled to it as the tufted titmice, cardinals, and woodpeckers. Nature doesn't label them as good and bad. We do that and it is wrong.

I'll admit that I begrudge the nonnative species - the starlings and ring-necked doves, but they are part of the living landscape now and they are here in my neighborhood to stay whether I feed them or not. Our labels mean nothing to them. They are residents whether we like it or not and directing animosity their way is not something I choose to do. They are just as innocent as the birds native to Florida. They did not ask to be here and they are only living their lives in accordance with their genetic proclivities.It is neither right or wrong, but natural.

If we believe in the premise that life is sacred, we must cast off our propensity to label it. Native Americans looked at the other creatures that shared their world and gave them "personhood". They were not "its", but "hims" and "hers". If we are to practice that approach, we must understand that a living landscape is one where all life is welcome - at least where our wildlife are concerned. We that create living landscapes create the conditions that allow other creatures to live beside us and though we have some control over what is likely to do that, it is nature that ultimately makes that decision. 

I do not share the same hospitality with my plantings, however, only because my landscape serves as the foundation I am creating to provide habitat with. If I were to welcome every plant that springs up in my yard as equals to those I've purposely planted, the habitat value I've designed for would rapidly degenerate. Plants create habitat and habitat provides the living conditions my wildlife require. I will continue to weed out the bad actors and encourage those that are best in creating the conditions I've planned for. After all, I do not live in a natural setting. If I did, my task would be so much simpler. The urban desert that surrounds my home is what wants to take over. I cannot let it, but once this landscape is more fully formed it should operate more naturally. 

My landscape is evolving. The plants that I've added are maturing and eventually they will provide so much more than they presently do to provide habitat. As it matures, I will see changes in the wildlife that share my living space. Some may disappear, but I suspect that they will continue to be supported by the conditions that surround me. What I expect to see is a broadening of birds, pollinators, and other wildlife that will find a welcoming place to call their own. I'm beginning to see that even now.


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