The Interloper – Whiskers

You may have been wondering what’s been happening with The Interloper. There hasn’t been much activity from the little beast, probably because the nice warm weather meant it could scavenge food outdoors instead of in my cage.

But then it snowed.

And this evening, when I fully awoke from my daily nap, what did I find in my cage? Small traces of disturbed snow near the Interloper’s tunnel, almost like it stuck its craven little head out of its hole to sniff the air for…food? Signs of my presence? 

Something must have made it think twice, for there was nothing in the snow but whisker marks from its tentative sniffing.

I’ll continue to bide my time and wait for a full entrance. And then? The Interloper will swiftly become lunch. Muahaha.  

Snow day!

All night long I watched as the snow fell silently around the cage complex. When it snows like this the cages get very quiet: the occasional rustle of feathers as a Turkey Vulture rouses to shake the snow off; the subtle scrape of a Red Tailed Hawk shifting its weight and tucking a foot into its down. But mostly, silence, so deep and so complete I can hear the individual flakes of snow coming to rest on the drifts outside my window. 

By the time dawn broke this morning, the snow was deep enough to lose a prairie dog in (good thing I never drop my food). Everyone weathered (or feathered?) the storm well, myself included. I found the light sprinkling of snow across my forehead to be very refreshing. 

Now the Humans are busy shoveling pathways and brushing snow off all the perches. It looks like more work for them when the weather changes like this, yet everyone is smiling. Despite the inconvenience, the snow seems to make everyone happy, bird and Human alike. 

The cage complexes at dawn

Warm winter

Even though it's the middle of December, it's not been very cold. What's the point of wearing a down coat and booties if it's hot in the winter?

Weeks ago, the first snowfalls of the season were a welcome relief. Our cages have slatted roofs, with a panel in one corner so the less-bundled birds can perch in a dry place if they need to. I usually sit out in the open, allowing the snow to fall on me in soft, cold pillows. For some reason, this makes the Humans laugh when they come to check on me in the morning. I don't understand.

More recently, the snow has been melting, and the daily temperatures have been up in the 40's. One upside to the warm weather is that my food doesn't turn into an icicle the moment room service leaves it in my cage. This way I get to spend at least an hour pretending it's not there, before giving in and swallowing the hunk of meat whole.

Today in particular was a very warm day, and the Human who came to clean my cage took me outside to "enjoy the weather". This is a Human I'm very familiar with, one who has been here longer than me. He knows what he's doing, so I don't have to spend the entire session training him. Instead I can sit on his glove and take the time to glare at every creature that passes within a hundred yards of us, like the sparrow that was taking up space in a cottonwood across the field.

I hissed and clacked my beak, making sure the sparrow knew I didn't approve of his invasion, bringing the Human's attention to me.

"You sure are pleasant today," he said in that tone of voice Human's call "sarcastic".

Insolence! I hissed in his face, making him gag.

"Ugh! Breath of death!" he croaked.

That's more like it.