NATURE'S CAR ALARM

It was beautiful spring day and I was enjoying a quiet day puttering around the house. I'd opened some of the windows to let the fresh air in, and was getting ready to think about making dinner, when the raucous call of a Blue Jay caught my attention. Within seconds several more Jays were joining in, their sound so frantic that I went to the window to see who they were yelling at.

I looked around the yard to see if one of the neighborhood cats was visiting. That's always an entertaining sight when the Jays swoop down and gives them a little peck on the butt to get them to move faster. It amazes me how high a cat can jump when it's startled.

But then I saw that the Jays were swooping and diving into the branches of the pine tree in our front yard. Alex joined me at the window. “What's got them so mad?” he asked looking out the window.

I pointed to the pine tree. “I think it's a Cooper Hawk they're dive bombing.”

Alex look up in the sky. “Where's the Hawk?”

“I think I can see him at the very top of the pine tree.”

The tree was so dense Alex was having trouble finding him. “What's he doing?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Just sitting there.” Several more Jays were coming to help, their noise was deafening. We watched as over a dozen Jays were now swarming the tree.

“Is the Hawk even moving?” Alex was squinting, still unable to see which branch the Hawk was perched on.

“Nope, just sitting there like nothing's happening around him.” I had to laugh as I pointed to all the smaller birds headed in the other direction, away from the danger. “It's times like these that I feel bad that Jays are labeled bullies.” I looked over at Alex and saw the surprised look on his face.

“Um, aren't you the first one to call them that?” Alex reminded me.

“I know.” I looked back at the action. “They are kind of jerks when it comes to bird feeders. Always pushing and shoving, scaring everyone off until their done. They're like the obnoxious wedding guests that have to rush the buffet line as soon as the first table is called.” We both watched as the frantic Jays were keeping the Hawk busy so the smaller birds could get away. “But they're like nature's car alarm when they sense danger.”

Just then the Hawk took off, calmly flying further into our neighborhood, the dozen Blue Jays right behind him making sure he'd think twice about coming back this way again.

I closed the window and looked over at Alex. “Maybe I should go top off the feeders for them.”

“For them?”

“I'm sure they're going to be starving when they come back from the Hawk battle.” I went into the refrigerator and reached way in the back of one of the shelves. “I'll put this out as a special treat.” I held out the nicely chilled suet brick.

Alex didn't look thrilled. “You keep the bird food in the refrigerator?”

“Just the suet. It keeps longer and it's easier to put it in the suet feeder.” I began unwrapping it.

Alex opened the refrigerator and began looking around. “What else do you keep in here that isn't for humans to eat?”

I smiled but didn't answer him. Sometimes it's just fun to let him wonder.