You may be excused for thinking this is Bushboy’s blog, readers. It isn’t! I suppose one of the consolations of having so many rats this year, is that we have had so many more little birds visiting us as well. Anyway, my True Love spent the three weeks of his holiday plugging tiny gaps to prevent the rats getting into the house, thus trapping most of the rats in our roof and wall cavities. We can hear them thundering across the ceiling, perhaps in some rat version of Lord Of The Flies. So maybe the little birds are more comfy to stick around for longer. Anyway, anyway, I digress. There were at least 30 little birds in my yard this morning. This is really extraordinary for our place. They usually never stop to bath in the bird bath but now … they’re into it.

However, one of these birds is not like the others. Equal opportunity here, readers. Well, apart from the rats.


Fortunately, I can now share the joy with you as my youngest son has repaired our internet cable. Our dog, Fynn, chewed through the data cable because he was convinced if he could just rip out the cable, he could start on the wall next, and thus have the starving rodents leap out of the wall cavity into his waiting jaws. Life’s never boring with a Finnish Spitz! But it is not just our house, readers. My vet told me that his cat keeps bringing live rats into the house through the cat door. I am so glad I don’t have a cat.

So, how have you been, readers?

Chat soon.

Kind Regards.
Tracy


49 thoughts on “One Of These Birds Is Not Like The Others”

  1. Wow, you seem very unfazed by the presence of the rats! I would be calling in a pest controller for sure. Mice I could live with but not rats 😝 Still, the birds are very pretty!

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    1. I’m very fazed, Sarah. Fortunately they haven’t made it into the human space yet. We’ve had the pest controller once before. Despite saying the poison was not toxic to dogs, if the dogs eat enough poisoned rats they can get secondary poisoning. One of my dogs became ill. I just don’t want to chance that again. So we are trying a product that seems to be less effective but incredibly more expensive.

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    1. My TL admires the rodents for their cleverness. They can walk along a teeny wire fence. It is like a high wire act. They have such big eyes. I can see them glow when my TL shines the UV light on them. Lois, I’m not quite as phobic any more but I don’t want them within six feet of me.
      We have had a lot of problems with Fynn. He is too obsessed with them to bother about toileting outside! So as you can imagine we have had a few accidents inside because I refuse to leave the dog door open at night.

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  3. Oh my gosh Tracy! Your post reminded me of the year we moved to SC and the new guy at the dump decided to start burning in the centre of the trash and of course all the rats evacuated. Our new town was making headlines for the rat problem while Alberta boasted that they were a rat free province. Ya, like the rats pay attention to the provincial border. It was a summer of paranoia…rats were entering homes through open doors!!! Fortunately, not my door. I applaud Finn for his determination, but perhaps he could just patrol the perimeter.

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    1. Oh, Heather. That sounds terrible. The dump man must have been the most unpopular bloke in town. I was feeling a little ashamed of our rat problem because it seems to be a taboo subject but the problem is widespread. I recently heard about Alberta’s zero rat program – “This American Life”, Episode 801, Rats on the Brain. The interview with the rats is very funny.
      Fynn is not quiet when he hears or sees a rodent.

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      1. I just had a listen to Episode 801. Lol the rats are too funny! I didn’t realize the extent of Alberta’s program. I’m a little disturbed by the glee they take in shooting rats. I loved the rats response…but don’t they know they can go to Quebec to get the Poutine! And they aren’t missing anything not being allowed in AB!
        I would not want the rats in my home. Tell Fynn to keep up the good work, but avoid the electrical cables.

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  4. Oh Fynn… My house in Descanso was infested with mice. Mice got my power cord. I still have it with the little teeth marks. They weren’t successful getting through it or I might have heard the characteristic screech of a mouse being electrocuted. My Siberian Husky, Lily, was the best mouser I’ve ever had, even better than Tillamook’s kittens who were very good mousers, too. Lily once caught a mouse in the air as it leapt from the top of a closet. In her maw (always wanted to write “maw”) it sound just like a squeak toy.

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    1. I am waiting to be plunged into darkness, Martha. Do Siberian Huskies hunt quietly? Finkies are very noisy. Honestly, they can bark all day (or night) once they are on the scent. What a clever girl Lily was.
      It is a lovely day today but my TL tells me he has to climb under the house again with more chicken wire to block the space between the brick work and the wall cavity. It’s like caving with his nose practically scraping the floor boards. It is pretty tough on the body too. What would I do without him?

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      1. Siberian huskies don’t bark. They don’t make much noise at all, in fact. They DO talk, but they are very quiet dogs. Their ONE fault is they like to roam. That said, the only one of my huskies who would roam was Lily. Bear and Teddy both bark until they get used to something in the environment. I had mice here until my friend’s Aussie, Reina, showed Bear what could be done with them. Teddy knew instinctively. I understand a rat problem, though. THAT was a definite China thing. You wonder who runs the world with those beings.

        I think your TL is amazing. ❤️

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      1. I am used to it. Lots of this every year in the summerhouse when we arrive…Cleaning, cleaning but can still find traces before we close for the winter…

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  9. Such beautiful little birds splashing in your bird bath Tracy. One of them has different eyes. Is that the different one. Your rat problem reminded me of a rat we called Super Rat. That thing ate the poison we put up high so the dog couldn’t get to it and still lived. However, it got slow enough for my son to catch it and kill it.

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  10. I love the bird bath party!! As for the rat problem, I’m terrified of anything of the rodent persuasion, most particularly rats. Fortunately, we’ve been rat-free at our place.

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    1. My phobia is lessening, Liz. My TL is a great admirer of the rats’ intelligence and insists I observe their antics (under the UV torch). We also have lovely native endangered bush rats in Australia. They do important work turning over the soil in the forests. The rodent imports are fierce competitors though and make themselves at home in every respect.

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  11. Lovely capture of the birds having a pool party Tracy. We had rat problems in our last house, eating all my tomatoes. Used a trap to try and catch them, didn’t work, so had to lay down bait. No problems like that now we are 30 floors up….

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    1. I think your tomatoes would have been much tastier than the bait, Pauline. Growing veg has been a write-off here for the last three years. Not enough sun or warmth and the rats decimate the few strugglers. I think 30 floors would be absolutely no challenge for the rodents we are encountering, Pauline!

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  13. Oh my Tracy, rats make me VERY squeamish. Here in the south we have “marsh rats” which are a bit fluffier and almost cute except that they are RATS!!! Our island has banned poison rat bait because the rats eat it and then the bobcats and eagles eat the rats and die. We lost 25 of our 35 bobcats and several eaglets before they figured it out. We tried to establish a prohibition but the county government wouldn’t let us so it’s voluntary participation which honestly is virtually 100% because we LOVE our bobcats and our eagles around here. It made all of the local papers, even Charleston which is a large city, when 2 little bobcats were born in June. They were tagged by our naturalists and returned to their den where mama is keeping close watch on them.

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    1. What a devastating loss of so many of your eaglets and bobcats. Goodness knows how many other animals might have died before your island its voluntary code. I wonder if some of the alligators might also have been affected. I hope the bobcat population springs back.

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      1. That’s an excellent question Tracy. I’m thinking not because they tend to focus on different prey – which BTW is easier to catch! I’ve seen them several times with a full dead deer in their mouth swimming along a lagoon. They hide and guard it until it “ripens” to their taste. They also prey on our wading birds which are very plentiful and less tracked than the bobcats. The cats, it seems, are rebounding nicely.

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  15. I love the birds! And I admire your dog’s optimism, but his methods, not so much. (Sounds like something my Finn would try.) Rats are very difficult to get rid of….I’m so sorry and hope something works soon!

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  17. My goodness Tracy! I don’t think I would be able to be as upbeat as you if I had your pest problem. I hope all your measures are taking effect!

    Thank you for your stunning capture at the birdbath – they are so adorable and you have captured their liveliness!

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