We’ve had a medium-sized, small-bird problem. Someone new moved in, didn’t remember that it’s against the rules to feed them, put a feeder out, and then went out of town. We tolerated (and even enjoyed) the small birds until the wind blew birdseed all over our balcony. They are cute and seem sweet, but they also shit a lot. If we had a yard with plants, that wouldn’t be a problem. But it’s also against the rules to wash our balconies with water (so it doesn’t rain down on people below us and people on the street). So, I was out there every few days with a 2-3 damp rags to wipe down our railing.
The new resident was told to remove his feeder (and seemingly did when he got back to town). We were told he feels bad. Since the rules here are inconsistently applied (like the guy who never wipes down the equipment in the gym and argued with me when I said something. It’s on camera that he didn’t wipe down, but I was told that he did and that “he’s a really nice guy” because apparently, that’s more important than a hygiene rule in a post-Covid world), that just made me say “whatever” into the void like the Gross Gym Guy did to my face.
We do still have a few small birds who coming looking for the seed or their avian litter box.
Today, we had the door partly open. I heard a small bird screaming bloody murder and flapping away in hysterics. When I turned, we had a giant bird on our balcony: an “urban” hawk. We see them hunting around downtown pretty often, but this guy was brave enough to sit on our railing for quite a few minutes. I even opened the door the rest of the way so I could get a better shot of him without the window glazing dulling the images. (But it was a very dull day, so my apologies for the poor image quality.) I guess if I had talons like his, I wouldn’t be skeeered of larger beings, either. It was fun to be that close. He had a dappled feathering I’d never seen before.
And then, I had to name him Shithead.
soundtrack: Kill The Birds by For Squirrels, naturally.
bonus points for anyone who notices the “State Bird of Austin” in the background.