Calling all birds

I have never been a first responder, but I understand that there are certain radio codes and distress calls that, much like in the military, transcend service, agency or jurisdiction. If a police officer is in danger and needs assistance, that help is coming from every source available and from every possible direction. That is as it should be and it’s true for many animals, too, especially birds.

 

I recently texted my old friend and former Daniel Island neighbor Kate McCauley. Kate has a magical gift for photography. I sometimes check with her if I just can’t get the photo I need for one of my articles. She never disappoints and her response to my recent query about bluebirds was no exception. Actually, her photos and story this time were so interesting that I changed this month’s topic altogether. We will have to discuss bluebirds later.

 

In 2015, Dr. Erick Greene, a biology professor at the University of Montana, placed a remote-controlled, mounted owl in a backyard to test his theory on bird behavior. When he uncovered the owl and put it in motion, birds converged from all over the neighborhood, each reacting to the distress calls of other birds. This transcends species and the distress call of one kind of bird might well result in several different bird species reporting for duty. Once on the scene, the birds – just like first responders – will sometimes take on intruders, many times their size or strength, to protect one of their own.

 

Kate recounted looking outside to find an agitated backyard full of birds without any obvious reason why. Then she saw the snake. I am not a herpetologist, but what looked like a large rat snake was climbing toward a nearby bluebird nest. Predation results in huge losses of bird eggs and young birds each year and multiple studies indicate that perhaps a quarter of that harm is done by snakes. It’s no wonder an intruding snake merits a full-scale neighborhood alarm. 

 

According to Kate, at one point, there were bluebirds, catbirds, cardinals, purple finches and four blue jays all joined in the battle to run the hungry reptile off. One of her photos clearly showed the snake as a blue jay makes his attack run. Ultimately, the snake gave up and no nests or eggs were harmed.

 

Birds normally speak their own languages, socialize with similar species and do their own thing. Like human beings, though, they sometimes just need help from whoever is there to give it. A human mother screaming in fear for her child is going to summon help whether her language is understood or not. A mother bird screaming “snake” is much the same. An intruder is threatening some bird’s nest or family and it doesn’t matter what song it sings or what color its feathers are. A merciless assault awaits whatever creature has opened this particular “can of worms” and many predators will ultimately just give up and go hungry rather than enduring it.