May 10, 1990 - Mother Nature Takes Care of Her OwnC14 The Suffolk Times • May 10, 1990
Mother Nature Takes Care of Her Own
By Paul Stoutenburah
This is the time of year I get more
telephone calls than usual about the
outside world. I'm always glad to an-
swer them even if sometimes I realize
the person on the other end might not
appreciate the answer I give. Two ex-
amples that come to mind right away
are the baby rabbit brought to the door
of a very concerned lady and a swan that
was seemingly sick and becoming inca-
pacitated.
Most people who call, like the lady
with the rabbit, are very conscientious
and sensitive people, a rare quality in
today's busy, materialistic world. I
would have dearly liked to give her a
nice solution such as take the rabbit and
feed it and keep it warm, etc. But the
truth is, we usually do more harm than
good when we take it upon ourselves to
play mother to some lost or disabled an-
imal or bird.
Time and time again it has been
proven that the orphan does better left
alone. Of course, there are exceptions.
For instance, if the young rabbit didn't
even have its eyes open, then putting it
outside under a bush would surely seal
its doom. But on the other hand, if you
take it upon yourself to feed and care for
anything that young, your chances for
success are about one in 10. It's far bet-
ter to let Mother Nature take care of ca-
sualties than trying to do the job your-
self.
Best Left Alone
The same is true with the incapaci-
tated swan mentioned above. Here
Focus on
Nature
again, leave it alone. We have enough
trouble diagnosing our own problems
without playing doctor to some bird or
animal. That is as difficult as trying to
come up with what caused the brown
tide in our bays. Some things are just
out of our reach and we should let
nature run its course. Should the bird or
animal recover, all well and good. If it
should perish, that's part of the scheme
of things in the natural world.
Remember, it's a bit hard to take, but
that deceased bird or animal will play a
part in the food chain of some other bird
or animal.
Another reason for calls this time of
year is raccoons in chimneys. Again,
sensitive people are concerned about the
babies they hear chattering inside the
fireplace but chimneys are no place for
these masked bandits. Usually I suggest
a smudge fire, small but smoky, in the
fireplace and then just crack the damper
open so the smoke, or the raccoons,
don't come in the room. This works
best if you have glass doors on your
fireplace.
Usually this will send them up and
out. Once out, you have to be ready to
cap the chimney with heavy wire.
There's a wire called turkey wire with
openings about 1"x2" that is usually
large enough to keep them out once
they are evicted.
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FEMALE CARDINAL —It's all because of the female that we often see
the male cardinal fighting his image in people's windows. He's trying to
drive off any male intruders that venture into his territory.
For those who don't have raccoons
and don't have adequate screening on
their chimneys — watch out! Man has
cut down most of the big old trees that
were formerly raccoon homes and now
low- income housing is as hard for them
to find as for anyone else. Often, people
have raccoons in their chimney and
don't even know it until the young are
born and start chattering. Of course, you
can always hire a professional to come
in and remove them but that's rather ex-
pensive.
When raccoons get in the attic or
garage it's another story. Here you have
to use other tactics. A large Hav -a -Hart
trap is the best, but again it isn't cheap.
Perhaps you could rent one from a
rental place. It's worth a try. They have
everything else.
Bad News Squirrel
I guess, next to Mr. Raccoon, the
lively and inquisitive grey squirrel gives
people the most problems as far as
break -ins go. He is so small he can get
in under the eaves of our home or
garage or even down our chimney.
When this happens you want to get him
out as soon as possible; with his sharp
teeth he can play havoc with your
window sills and doors trying to gnaw
his way to freedom.
When you can hear them and not see
them, again a Hav -a -Hart trap comes
into play. It works well baited with
peanut butter. If they're running about
in the house, try pulling down all the
shades to darken the room but leave one
window open to act as an exit. Then, by
leaving the little scamper alone, he will
usually go out. This works with birds
that occasionally get into the house
through an open door or window as
well.
Another common problem this time
of year starts with the mating season,
when birds' and animals' hearts turn to
winning over a mate to raise a family.
You know what I mean. We've all been
caught up in that spell and if you
haven't yet, watch out.
Anyway, the calls I get are about
birds going crazy hitting themselves
against "my window." The truth is, all
birds, once they've fought over and con-
quered a mate, set up a territory that is
"all theirs" and any intruder who dares
to enter better beware! This is all well
and good out in the garden or in the
woods but when Mr. Cardinal or a robin
sets up housekeeping right alongside
your house, then the trouble begins.
What happens is, they see their
reflection in your window and try to
drive the intruder off. Day after day
they'll attack the window. One would
think they'd kill themselves.
The solution to the problem is sim-
ple. Just hang a curtain over the
window for a short time until the
frustration is worked off by other
household duties, such as feeding the
young who should be hatching in a
couple of weeks or so. A lady called me
up about a gull that was playing havoc
with her basement window. For some
reason he thought that big handsome
gull reflected in 'the basement window
had no right to be there so he took up
battling with him. A piece of plywood
up against the window did away with
that problem.
There are disadvantages to being a
sensitive person. You want to do what
you can to help those in need. Many
times we can do much but, on the other
hand, when it comes to birds or animals
often we can can do much harm by try-
ing to help. My advice is to leave so-
called deserted birds and animals where
they are. Nature will take care of them.
What gives me hope for this world of
ours is that we do have people who are
concerned and not afraid to say so.
-SEP'
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