The Blue Jay and Pirate

Curled up on the floor beside a toddler, the sleek, young cat filled the bill for a child friendly pet. Tolerant of hands poking his yellow eyes and ruffling his black fur, only the neighbors saw Pirate’s dark side as he quietly prowled the seas of grass and overhanging trees searching for movement. A stealthy stalk, a quick pounce and Pirate hooked another mouse, mole or bird to present to his family with a posture that said, “Look, what I caught.”
Cats will be cats – until the backyard Mafia gets on their tail.
Last week in the back yard a cacophony of screeching birds interrupted the human adults’ conversation and the pre-schoolers’ play. They turned in time to see Pirate leap over the neighbor’s fence with feline grace, carrying a half-grown blue jay in his mouth followed closely by a flock of blue jays and three black birds.
The blue jays swooped down chattering, scolding, screaming and pecking their protest at Pirate’s invasion of the nest. The Mafia of black birds attacked with a vengeance. No black soulless creature better try to steal a little bird when they are in town.
The age of the bird did not matter to Pirate. He saw food and fun. He had legitimately stalked the nest and grabbed a fledgling to bring home to fulfill the old saw “the cat doth play and after slay.” Intent on his game before his meal, he ignored the extra humans in his back yard.
Down still fluffed the chest of the kidnapped blue jay. It had flying feathers – but they needed another few days of growth before they would fly.
Pre-schoolers, toddlers and adults stared at the black cat guarding the brightly colored blue jay laying limp as a corpse on the ground.
The children wanted to check out this phenomenon.
The mother of the house believes the adventures of the Discovery Channel begin in the back yard. “You can look, but you have to hold your hands behind your back, and do not touch it or get too close. That’s the cat’s catch.”
Pirate stood guard over his pile of feathers as the little tikes stepped forward to study it. The blue jays continued dive and peck the cat, driving him away from the captive. The birds looked at the humans only long enough to see that they kept back before they fearlessly, incessantly screamed at the cat to let their little one go.
The cat dodged the bird attacks and tried to guard his catch.
It was no use. Considering his odds against a flock of protective blue jays and the black bird Mafia, Pirate left with as much dignity and speed as he could muster.
As quiet settled and the reserve force of blue jays and black bird Mafia left to protect their own nests, the momma and poppa bird walked around the young bird chattering. It lifted its little head, looked around bleary-eyed and panting.
Poppa bird stood in front of his offspring, coaxing and prodding. Momma bird chirped encouraging words to the fledgling, reassuring her offspring that it still could hop, skip and jump.
The little fellow hopped, he flapped his too small wings.
The parent birds stayed on the ground near their fledgling, encouraging it to keep trying. Once, poppa bird glanced at his audience of toddlers, pre-schoolers and parents. As long as those humans stayed away from him and the bird their cat had kidnapped, he ignored their proximity and kept coaxing the little one to get away from this open space, to head for the bushes and trees.
The baby bird slowly took stock. He looked at momma and poppa bird and hopped over to the shelter of a nearby bush, then up a branch or two. Bit by bit, with his parents coaching him, he moved under and then up into the safety of the bushes. It took time. Time the humans did not have. They drifted off to play, fix supper or pick up their conversation – returning intermittently to check on the birds’ progress.
Birds and people breathed easier when the fledgling found shelter from that Pirate sneaking up to steal from the family nest.
(Joan Hershberger is a reporter at the News-Times. E-mail her at joanh@everybody.org.)