Day Seventy-Eight

Yesterday a grizzly scene of mayhem, murder, and death presented itself in an insidious instant while I sat peacefully at my backyard window gazing at the tranquil scene of birds coexisting for one purpose - to fatten themselves up before the impending cold of Winter. That's when it all happened, and within seconds, there would be one less bird. No, it was not the neighbor's cat, as I have seen it lurking in the background several times during my morning viewings but have not seen it actually attempt to snatch anything. A warning - this story is not for the faint of heart. Here I am sitting, sipping my tea and marveling at the number of quail in the backyard, big fat ones, all pecking away at the seed I had just thrown in the "viewing area." There were probably more than four dozen. I was also surprised to notice some of them mating (in the Fall?). Here is creation happening right in my yard and I am feeling that my backyard paradise is facilitating more little critters being brought into the world, when all of a sudden the peace is shattered. The young Peregrin Falcon frequenting the neighborhood swoops down out, I guess from the powerlines, and plucks a young quail from the feeding grounds. At that moment it was quail mayhem. Three of them hit my big picture window trying to get away...boom...boom.......boom. These were big thuds as I thought the window would surely not hold up and as it's happening, I'm still just sitting there with my tea cup still poised in my hand. If you sneezed, you would have missed the theater! It happened so fast. They were gone in a flash of time and they haven't been back since. I think a few unsuspecting quail ventured in this morning to eat but were probably soon warned by spectacle goers of yesterday and summarily left - none have returned this afternoon. Now my yard is probably known as the killing field. I haven't had the nerve to go on Facebook yet and see if any of them have made some posts. At least I have the Sparrows.