Benjamin 177 with the scope on it | SouthernPaddler.com

Benjamin 177 with the scope on it

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oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
I amassed myself today. While out on the back porch a Fish Crow ( those really large ones , that is what we call them) landed in the pine tree and started crowing. Me being a nosy person wanted to see what the racket was about.
Several Mocking Birds were dive bombing him as he was trying to enjoy his meal. His meal was one of there new hatchlings from what I could see. :twisted:

OK. Enough of this , I know he needs to eat but not one of the chicks that belong to the birds that eat the bugs in the yard and garden , NOW.... this is personal.

In the I go house , got the Benjamin 177 with the scope on it , located a tin of the Daisy 177 pellets I purchased back in the dark ages. The rifle , the pellet and I migrate to the back porch , 6 pumps in the rifle and then the pellet , close the bolt and using a corner post on the porch as a support , aim up in the pine , draw a bead on that crows neck and fire off a round. He was ... YES.. Was.... about 30 to 35 feet up in the tree.

Down he comes , making a nice spiral as he came down. Checking my shot and where it hit before turning him into fertilizer for a bush , Nailed him right in the neck just under his head.

I don't like to kill anything that I don't plan on eating but in this case it was done to save the rest of the hatchlings in that nest he found , if he hasn't already eaten all of them. Besides I hate those Big Black SOB's of the bird world , Yep , I'm a bird racists :lol: .
 
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oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Steve....

My Uncle was a Game Warden for a spell up in Northern Wisconsin before the big war. He would be out and about and sometimes had dad with him. They lived off the land for the most part and if something was shot it was called dinner.

Those nuts ate just about anything but one thing they said was really not worth skinning out and cooking was a Bob Cat. Tough and tasted really bad. :lol:

Later when down here we would go out and locate a evening flight of crows for some shotgun practice and my Uncle would take the bigger ones , pop the breast like you do on a dove ( I like to pluck them and have to whole dove for supper) To get back to my story........ Uncle Bill said the crows were pretty good eating when just doing there breasts. His thoughts were that they eat grain most of the time like doves or ducks. That thought make sence to me since I have seen what they can do to a corn field.

If you ever try them ( Eating some Crow , that is ) just soak the meat in a salt water mix for a while to get rid of some of that really wild flavor before cooking them.

Chuck.
 
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bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Friend Chuck,

I got two pals who sez they ate blackbirds (grackles) when they wuz little pardners. Even the king ate four 'n twenty of 'em in a pie. Good shootin'. Sorry that crow ate the baby mockingbird. Tom 'n I got a pal frum St. Louie named Marty. Marty used ta sell airguns, Swift scopes 'n such. He used ta give away a Patchworm with each good size order. He run a private forum too. One mornin' Marty sez he got up early, fixed some java 'n went ta set out on hiz deck. He had a quiet airgun handy. While he set there soakin' up the early mornin' sunrise, he heard a commotion. It wuz a peckerwood in hiz backyard tryin' ta fight off 4-5 starlings. Yep....they attack in a group, like the Neanderthals 'n Truthful Jack done to the Crow Magnum folks.

Marty picked up hiz airgun 'n popped a starling. They wuz so busy tryin' ta kill that peckerwood, they didnt notice Marty ('er hear hiz airgun). They likely figgered they had run inta the Bad, Bad Leroy Brown of peckerwoods. Marty sez he kilt 2-3 starlings before they figgered out what wuz happenin'. They flew off.

After I hit "submit" I gotta go out 'n pick up the red, bushy tailed tree rat out next ta the bird seed barrel. One evenin' Miz Bear 'n me wuz out in the yard when we begun ta hear some God awful squawkin'. We found a dove railin' away 'n flappin' her wings while this big, red tree rat sat in her nest eatin' her eggs...raw. I shoot ever tree rat I git in my crosshairs.

I dont blame no animal fer doin' what comes natural, but if they do it in my yard, I do what comes natural myownself. Too bad we caint do the same ta some two legged animals. [sigh]

regards
bearridge

Will Munny: Hell of a thing, killin' a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.
The Schofield Kid: Yeah, well, I guess he had it comin'.
Will Munny: We all got it comin', kid.
 
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Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Actually, mockingbirds are one of the worst at nest robbing. they'll kick out the natural eggs, and lay their own; leaving the poor original parents to raise someone elses squalling brats. eventually, the little ones may outgrow and outsize the poor parents. Starlings and cat birds are reputed to do the same trick.
 
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Wannabe

Well-Known Member
Apr 5, 2007
2,645
2
on the bank of Trinity Bay
Jack,
I have never heard that about MockingBirds before. My yard bird (Mocking Bird) makes it's own nest every year to raise it's young in.Now to be fair, I can only say what I know about Southern Mocking Birds. I don't know about the habits of Yankee Mocking Birds.
Bob
 
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oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Bob...

I wasn't going to say anything but like your birds , the mockers around here make there own nests and raise there chicks. The cat birds around here mind there own business , the only nasty ones beside the crows are those starlings. The crows eat the birds chicks and the starlings toss there eggs out.

The mockers will raise pure heck with anything around there nest .... 4 legged , 2 legged or feathered.

Chuck.
 
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bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Truthful Jack,

I been watchin' mockingbirds 'n listenin' ta 'em sing all my life 'n I never heard 'er seen a thing like that. I heard cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds nests. I have seen pichurs of a nest where starlings broke open all the bluebirds eggs 'n took over on of them bluebird boxes, but never heard of them layin' their eggs in other bird nests fer anuther bird ta raize. Ole Harper Lee sez it iz a sin ta kill one....cuz all they do iz sing their hearts out fer us.

regards
bearridge
bodine ornithologikle society

66,882,230 vs. 58,343,671; hardly a "mandate" for socialism.
 
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