The battle to catch the feral cats just got a whole lot harder. The Butcher Birds have decided that the bait is indeed easy pickings. This one landed on the top ( which is covered with gauze to stop cats reaching through to the bait), checked it out and decided that he needed to investigate further.
He hopped down to the end which is open, and then down onto the ground. The bait was in easy reach!! In he went - up to the yummy meat and grabbed it. The door slammed down - he was quite astounded. I thought he would panic and rushed out to save him. Haaa! He calmly walked up to the section which is not meshed and squeezed his way out through the bars - no problem!! Every day he comes back - every day he triggers the door, every day he calmly leaves when he's ready!!
Hahaha.. so funny :)
Not only your story with the picture is super funny, i also love these comments haha..
And like @taffy i also wanna see more of this story.
Oh my- I don't mean to laugh at your glitch in catching the cat (because I know what it's like having them around) but this bird really is clever! I don't know how to deter him either. Has the cat shown any interest in it?
@fbailey This was always a sticky point FB. But we have now discovered that the Council has a depot where the cats can be deposited into a cage which then locks from the outside (to prevent people interfering with them). The council worker then releases them on the other side. Unfortunately truly feral cats are euthanized but domesticated cats are sent to a charity which tries to rehome them. Feral cats area huge problem over here - they are huge in size and ferocious hunters. They are the cause of a large number of extinctions of native animals - especially birds and small mammals. Our property is a Land for Wildlife property and ,as such, we have a duty to remove weeds and pest animals. And we hate what they do to our birds. I'm sorry if this is disturbing for you - I know it's not at all pleasant. I don't like the thought of it either. :)
@madeinnl Hi Ko - thanks for response to my bird story - I was quite chuffed to read how much you enjoyed it. I'll try to catch him escaping!! Cheers Rob
I am so surprised to hear the problem has got out of control. Not particularly fond of cats as the garden has birds nesting etc and luckiky the dogs keep them out. Sad to hear that they've bred so much over there though. Thanks for the info:)
@olivetreeann Hi Ann - it's a bit sad when a bird outwits you!! As you say thought - they are very clever. I've resorted to setting the trap mainly at night - when the cats are more active. The bird then hops in first thing in the morning and does his trick!! Haven't caught the cat yet! Cheers Rob
@homeschoolmom Hi Lisa - this trap probably wouldn't work for a bunny - although I don't know a lot about rabbits. Would it reach up in the air to get a carrot or some other bait?
Not only your story with the picture is super funny, i also love these comments haha..
And like @taffy i also wanna see more of this story.