One Bird That Didn't Die

Edition #131 — May 27, 2010

I wanted to begin with some good news. Three weeks ago I heard crows making a big ruckus outside. I later found a featherless baby bird dead on the ground. A few days later, I heard the same commotion, and found two more baby birds, one lay dying, the other on its side, looking helplessly up at me. It was a baby crow.

I put on some gloves and looked it over. Its right leg appeared broken or lame from falling out of its nest far up in the trees. I made some futile telephone calls to get help and then decided just to let nature take its course. If it died, so be it. But I would check back later anyway and do "something" if the bird was alive. Later I returned to find that baby bird still staring up at me but not moving to escape. Compassion had long ago set in but the people I phoned were either not available or not all that helpful. So I lifted the baby crow into a shallow cardboard box filled with dried grass and put it in the shed overnight. But first, I fed it a couple of worms.

The next day after several more phone calls, I brought the baby crow to a local veterinarian who rehabilitates wildlife, but just not birds. Once there, I opened the box to find my feathered new friend standing on both legs and looking at me with its mouth open. Food! Food! A very good sign. The veterinarian checked out my new love interest and told me that this baby crow appeared uninjured and in good condition. She then called up the nearest bird rehabilitator and I spoke with her about getting the bird into her care.

For the rest of that day I fed the baby crow softened dog kibble and yes, it's true: crows have a ravenous appetite. Interestingly, the crow parents perched themselves in a tree above where I was feeding their baby and seemed to make soft cackling sounds whenever they saw her being fed. She made a lot of noise just to say "Okay, give me some more!" It was a fun and fulfilling activity.

The following day I traveled an hour north to bring this baby crow to a woman who specializes in getting baby birds back up in the trees where they belong. I left the crow with her, along with a donation, and went home feeling happy that I had done my best and what I felt was "the right thing" for this helpless little stranger. As I came back home, the crow parents were sitting in the tree looking for their little one, it seemed. But I had weighed all the options and concluded that trying to reunite them would endanger the life of the bird if I could not get it into a nest far up in the trees. Life was too risky on the ground right now with cats, coyotes and foxes all around. This also brings up a few interesting crow facts:

Crows raise their young in a nest, but later feed them on the ground as they're learning to fly. But this baby crow had fallen early from its nest, as evidenced by its sibling's death from the fall. Furthermore, baby crows stay with their parents for three years, with last year's crowlets helping to raise this year's brood. And as we know, they are incredibly well organized and intelligent birds. But apparently they also build lousy nests for being such deep thinkers. Sometimes I feel like a crow. :)

Over the following days I thought a lot about the fate of my little crow friend but waited to inquire. Eight days later, I spoke with the woman who happily reported that the baby crow was flying, going on day trips but coming back for a free lunch. I was happy, as she obviously was too. She also mentioned that she is now raising a baby fawn, along with the 22 raccoons, squirrels, etc., that she already has in her care collection. This is what I call compassion. The vet who first inspected my crow friend also had seventy two raccoons in her care, as well as multiple squirrels, rabbits and a baby duckling who snuck in under her bird radar. These are special people, a whole different mindset than those who put out poisons or shoot things that get in their way. I felt good inside having been in their presence. It washes away some of the taint left by a society that is no longer connected to its own origins. They are also not funded by the government. I have seen that the money I gave will be going to good use and allows me to make amends for our endless invasion of their natural habitat.

And now, the sad news:

I read today that Democratic Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, had issued a press release contending that Shell Oil could move forward safely in drilling under Alaskan waters, saying "another year of delay costs money and Alaska jobs." My Response is simple. What a greedy, self-centered idiot. The now necessary offshore drilling moratoriums and stricter regulations do not always have to be about only us or in our best interests, even if our human values must be included in the fallout of this latest industrial carelessness. We have to get over the fact that we are not the only species living on the planet and that the world does not rotate around us, or our need for money or oil to survive. Our growing technological prowess and apathy are increasingly bringing the world to the edge of a disaster that cannot be reversed. What we need to do is to look at the consequences, not turn our backs on them and continue our downward spiral.

The Mindset Problem - Change Without Wisdom

As noted intellectual giant and altruist, Albert Einstein, once said, we cannot solve a problem from within the same state of mind that helped to create it. In other words, if our greed for profits and apathy for the fate of the environment were the motivating forces that caused the BP oil rig explosion and spill in the Gulf, then all solutions based upon greed and apathy will not solve it. And yet, what I've noticed from BP in the first month was that it has spent all of its efforts trying not to STOP the leak itself but to find a way to keep the oil flowing into its awaiting ships. When those attempts failed, they went to the last things on their list.

Apathy for the environment is a major factor. How can you drill an oil well in the middle of the ocean without recognizing the worst case scenario? That is, unless we pretend to ourselves that it will never happen, as BP did. Furthermore, if the solution to the worst case scenario requires toxic, sticky crude oil to leak endlessly into the ocean for months while a relief well is being drilled, then wouldn't we think twice about drilling that first well? Apparently not if our priorities and values are on profiteering.

Furthermore, why would any country allow us to behave in such a reckless manner as to endanger the ocean and its wildlife, its tourism industry and the lives of citizens living off the ocean's assets? Money. Oil companies have paid the USA billions of dollars to look the other way. And the money that the oil industry pays to the US government is enough to divert the attention of those who determine how it might be spent. What is unlikely is that this money will go toward improving levies in New Orleans, or to educate poor fishermen in Louisiana about their legal and constitution rights. Such things are easily ignored, apparently.

We must remember that this is an industrial mindset. These people in charge of our planet are not zoologists, naturalists, animal geneticists, or wildlife officials. Putting profit-centric business people in charge of the cleanup is like putting a monkey in charge of a fine arts program - they have nothing in common. Their motives and interests are not the same. And this is why the oil industry and all industry is failing us miserably. But don't take my word for it - go to the beach and see for yourself.

We're busy people, whether we want to be or not. But we must do something now, anything but spectate. We can't eat the dead fish floating up on shore or wait for "someone" to do "something" about all of these problems. We need to get active, far more active. It's clear that we're here to save ourselves. I have yet to see government, industry, or anyone's God for that matter, doing what has been promised. How long do we have, really? How many oil spills do we have left in us before it's all gone? Look what just one can do. And yes, we need oil too, which makes it even more difficult. But we MUST find ways to change our current tragectory and also become the punishers of the lawless crooks who are holding the natural resources of our planet hostage.

Media Blackout - Drunk On Oil Profits?

There has been so little press coverage of the true epic horror of BP's Gulf of Mexico Oil spill. It's obvious that BP does not want people to see them flailing and screwing up, proving that they are neither prepared to handle to full weight, magnitude and responsibility of leading an industry which can destroy planets. The more we see, the worse it becomes for them as we get a stomach turning look behind the corporate lies and illusions that makes a destructive, dangerous business model look like an extended visit to a health spa. But quickly, that vacation is coming to an end and its time for dirty oil, coal and even nuclear energy to pack its bags. We need to survive and our current plans for the world won't allow that for much longer.

We can disagree that such drastic measures are not necessary, but let's not forget to clean up our share of the mess as we're arguing over whether it's a problem.


Roland Kriewaldt


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