When the red, red robin comes poop, poop, poopin’ along

BY CRAIG WENZEL

FROM THE TRUE DAKOTAN – MAY 15, 2012

 We enjoy our patio this time of year… even put up feeders to attract wildlife out of nearby South Gulch. Each spring the patio area includes foliage and flowers that might be a source of food and shelter for rummaging gulch critters — birds and butterflies, wild turkeys, deer families, squirrels , bunnies and such..

That’s why it seemed to strange when, one morning last week we heard a banging on the patio door. A male robin was repeatedly flying into the glass door pane, flopping to the floor only to rear back and do it again…. and again… well, you get the picture by now.

Most of the time the impact was accompanied by… er, for the sake of our family of readers we’ll call them “bird droppings”.

There were “bird droppings” on the door glass, on the patio floor, on the backs of the patio chairs… there were “bird droppings” on the glass top table.

Each evening Penny would go out there and clean up the mess. I began to hear her mildly curse the little creature as the week progressed.

One morning I sent Elvis, the family domestic shorthaired cat, out to do our dirty work for us. But he isn’t really interested in hunting much since his tenth birthday back in August.

That left the work up to me. “I suppose you want me to shoot the bird,” I half-asked.

“Well, there ARE a lot of robins!” Penny quickly replied, wiping up another large dose of “bird droppings”.

Wow, I am a hunter, but shooting a songbird doesn’t seem right. In a few months we’ll be enjoying the baby robins as they accompany their mother to the nearby mulberry tree for sweet treats. How could I shoot their father?

We stopped at a large home and garden store to see if they had anything that could help us out and still obey the South Dakota law that protects robins – even crazy ones. There on the shelf, right beside the mouse poison – I AM in favor of mouse poison, however—was what appeared to be the salvation for us and the objectionable droppings dropper.

I didn’t know they sell life-like owls and falcons – natural enemies of most songbirds— to be used for just the thing we needed.

We picked out the falcon with the bright Van Dyke Supply Co. eyes. I once guided a pheasant hunter who used a falcon for hunting, and it was incredible to watch the little hawk come out of the sky and hit a pheasant at about 175 miles per hour. So I chose the falcon replica!

We took our new house protector home and Penny placed it on the patio table, right where the offensive robin could see it. She slept comfortably that night, knowing that the robin would never be brave enough to return with a falcon sitting on the table.

Wrong! Not only did he come back for more “messing”… but he dropped an especially large one right next to the falcon. I think the robin probably challenged the falcon to a fight while he was there.

We are presently re-negotiating a contract with the cat.

Note: I have a picture of the falcon with the “bird dropping” beside it, but it is simply too disgusting to print here. I think I’ll post it on www.truedakotan.com.

Chelsey Schroeder

Terrek Butterfield

Trevor Kenobbie

Daniel Jackson

CulleyTobin

Mindy Kraft

Marie Massella

South Dakota’s First Lady was in Wessington Springs on Wednesday, May 2, to read to the third, fourth and fifth grade classes.

Linda Daugaard, wife of Gov. Dennis Daugaard, has announced two of the initiatives she will work toward during her time as First Lady of South Dakota. Both are aimed at improving literacy among South Dakota’s youth.

The First Lady will be promoting the Reach Out and Read program, administered by the Department of Social Services. The program provides age-appropriate books to infants through 5-year-old children during child well-checks.

“Reading is the basis for all other learning, and one can never start too soon,” said Mrs. Daugaard. “The books serve as a positive stimulus for children and are often their first exposure to literacy.”

In addition, the First Lady will visit third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade classrooms across the state to read to students. Mrs. Daugaard will also use the visits to recycle gently-used books. She plans to collect and drop off donated books with each participating classroom. From her time as a school librarian, the First Lady knows the importance of keeping a child engaged in those years.

“Third, fourth, and fifth grade is around the time that many students lose interest in reading,” Mrs. Daugaard said. “It is important to spread enthusiasm about reading at this crucial point in a child’s development.”

Mrs. Daugaard kicked off her literary initiatives with an “It Begins with a Book” campaign during Library Week, April 10-16. The Library Week tour featured visits to classrooms and libraries across the state.

About Linda Daugaard

Linda Daugaard has a keen interest in encouraging reading. A Dell Rapids native and South Dakota State University graduate, her first job out of college was teaching at Dell Rapids St. Mary’s High School, where she coached the school’s first girls’ basketball team. After taking time to raise her children, Mrs. Daugaard returned to work as a school librarian, both at Dell Rapids Elementary and at St. Mary’s. Mrs. Daugaard served on the Minnehaha Rural Library Board and the Siouxland Library Board, and from 2003 to 2009 she was a member of the State Library Board.

THE WESSINGTON SPRINGS Chamber of Commerce’s Easter Egg Hunt was another big success in the city park last Saturday, April 7. Well over 100 kids and their adult friends are pictured above just before going out. TRUE DAKOTAN/DUKE WENZEL

TRUE DAKOTAN PHOTO/DUKE WENZEL -- COUNT THEM IF YOU CAN --- This photo shows a small part of a half section of snow geese entering the area last week. The numbers were well into the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, in this flock alone. They were along Whiskey Road near US Highway 281 in Jerauld County. (True Dakotan/Duke Wenzel - March 13, 2012)

Wessington Springs elementary school principal Jason Kolousek is shown with some of his student freiends on March 10, 2012. He was named SD Innovative Leader One of his best displays of leadership has been demonstrated through the implementation of Personalized Learning Plans (PLP) for all students, grades K-12. (Duke Wenzel)

WILD TURKEYS ARE MAKING A BIG comeback in Jerauld County if this flock of 35-40 is any indication. The photograph was taken on Thursday, February 16, 2012, in South Gulch below Prospect Hill Cemetery in Wessington Springs. About a decade ago the South Dakota Deparment of Game, Fish & Parks eradicated the original flock of western variety to a wilder eastern wild turkey several years ago, hoping the new breed would stay away from farms and towns. The process of rebuilding the wild flock has been slow but over the past few years they have showed a steady gain in population. It is not known when the turkey hunting season will be restored in the county, but it probably isn’t far away.