Page 21 - Sentinel June 2017

WILD SIDE Continued from page 20 Nature in our 50th State
Our jaunt across the other pond took us first to Kauai where
the ubiquitous Kauai free-range chickens greeted us. OK, are
you ready to know how to cook them? You get a good-sized
lava rock and throw it and a free-range chicken into a large pot.
Simmer for three days. Then you throw away the chicken and
eat the lava rock. Ta dah!
On our lanai, a myriad of birds from red-capped cardinals to
doves vie for the crumbs we dropped, but one aggressive spar-
row came in and stole hubby Dave’s sausage off the plate! The
bullfrogs and cane toads were still in mating season, the former
with its deep, throaty HARUMPH, the latter with a high-pitched
trill down in the garden lagoon.

The cane toad was introduced into Hawaii to eradicate the bee-
tles feeding on the fields of sugar canes. It was so highly suc-
cessful that thousands were sent to Australia for its sugar cane.
So, what can go wrong with this? Since then the Hawaiian sug-
After one trip out to put seed on top of the deck railings, they ar cane fields are now golf clubs and other recreational activity
were soon covered by about 100 red-winged blackbirds and areas. The gigantic cane toads eat EVERYTHING dead or
brown-headed cowbirds, with an occasional pair or two of alive including birds. There is no really good natural predator
mourning or banded doves trying to squeeze in. Occasionally a as they have poison glands, and their tadpoles are also highly
Cooper’s hawk would swoop in and break up the feeding frenzy toxic. And they produce thousands of eggs with each mating.
by scaring the bejesus out of the feathered crowd, while choos-
ing an appropriate snack. It used to be that our walks along the beach road meant dodg-
ing corpses of flattened cane toads. Now we rarely see them
Despite the snow, we are ready with our traps for the yellow on the road.
jackets – nasty critters. Continued on page 22

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Perry Park Sentinel MAY 2017 - Page 21