From Aggressive Deer to Barking Birds??

So, anyone who lives in my little city knows full well that we've had a little issue with deer who have decided they are quite comfortable hanging out in town with the rest of us.  For the most part, they are just a bit of a nuisance - eating all the flowers out of gardens, eating trees/bushes, strolling ever so slowly across busy streets...but on occasion, when their babies are quite little - they can act like any other momma acts and will do anything to protect their fawns.  A couple of people have been hurt...and one video of a dog getting it's ass kicked went viral on YouTube (put your dogs on a leash, people, and you don't have to worry about it!).

For obvious reasons, however, our folks at City Hall decided that warning signs were in order.  So....a certain husband of a certain friend of mine ordered up and had signs posted reminding us to be on the lookout for the deer.

And....whaddya know!  The signs work!  Who knew we have the smartest deer around in our little ole city?  But apparently we DO!  I think they can read!  SERIOUSLY!  I have not seen ONE deer when out walking/running/biking (which you may have noticed I do a fair amount of) since the signs went up!  I can just hear them now...at a town hall type gathering of deer... "Oh shit!  Those humans are on to us now!  First these signs...then what??  A cull??  Yikes!  Let's get our little white tails out of here"!  Seems like the most logical explanation for the sudden decline in deer sightings to me!  Well played, Mr. Z, well played!

HOWEVER!  On our walk today, I heard the strangest noise come out of a bird's beak...  I looked at Colleen and said "Did that bird just BARK at us?".  She agreed that it had.  So, just a heads up to the fine folks at City Hall (and that includes you Mr Z!), you might want to think about some signage for barking birds before long.  We can't be expected to tolerate THAT type of behaviour, can we?