In 2025, the Slender-billed Curlew was declared extinct.
We start our morning with coffee on the step.
The cool breeze is a nice change.
Then we notice our neighbour.
She creeps her way up through our lawn.
Then quickens her step without breaking eye contact.
She’s excited to see us.
She’s beautiful and sweet. Comfortable here.
But I’m confused.
Yesterday was a chipmunk’s last day.
She takes a sip from the terracotta dish, then lies down beside us.
I shift my focus, and my frustration, to her owners.
She purrs as I scratch under her chin.
—
- IUCN Red List 2025-2 update, IUCN, 2025.
- Loss, Will & Marra, “The Impact of Free-Ranging Domestic Cats on Wildlife of the United States,” Nature Communications, 2013.
- Chu et al., “An Updated Estimate of the Number of Birds Killed by Outdoor Cats in Canada,” Avian Conservation and Ecology, 2025.
- Birds Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, The State of Canada’s Birds, 2024.
