IN THE GARDEN WITH KRISTINE

You may remember a previous post I did about the burrowing owl who had taken up residence on our front porch a few years ago, which you can read here.

This year, a pair of Northern Mockingbirds took up residence and constructed a nest in the shrubbery beside our driveway. Hubby and I kept an eye on the pair, fascinated as they built the nest and, soon after, deposited three, small, blue, speckled eggs within.

Every so often, we’d stand on tiptoe and peer down into the nest to see if any progress had been made. Before long, Hubby reported that two of the eggs had hatched. Did I want to go see the babies? No, I told him. I didn’t want to do anything that might spook the parents away from the nest.

Next day, Hubby reported that he thought one of the babies had died. This did prompt me to peek into the nest. One of the babies – pink and featherless, was moving slightly. The second bird simply lay there in the nest, unmoving.

Hhhhmmm. I told Hubby to leave the nest alone; that maybe something was wrong with the baby bird and that the parents would deal with it as nature dictated, but that we shouldn’t interfere with it.

Two days later, I dared to peek at the nest again and this is what I saw – two healthy baby birds. Now with feathers. And hungry, opened mouths. The bird we’d thought was ill or dead had apparently simply been sleeping. Joy!

We continued to peek at the babies over the next few days, until one day I looked, only to find that there was just one baby bird in the nest. Had the second fallen out? Fallen victim to prey? Panic set in until a movement caught my eye and I realized that the second bird had already left the nest and was sitting on a branch within the shrubbery.

By the time we checked in the next day, the babies were both venturing out of the nest, and out of the shrubbery, ready to greet the big, wide world as their parents watched from the telephone wire above.