A really quick note.
1. The Nuthatches are carrying food to their "hole in the tree" -- which means they're feeding babies. I haven't looked in -- don't want to scare them.
2. Mr. Robin has been holding on to "his" property all summer, and there is a new Mrs. Robin. I can tell from their activities that she's building a nest -- though I don't know where.
The sadder report was that the original Mrs. Robin died of septicemia. The pathologist found two small holes on her flank, where blood had dried over. That's consistent with being hit by a cat, but not killed outright. (There might be other causes.) But that's where the infection started, and then spread through her whole body. Anyhow, she was apparently flying to get some food, her heart stopped, and she fell from the sky. They also found a crushed egg inside of her, indicative of a fall; an egg which she would probably have laid later that day.
Footnote: living in our back yard can be dangerous. I went out to change the water sprinkler, and almost got hammered in the head by two Pine Siskins (finches related to the common American Goldfinch). One was chasing the other. I had to duck really fast; otherwise, I'd have had a bird in the head (which is entirely different from a bird in the hand). About a minute later they came back, and I had to duck again. If they're in a territorial fight over a portion of our "outback," that's their business. Just leave me out of it! Please!
10 comments:
Wow, I think you had better take out some backyard bird insurance.Maybe hire BIG BIRD from Sesame Street to scare 'em off.
Congrats about the other little family, and comiserations to you all re: poor little Mrs Robin.
May she fly in peace with the angels.xx♥
As much as I know that it is as Nature would have it, it is painful to learn of little creatures knocked down before their time. I have a back yard in the city but there are squirrels that live in the trees and scurry about along the stone wall.
It's remarkable how these little creatures can touch out hearts .
~Lorna
I thought you were taking a rest from the blogging world.
Good to hear from you. Don't get more bird injuries. That's bad for bears.
Natalie: The bit about backyard bird insurance -- I was laughing so hard I almost fell off my chair. But I'm sure if I asked my insurance broker, he'd conclude I had a few roos loose and would call the folks in white coats to come and take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa.
Lorna: There were some "rules" that came into being long before humans arrived on the scene. We need to accommodate ourselves to them, 'cause they ain't gonna change.
Sonia: Did I ever suggest that blogging is (perhaps, somehow) habit-forming? Well, if I haven't done that already, I'm doing it now! As for bird injuries, no worries. I have a hard hat and other protective equipment which I wear when I'm pruning our trees (which sometimes involves major cut-backs, with a chain saw). I guess I'll wear that stuff all the time, from now on, when I'm in the yard. Sigh!
Glad to see that you're well enough to post.
Hi, RB, good to learn your yard is all as nature intended. Good for Mr. Robin. Being lonely is no way to live. Life goes on.
WHY did you get a path report on a dead bird? Back home in Indiana, we just pick them up and put them in the neighbor's pool.
A bear in a hard hat - now that I'd love to see! ;-)
Snow: Glad to be back, even if it's only for a day. I have to take life about a third of a day at a time.
BF: Nature rules, we accommodate to the "rules," as I mentioned to Lorna. But Mr. Robin seems happy to have a new Mrs.
Dana: We need to check on potential problems for the whole (bird) population. Bird 'flu, maybe? (Yeah, I know, bird 'flu through our yard all the time.)
Joanne: Does Bear with hard head need hard hat? Or is it Bear with soft head who needs hard hat? Is Bear going soft in the head with advancing age, and thus needs hard hat? (Compounded by the fact that Bear played rugby in University without hard hat -- which may be the reason Bear's head is now going soft.) Life's deep, perplexing questions.
Now that's some serious forensic birdwatching!
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