Home Sweet Home
In early Spring, there were at least a dozen bluebirds that visited our yard every day. It was fun watching them chasing bugs for food. They would find different posts (power lines, tree limbs, etc.) to perch for a "bird's eye" view of the yard below. You would see one suddenly swoop down and snatch a bug from the grass that may have been up to a hundred feet from their perch.
All I can say is that the bluebird must have one heck of a good eyesight. After making the catch, the bluebird would return to it's perch to devour it.
All was going well until the mockingbirds realized that the bluebirds were encroaching on their territory. It was an ongoing battle from that point forward. The mockingbirds would chase the bluebirds off and then return to claim the area for their own hunting ground. The bluebirds couldn't stay away for long however, and would return again and again to get their share of the goodies.
Granny and I had installed a bluebird box on an oak tree in hopes of giving a loving pair of bluebirds a home for raising their young. There was a problem however. The very tree we had selected was a tree that the mockingbirds had used the year prior to nest in. You guessed it- the mockingbirds felt that the oak tree belonged to them and should not be shared with the lowly bluebird.
We became frustrated at the mockingbird's intolerance. Each time a bluebird would arrive at the box to check it out, the mockingbird would chase it off. Granny had some firm opinions about how she felt about the selfish mockingbirds. In fact, the subject of annihilation was discussed but settled on scaring off the mockingbirds with a BB gun. What a waste of time and the stress of it!
We should have known that nature has a way of taking care of things. When Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird decided it was time, they staked their claim on the box and the whole tree as well. We rooted for the bluebirds as they would chase away each mockingbird that came anywhere close to "their" tree. One case in particular was a hoot! A mockingbird had made a bug catch on the ground just below the bluebird house. While on the ground trying to eat his catch, Mr. Bluebird "dive bombed" the mockingbird until he gave up and got out of there.
The latest. Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird built a nest in their new home and now are proud parents of a brood. It has been a real treat watching them go about house keeping and parenting. One day I saw Mr. Bluebird bring a morsel of food to Mrs. Bluebird who was taking a break from nesting and perched on top of their house.
Now we are waiting to see our babies come out of their nest and take on the world- especially Mr. Mockingbird.
Got any stories to share? Let us hear from you.
Til next time,
Poppy
I liked that story! I can't wait to see the new perch..lol. I don't have anything that compares to this story. Although I must confess to having been buzzed quit frequently by our humming birds while sitting on the deck. However, there is a family of wood peckers at the end of our yard. One early Sat. morning I had sat down on the deck to enjoy the flowers and a perfect cup of coffee. The house was still, so I could hear the humming birds eating their nectar behind me. What gained my attention that morning, was momma wood pecker. She for some reason, decided that my mother-in-laws storage shed would be an appropriate site for a new home. She had landed on the steel roof and inspected it with verocious fever. She calmly looked around the area for any possible intruders, and went to work. With the sound of an emptying M-16 she wailed away at the roof beneath her. Suddenly she popped her head up, and shook it wildly from one side to the other. She then decided to have another go. Whhhhammm whhammmm whammmmm. She gave it everything she had, for what I'm sure was a good solid two minutes. She suddenly stopped threw back her head, and looked like she had jut tossed back an entire bottle of vodka. She immediatly made some bird chatter, of which I was able to recognize several four letter words. With that she took off, swirving in flight, to remain at the rear of the yard. Until next time!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if momma woodpecker had a hang over?
ReplyDeleteGreat story. Just watching our wildlife along with a good cup of coffe is one of those "priceless moments".