The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge aren’t the only ones to bring new life into the world this week (and welcome to you, George). Life is coming in all the time, though it is rarely noticed by as many as have followed the Little Prince’s arrival.
Check out this healthy sparrow nest in the rafters at my beach house in RI. This rafter area in my eaves has always been the perfect shelter for the little guys who live there year round. Many times when I’ve arrived late at night, turning the lights on as I carried in my bags, I’ve been glared at by one of the braver sparrows who would lean way out, shoot me with a hard and withering look that spoke volumes… there was no mistaking that look and the thought bubble over his little head that said, “WTF? Turn that *&#* light off. People are sleeping here!”
There are many different species of wildlife and I love them all. I had a robin family build their home above the light fixture by my back door a few years ago, but the comings and goings, the ins and outs through that door, drove them away. After so much effort building a solid nest in a seemingly safe place, they abandoned the nest and I felt terrible because babies are welcome here. The robin family never came back.
A robin family has created a nest in the rhododendron in front of my neighbors’ house next door. From inside Sue and Greg’s picture window you can look down into the bush and the nest and see the little birds. There is one more blue egg to hatch. I run next door a lot and now I go to the back door so I don’t scare the robin mother into leaving.
There are baby bunnies everywhere and I wonder when the owls will move in. That circle of life thing…
In the meantime, yesterday I saw the weirdest bird ever looking all disoriented on my large lawn. I think it must be a green heron baby. It looked like a large brownish, speckled football with an orange beak and long green legs with sharp talons. I got my binocs out to get a good look because it was so unusual looking (is that an alien bird??). My neighbor saw it too and we’ve been trying to figure out what it is and why it’s in our yards. This area is on the flyway for migratory birds and sometimes birds, like people, get lost. I wish that little guy the best.
Back to my nest. There are baby sparrows all around the property, birds so tiny my heart just breaks to see them. Mom and Dad are valiant in their protection of their little ones and I’m grateful to be counted as a neighbor to them all, grateful that we share the same space at the same time.
Now the chipmunks who live in my basement, however, are a different matter…