A MYSTERIOUS SURPRISE

Once upon a time there were three eggs in a nest, making a home in our planter which hung on our patio wall.  Unfortunately we only noticed two chicks a few days later.  Wondering what happened to the third was a mystery.  We assumed the third egg did not hatch.

Every day we watched the two chicks  grow with amazement.  Their development grows much faster than any living thing we know.

The most interesting of all was watching the mother and father bird taking care of their chicks in the nest.  The birds felt relaxed with us as we peered into it occasionally.  They were also relaxed when we moved them to another spot when the painters were working outside our house.

During the move, we noticed one chick missing. Feeling devistated,  we wondered what happened.  I thought the mother bird tried to move the chick one at a time to a safer more quieter nest due to all the noise from the painters and power washers. Later we found the dead chick on the floor.  Perhaps the mother bird accidentally dropped the chick in transport.

The mother and father bird tried to communicate with us by flying over the empty wall and by walking on the ground near the original place where the nest was.  We replaced the nest a couple of days later when the painters were finished.  Within a few minutes of its return, the mother bird flew to the planter, looked in on her chick and jumped in beside it.  The father bird followed and joined his family.

The tree in the rear of our patio was filled with many singing birds, assuming they were all family. The baby chick was starting to look like a small bird and eventually flew away.  Wondering if it would ever return to the empty nest, we later beamed with joy when it did.  We know it is only time when our little guests will soon leave us for good

The most surprising of all, and the conclusion to my story, was the day we noticed another chick in the nest.  That chick was from the third egg.  We had no idea where the mother bird hid it all that time.

Can anyone explain it?

It was wonderful watching the baby birds fly in and out of their nest.  The whole family stayed together until the new set of eggs appeared in the nest.  It looked like the mama and papa birds were trying to make another nest on the other side of the planter to make room for their family. It was beautiful the way the birds only trusted us to take their pictures and to visit them. 

Being hostess one Passover evening, I brought our guests to view the nest.  The birds immediately flew away leaving two eggs behind.  A week or two later we noticed one egg missing. We wonder where it went.  The birds never returned again.  Feeling very sad and missing them, I wonder if they will forgive me and return home.

WHERE DID MY BABY CHICK GO?

The following morning the pressure cleaning crew were spraying outside our house with bleach before starting the power washing.  The mother bird was lying over her chicks at the time we approached her.  Feeling uneasy, she flapped her wings preparing to fly away.    We carefully carried out the planter again to the rear of the patio.  The mother bird surprisingly stayed with the nest this time

The noise from the power washing was very loud, making the bird  very uneasy.  She had hoped to have her nest in a quiet safe place. Hours after the men left my street, I checked the nest.  Mother bird was walking on my patio, assuming to find food.  One chick was gone.  Where did it go? Hearing a tweet from my roof was the mother bird.  “Where did your chick go?  What did you do with it?” I asked.  Although the bird could not speak, she flew to the baron wall.  That was a stupid place for her to go.  Doesn’t she know her chicks were moved?  Was she trying to tell me something?

Noticing another bird on my patio fan, a little larger than mother bird, I figured that must be the father bird looking at the bare wall. They are trying to tell me to return the nest back on the wall.  But the painters will be back tomorrow to complete the job, I thought. “So what,”  I will move the nest again when the painters return.

But what about the missing chick?  Did the mother bird take it to a safer, quieter place?  Was she intending to move the other chick as well?  Was the scent of the chlorine bleach offensive for her chicks?  Will the baby chick return to the nest?  I am so upset yet proud in a way I was able to understand them. As soon as we placed the planter on the wall, mother bird flew to the planter, looked inside and jumped in..

The next day, the painters started their painting task.  We removed the planter with the nest again to the rear of our patio.  At that time the painters were aware of our nest and was concerned about the missing chick as well. 

One of the painters called our attention to the ground under where the planter was hanging originally and noticed the dead chick.  Feeling sad, we wondered what happened.  My thoughts were that the mother bird took one of the chicks to a safer place, then planning to return for the other one.  When the planter was returned to the wall, she tried to bring the chick back to the nest.  Perhaps she dropped it by accident, or the chick died in transit.

Some say if a chick dies in the nest, the mother bird  will not return.  Thus, we assume the chick was alive before it was carried out.  The mother bird continued to sit on her one and only chick.  It is nice to see how much the baby chick has grown in just a few days.



MAMA BIRD

BABY CHICK

BIRDS NEST

Where did my babies go, she wondered?  Working hard to protect them, she picked a safe quiet  home  with  plenty of warmth and food.  Everything was going so well.  What happened?  Will she ever find her babies again?

It all started a few weeks ago, when we noticed a bird in my artificial plant box hanging on my patio wall.  At times she flew away and returned later with twigs and grass.  When she flew away, we noticed a nest about to be formed.  Days later, a complete circular nest was completed.  It amazed me how brilliant the bird made it.  I doubt a human could master that craft.

Occasionally, when one bird flew away, another came into the nest.  We assumed it was the father bird, helping to bring supplies and food.  I researched on Google, that while the mother bird flies away for food and supplies, the father as well, helps.  He often sits on the eggs to keep them warm and protected until the mother returns.

One day, we observed the nest when the parents were gone and noticed a couple of eggs.  We were so thrilled and flattered that the bird trusted our patio as a safe haven for her babies.  The birds, mother and father, became of great interest to us.  We loved having them on our property and waited anxiously for the baby chicks to hatch.

Unfortunately, we received a letter from our community advising us they were beginning to commence with power washing and painting our house.  They gave us a weekend to remove all our flower boxes and items on the walls of our building and to move our patio furniture away from the house.

What were we going to do with our nest?  I read that if we touch it, our human scent would keep the mother and father bird away from the nest, causing death to the young chicks. Further,The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 prohibits the removal of all listed species or their parts (feathers, eggs, nests, etc.) ....  there is a law not to touch or destroy the nest while living chicks was there

While we were moving our patio furniture away from our house, the bird flew away from her nest.  It gave us a chance to look inside to see a couple of chicks barely moving. They were absolutely adorable.  We took the planter with the nest in it and moved it to the rear of our patio.  We placed it on a table under our Robeline palm tree trusting it will be protected.  I feared it would not be as protected as before as the planter was under our overhang roof

We sat on our patio waiting for the mother bird to return looking for her nest.  Our hearts were broken, as she kept flying by the spot where her nest was, only to find the wall empty.  She knew her babies where close as she walked on the ground back and forth looking.  I got up from my chair and walked to the nest showing the bird where the nest was.  She kept flying all around the nest but would not jump in.  Instead, she kept flying to the spot where the nest was originally.

Peering into the nest again, wondering if the chicks were safe without her parents keeping them warm, I noticed the chicks were playful, poking each other with their beaks.  The mother bird kept flying over our patio, and walking on the ground to find her babies.  Feeling awful for what we did, I returned the planter back on the wall.  A few minutes later, I saw the mother bird back in the nest with her chicks.  Feeling much better for the moment, tomorrow is another day, when I will have to move the planter again.  I hope the mother will forgive us.

MAMA BIRD SITTING OVER HER BABY CHICKS