Adventures in Birdland

Yesterday I went to clear out the dead blackberry bushes from the side yard. After awhile of hacking away I looked behind me and saw a tiny naked baby animal squirming around. My first thought was, "oh crap! I have a nest mice". As I got closer it turned out to be a tiny baby bird. It was ugly as all get out but melted my heart in about 1/2 a second. After several fruitless minutes of looking for a nest I gave up and made a little one in a plastic dish. My thought was to put him back close to where I found him. I thought I would sit at a distance in one of the plastic patio chairs that I had dug out of the bushes earlier. That's when I started to hear multiple chipping birds,(5 in total now). The nest was between the seats of the two stacked chairs.

As kids we were all told that if you touch a baby bird it's mother will never come back. So I packed the nest up and made a trip the Audubon Society of Portland. The gals there were all ewing and awing. They let me know that it's an old wise tale that their mom won't come back. It's true of some mammals that rely on scent, but birds don't rely on scent. They told there best chance for survival was if I could put the nest back as best I could and see if the mom does come back.

So back home I went. Put the nest back between the chairs and back in the bushes. It was only a short time before their mom was back with food. It's great to see it all work out but I can't wait for them to grow up because I really want to get my side yard cleaned up.