Saturday, June 23, 2007

Everyone leaves home eventually I guess...


And now, the Orchard Orioles are gone. But not without leaving a mark on my heart - and giving me a slight scare.
Mid-June: I noticed the first of the babies had popped from the nest and was following "mom" about the back yard as she and papa oriole fussed at the others in the nest. There was a lot going on: papa and mama both cleaning out the nest, flying across to the neighbor's yard with baby birdie waste and so forth.
Saturday, June 23: I came home from work to find my backyard silent of Oriole songs. Where were my babies? Those tiny things couldn't ALL be flying around yet could they? Before too long, my curiousity got the best of me and I climbed up on my ladder to peek into their nest. A flash of wings and a startled baby -- the last of the bunch to leave the nest -- leaped out at me.
A Rescue
Poor baby didn't know how to fly yet and so hopped about the ground wildly flapping. I felt bad and Mama bird was ANGRY. I finally caught the fledgling, depositing him safely back into the nest. As I climbed down the ladder and turned away, I heard a flutter. I looked, but saw nothing. For an hour, I sat on the porch monitoring the nest, fretting. Had I scared the mama away? Was she abandoning that baby?
All gone
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. Believing I had inherited an orphan, I climbed back on the ladder and carefully peeked inside. No baby~! Finally, they had all flown the nest. And now, I wonder: will they ever come back? I miss them~! To read more about Orioles, check out this site: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bow/orcori/

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sweet story Diana,....you put a lot of yourself into it.