“Nestled in your wings, my little one / Is special, morning brings another sun
Tomorrow, see the things that never come today”

Lyrics from “Bird” by Neil Young

Spring ushered an assortment of songbirds into the yard in multitudes this year. I don’t recall ever seeing as many house finches, bells vireos, house wrens, and those loudmouth crows congregating in the trees. An especially rare treat is the beautiful blue bird couple that visit every day, who enjoy the birdbaths and sunning on tree branches.

Photo courtesy of John Ford.

Photo courtesy of John Ford.

The songbirds’ melodic chirps and twitters begin just before dawn, followed by a mocking bird whose ongoing cacophony of vocalizations last into the evening. While perched on a telephone pole next to the cottage, the mockingbird moves to its avian hip-hop vocals, springing upwards in time with feather-spreading motions, like a pogo stick with wings. I cracked up the first time I saw his flamboyant performance. He got Samantha Jo’s attention while she was perched on the windowsill to the catio curiously staring at his antics.

For a couple of weeks, I watched a finch couple flitting from trees to the eaves above the living room windows. I suspected they were making a nest, and my suspicions were confirmed when I spied the female nestling in the eaves and the male perched in the near-by tree, seemingly on guard. A baby bird was on its way! For days the female routinely flew into the eaves where I would see her hunkered down in the nest. Then one day, I heard the sweet peeps of a baby bird. I wanted to get up onto my stepladder to get a glimpse of the hatchling, but on second thought, didn’t want to disturb the nest. Samantha also wanted to get a look—or get a hold of it.

Remnants of the nest in the upper right corner of the eaves above the window, and where Samantha perched with a close eye on the nest.

She perched on the porch railing that joined at the siding of the house, a straight shot below the nest then stretched upwards with all her might, clawing at the siding, but she was unable to reach the eaves. Her presence was disturbing the parents, who would come flying towards the nest, see Samantha then redirect their route back to the tree, waiting for her to leave. I put a potted succulent in Samantha’s perching spot, which kept her at bay…until it didn’t.

* * *

I was at my computer when I heard loud clattering coming from outside the living room window. I looked over my shoulder to see Samantha’s torso hanging in the window, front legs straight upward, hind legs and tail dangling. This sight only lasted for a moment as she quickly came crashing down, landing in the potted plants below the window. I rushed out to find her crawling up onto the porch, okay, but startled.

“Samantha! What the hell…?”

I looked up towards the eaves pondering what I just witnessed. I deduced that in her determination to get to that nest, she leapt upward with enough force to latch onto the edge of the eaves for two seconds before she lost her grip. I promptly lined the porch railing leading to the siding of the house with potted plants.

The baby bird, once again was safe from the beast.

But wait…there’s more! Cat lady turns into guardian of the baby bird.
I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!