Birdie nest in the wind chime
Several years back, my mother gave us a lovely wind chime in the shape of a kitty. She hung it by our front door, which is actually sheltered from almost all the wind (little did she know), but since we liked seeing it there we kept it where it was.
A couple of weeks ago, we were astonished to see a nest in our wind chime. A bird and her mate clearly agreed the wind chime was lovely–out of reach of the local live feline population and sheltered from bitter winds. We soon spotted a finch (whom we took to calling Birdie Mama) mothering some eggs. We loved looking out and seeing her warming the nest, and we even started coming and going out the garage door so we wouldn’t disturb her.
But something must have happened overnight. Early this morning, when my husband went to check on her as usual, she wasn’t on the nest. Thinking she must have gone off to get some food–even though her mate had been helping to feed her–we checked again a little while later. Still no Birdie Mama. Not a good sign, since it gets very cold overnight here in the high desert. And though we’ve been peering through the blinds all day, Birdie Mama has disappeared. In her abandoned nest are three or four tiny speckled eggs the size of your thumbnail. No doubt the unhatched and unwarmed chicks have died.
We’ve been mourning all day. :-(
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