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Bird watching not a bore

This is a picture from the The Casual Historian Blog
I could never figure out why old people put up bird feeders and bird houses. What’s the thrill?

Then one day, not long after AARP sent me a membership application, I began taking an interest in birds. Perhaps it’s because birds, more than any other animal, are the most unencumbered and free. As my arthritis increases so does my interest in bird watching. See the relationship?

I built a deck with porch swings a couple of years ago so that I could watch the sunset or gather with family and friends for casual conversation. I was sitting in the swing one spring afternoon when I noticed some birds constructing a nest in an old oak tree about five yards from the deck. They were building it in an abandoned woodpecker hole.

It became a daily ritual for my wife and I to sit on the deck and enjoy the labor of a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers relentlessly tending to the family. They were very noisy given our close presence to their nest but soon grew comfortable and treated us with a high degree of disregard.

I had never heard of a Great Crested Flycatcher until we took notice of this pair. Now, I can easily spot them and identify them without any trouble. They are a medium sized bird with a yellow belly and appear as if they have mousse in their hair.

One afternoon, I came home, poured a glass of wine, and went down to the deck to watch the birds. I noticed that a vine was hanging out of the hole but didn’t think much about it. At first, I figured it was part of the nest but as I looked more closely, I determined it was the tail of a corn snake.

I calmly walked back up the house and told my wife that a snake was eating her baby birds.

Oh my! She almost knocked me down as she raced down the hill stopping first to pick up a pair of my favorite steak tongs. She hadn’t moved that fast since I lied and told her I had a pair of Ricky Martin concert tickets.

I brought the shovel.

Without even thinking, she reached in the hole of the tree and grabbed the snake with the tongs, threw it on the ground, and then beat the stew out of it with my shovel. I’m being honest here. If that snake had been a two hundred pound python, she would have grabbed it and wrestled it.

I saw a gleam in that woman’s eye that I will not long forget. She was a wolf protecting her powerless pups. I made a mental note to never come between her and nesting chicks.

She killed the snake with no remorse. She killed it quickly and surely. Had I not remembered to bring the shovel, I am sure she would have bitten that poor snake’s head off.

I should tell you that I have received numerous, too many to mention here, tongue lashings from her for killing snakes. If they enter my space, they’re dead. I will not hesitate to kill a snake. She, on the other hand, would quickly come to their defense and always, always take their side.

Of course, if you have read my previous blogs, you remember she was bitten by a snake last summer; appropriate compensation, some might say, for her years of liberal snake loving. She no longer praises the merits of serpents.

Anyway, the corn snake had already swallowed one baby bird. She reached in the hole and found another one dead. But two were still alive.

She removed the dead bird from the nest then came over the deck and sat down. She was drained and exhausted from the homicide. The Flycatcher parents were very upset. Seeing the mayhem did little to calm their nerves.

Then, almost miraculously, one of the chicks stepped out on the edge of the hole and flew to a nearby limb. The last one soon followed. The parents quickly swooped down to offer encouragement. My wife’s spirit soared.

Here is what amazed me so much about the whole ordeal. The snake must have patiently waited until the exact moment the chicks were ready to fly. Had it waited until the next day, the chicks would have been gone. I wondered if the snake had stalked the chicks and deliberately waited for peak nutritional value. I was amazed at how nature figures such things out.

That was two years ago. This year, my wife and granddaughter have put up bird houses all over our property, especially in the garden. These multi-colored apartments litter the landscape and adorn almost every post. They are on trees, landscaping timbers, and the trellises of my grape and black berry arbors. Some are green, some are blue, some are yellow, and some are colors I can’t even describe.

So far, only a Finch and Bluebird have moved in. Of course, once word is out about all of the available housing and the excellent snake security, I am sure we will have plenty of birds.

These days, on warm Friday evenings, we sit and watch the birds fly in and out of the hand made houses. If we really want to spark up the evening, I will turn on the water sprinklers to nourish the green beans and corn; a big evening at my house.

Now I understand. Every night can’t be dinner and a movie or tickets to a ‘Noles game. Sometimes, just watching God’s smallest creatures go about their daily lives providing for their family or singing their songs of joy is enough to brighten up the day.

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Posted on May 05, 2008 - 05:01 PM by Larche Hardy
Page 1 of 1 pages

 

About Me

The life of any News Director is stressful most days... so, when the weekend rolls around I find myself on the back roads of our bountiful and beautiful part of the state looking for bluegrass music, interesting things to do, and, of course, fried chicken. I will try to share some of these "finds" with you. There are a thousand stories left to be told or simply remembered. Don't expect to find them all here; maybe just a little stroll down memory lane or maybe a little skewed insight into topical issues.
Larche Hardy,
News Director

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