A Little Birdie Told Me . . .

A little birdie told me to stop sitting in my favourite summer time perch – on my front porch with my feet up and dumb dog below. It’s my favourite spot as it looks out over my quiet street and the forested area beyond and I’m partially obscured by my wee lilac tree so no one even knows I’m there. It’s the perfect spot for newspaper reading and blog post writing and watching the odd neighbour or two while they remain unaware of where I lurk. 

Well the birdie didn’t really tell me to stop sitting there. But I’m not immune to outraged avian body language. Every time I plop myself into my chair, this female cardinal proceeds to fly to the top of my honey locust tree and twitter down angrily until I leave. It’s gotten to the point that I’ve started skooching to the other side of the porch. I’m still able to read my newspaper and write my blog posts – but surreptitiously spying on the neighbourhood has gone out the window – temporarily.

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It all started several weeks ago. There I was reading my newspaper, feet up, annoying dog lounging below, partially masqueraded by lilacs – when I noticed the nest settled into the lilac’s branches. It was empty – yet struck me as odd. I sit out there in that spot nearly every day (mosquitoes permitting) and one day those branches were nothing more than concealer from my neighbours and the next they were a vacant home for some unknown creature.

Telling the kids about it a day or so later, we popped outside to check it out – and there it was – but this time with four speckled eggs nestled inside. These past couple of weeks, we’ve adjusted and re-adjusted our family rhythms so that this mama cardinal won’t fly off the moment we step outside or lug our groceries up the porch steps. We either go in and out from the back door so as not to disturb – or tiptoe by slowly and carefully so she can rest assured we have no ulterior motives on her or her babies-in-waiting.

Why she chose such a precarious location to hatch her brood, I may never know. And anyway – who am I to judge another mother’s parenting decision? Nevertheless, this lilac tree happens to be located in somewhat of a high traffic area. There are the incessant comings and goings of three noisy kids running to and fro – shoulders brushing the specific location she chose for the emergence of offspring. There is the harried husband leaving before dawn and sometimes returning just before – walking briskly by in the morning and possibly weaving precariously in the evening. There are the front door and garage door and car doors opening and slamming – mere feet away. Not to mention, the lilac branches are a scant five feet from ground level – tempting even the most stalwart of us into sneaking a peek throughout the day.

And the sneak peeks finally paid off a couple of days ago – when my prying eyes caught sight of two minuscule gaping beaks. With two babies hatched and two more to go, this mama bird has either finally realized we are friend, not foe – or else her instincts to remain close by have amped up – because she’s rarely leaving the nest at this point.

Yesterday, at my daughter’s request, I carefully crept past the tree – slowly and quietly without even glancing over – so that the cardinal could continue to warm her babes without a second thought.

I feel for this mama bird. I know what it’s ike to have to sometimes count on the kindness of strangers to get your brood up and running. I know what it feels like to press your body up against those babies and hope and pray that they will be okay. And one day – her sooner than me – I will know what it feels like to nudge those downy babes out of the nest and pray that they find their wings.

I’ve come to realize that things generally have a way of working themselves out. And I remain hopeful – for the both of us.

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